The Long Ships

I have long been fascinated by Vikings and the Viking Age.  As such, I just can't skip a movie about Vikings.  Most of them are terrible and get the history all wrong.  This one is no exception but I had high hopes when I saw it on June 23, 2007:

Released in 1964, The Long Ships tells the tale of Rolfe the Viking (Richard Widmark) and Prince Aly Mansuh the Moor (Sidney Poitier).  The movie opens with Rolfe's ship stuck in whirlpool that destroys his ship and kills all his men. Rescued by monks, Rolfe is nursed to health and learns of the Golden Bell. This bell of pure gold is as tall as `three tall men' and was made with the vast treasures taken during the Crusades (which haven't happened yet, but we'll just gloss over that). Rolfe makes his way back to Scandinavia, steals a ship, kidnaps King Harald's daughter, and sails off to again seek the Golden Bell. Aly Mansuh also happens to be obsessed with the bell and eventually makes use of Rolfe and his new crew to get it.

The movie doesn't know quite what it wants to be. Poitier plays serious while Widmark is generally light-hearted. The movie started out somber (the opening storm followed by the epic telling of the history of the Golden Bell gives the movie a serious tone) but then turned to comedy with Rolfe's father, a grinning eunuch chasing a Viking around the harem, and even the silly costumes that are inflicted on the Vikings. The battle sequences are reminiscent of saloon brawls in the typical westerns of the time. It is clear the director was aiming for comedy when the Vikings stumble upon Aly Mansuh's harem and run wild. It is peculiar how Rolfe's crew never seems to shrink despite battles and events that must have killed many men; these Vikings are hardy. The special effects are cheesy, not surprisingly. The use of miniature long ships in a bathtub with some rocks and splashing is a pretty good description of the storm scenes. Someone out of camera gets to throw buckets of water on

Widmark. During one particularly nasty storm, three masts fall upon hapless Vikings; this is quite an achievement for a ship with only one mast. At another point, the great golden bell falls from a cliff – carrying a good portion of Rolfe's ever-replenishing crew with it – to splash into the bay… where it floats. Of course, gold is known for its buoyancy.

The movie ends on a light-hearted note with Rolfe telling King Harald the tale of the Three Saxon Crowns, one of which had a diamond the size of a goose egg. If only an expedition could be assembled, he would be only to glad to retrieve it.