The Vikings (film)

The Vikings
Theatrical release poster
by Reynold Brown
Directed byRichard Fleischer
Written byCalder Willingham (screenplay)
Dale Wasserman (adaptation)
Based onThe Viking
by Edison Marshall
Produced byJerry Bresler
StarringKirk Douglas
Tony Curtis
Janet Leigh
Ernest Borgnine
James Donald
Alexander Knox
Frank Thring
Narrated byOrson Welles
CinematographyJack Cardiff
Edited byElmo Williams
Music byMario Nascimbene
Production
companies
Distributed byUnited Artists
Release date
  • June 11, 1958 (1958-06-11) (New York)[1]
Running time
116 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$3.5 million[2]
Box office$6.2 million (US and Canada rentals)[3] $7 million (overseas rentals)[4]

The Vikings is a 1958 American epic[5] historical fiction swashbuckling film directed by Richard Fleischer, filmed in Technirama, and printed in Technicolor. It was produced by Jerry Bresler and Kirk Douglas (who also starred in the film), through Douglas' Brynaprod company. It is based on the 1951 novel The Viking by Edison Marshall, which in turn is based on material from the sagas of Ragnar Lodbrok and his sons. Other starring roles were taken by then husband-and-wife Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh as well as Ernest Borgnine. The film made notable use of natural locations in Norway. It was mostly filmed in Maurangerfjorden and Maurangsnes, captured on film by cinematographer Jack Cardiff, although Aella's castle was the real Fort-la-Latte in north-east Brittany in France.

Despite being derisively called a "Norse Opera" by New York Times critic Bosley Crowther, the film proved a major box office success and spawned the television series Tales of the Vikings, directed by the film's editor, Elmo Williams, which included none of the original cast or characters.

  1. ^ "The Vikings - Details". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  2. ^ Tino Balio, United Artists: The Company That Changed the Film Industry, University of Wisconsin Press, 1987 p. 132
  3. ^ Cohn, Lawrence (October 15, 1990). "All-Time Film Rental Champs". Variety. p. M192.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Douglas was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Halliwell, Leslie, Halliwell’s Film Guide, second edition, Granada, London, 1977 p.933