The Viking Queen (1967)

Touches You

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Blistering performances.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

It's the Roman occupation of England and the king of the Iceni dies, leaving the throne to his daughter Salina. She wants peace with the Romans, which the Roman governor Justinian (Don Murray) also wants. In fact, they both want it so bad that they fall in love with each other. He wants to marry. She says they can't unless the druids okay the marriage, and the druids oppose peace with the Romans. Justinian's right hand man Octavian (Andrew Keir) also opposes peace, wanting the Romans to clamp down on the Celts. None of this goes well for our star crossed lovers.So ... this is not a very good Hammer films. First thing to note: There are no Vikings in this film. It's an unofficial telling of the story of Boudica, the queen of the Iceni who opposed Roman rule. Second, Carita, who plays Salina, is a terrible actress. Despite a game supporting cast, which also includes Patrick Troughton, she really drags this film down. Finally, Don Chaffey is, at best, a workmanlike director, and he does a fairly poor job here.

I'm a bit surprised at some of the low reviews for "The Viking Queen;" I've watched it three times now and my appreciation for this 1967 Hammer flick has increased with each viewing.The biggest criticism is that Salena is a Celt and the movie should therefore be titled "The Celtic Queen." Yet this is explained right at the beginning of the story: Her father chooses her to reign after his death and says, "Like your mother you shall be called 'the Viking Queen.'" So, Salena is the Viking Queen simply because her mother was of Viking ancestry.One may argue that the Vikings didn't exist for another 700 years (the story takes place shortly after the time of Christ) but "Viking" is simply a collective designation of Nordic people -- Danes, Swedes and Norwegians. And even IF the word "Viking" didn't exist at the time of the film's setting, so what? Just imagine Salena's father saying, "You shall be called the Nordic Queen." Another major gripe is that the Druids improperly pray to Zeus, a Greek God. Although this is a legitimate beef, the filmmakers obviously chose to do this because the Druids lacked a recognizable deity. This problem is rectified by simply supplanting the word "Zeus" with the Druid deity of your choice when hearing the Druids pray in the film (Bet you can't think of ONE Druid deity, can you?).The story is roughly based on the historical Boudicca, queen of the Iceni, a British tribe. Her impressive revolt against the Roman occupants included the sack of London (then Londinium) and the death of some 70,000 Romans (!). The Roman governor of Britain ultimately destroyed Boudicca's force; in despair, she killed herself by taking poison in 60 AD.In "The Viking Queen" you'll certainly get a good glimpse of what this era was like. The story is ultra-serious and the actors perform their roles accordingly. Salena is played by Carita, who, although very beautiful, is completely believable in the role. Be on the watch for her in a breath-taking purple mini-skirt near the end (speaking of such, be on the lookout as well for Salena's super-cute sister Talia, played by Nicola Pagett). Needless to say, it's too bad this was Carita's sole excursion into acting terrain.The locations (Ireland), costumes and sets are all of the highest order for a Hammer film of the time period.One other complaint is that it is unbelievable that Salena falls in love with the Roman governor (played by Don Murray) and vice versa, yet isn't it realistic to assume that more than one Briton babe fell in love with a Roman occupant, particularly if he was in a command position? Besides, the tragic ending is emotionally compounded by this love story.FINAL WORD: "The Viking Queen" is a movie in the vein of "Braveheart," "Gladiator" or "Attila." If you're a fan of such films you'll likely enjoy "The Viking Queen." Personally, I feel "Braveheart" is overrated and I'd pop in "The Viking Queen" before "Gladiator" any day.If, like me, this film inspires you to research the true history of Boudicca, then the filmmakers have accomplished far more than mere entertainment. Enough said.The movie runs 91 minutes.GRADE: B

This is a good example of the kind of film to expect from England's Hammer Films co., who through the 1960's produced a lot of action/adventure/fantasy/horror films of the low budget variety. This movie is about a beautiful Viking princess who is forced to share her reign with a Roman commander named Justinian. The confusing thing is she is apparently also a druid and worships Zeus, etc, etc, all that makes no sense but it doesn't really have to. Carita (never heard of her before) is not a fantastic actress but gets the job done capably enough. Don Murray plays Justinian and he as well does a capable but not fantastic job. He is the better of the two though. Various Romans are sacrificed to the druids' gods in a fire pit that has to be stoked between sacrifices by a priest (????) and there is action galore, this is a great example of 1960s schlock action/adventure that features violence and good looking girls.

Looking at the DVD box cover or watching the trailer, one expects out and out adventure and excitement. Well in reality this film doesn't have a whole lot of that. Sure there are some exciting scenes in there particularly towards the end but most of the best scenes in the film involve things used to shock the audience more than anything else.There are some fine actors involved in this one including Andrew Keir as the villainous Octavian and Patrick Troughton as the heroic and peace-minded Tristram. Carita is also surprisingly good in the lead role of Salina-the Viking Queen(although even she cannot quite match the box cover). Don Murray is fine in the role Justinian and these few actors/actresses almost rise the film up a notch in two in quality if only there weren't so many scenes of people walking, riding, etc. which do become very tiresome and boring. When it comes to historical accuracy I don't think that was ever the intention behind this film --the trailer, poster and DVD box cover suggests action excitement but one never really gets enough of that from this film. Many of the more shocking scenes are also much too obvious and border on cheesy they are so overdone.