The Last of the Vikings (1961)

Simply Perfect

Don't listen to the negative reviews

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Viking Prince Harald has returned to his homeland along with his younger brother Guntar. The two brothers soon learn that King Sveno of Norway has murdered their father. King Sveno is forcing his cousin Hilde to marry the Danish King in order to create an alliance with them. In order to stop this and avenge his father's death Harald disguises himself as a Danish ambassador to gain entrance into Sveno's stronghold. Harald runs into Hilde, learns she does not want to marry the Danish King and he falls in love with her. Harald has his hands full and more on his plate when his brother Guntar is captured and the real Danish ambassador enters the picture. Prince Harald must straighten all this out.As exciting as this scenario sounds, the film barely caught my attention at times. The actors and the dialogue was unappealing to me. It was filmed in such a way that it left me bored with it half of the time.2/10

With this, I start a clutch of reviews in honour of Mario Bava's centenary; I plan to watch a comprehensive marathon of his vast (and often uncredited) body of work – incidentally, virtually the only title I will be missing out on is the similar ATTACK OF THE NORMANS (1962), which I own solely on VHS recorded off Italian TV but whose tape I have been unable to track down in time! As it happens, I have a comparable copy of the film under review (with which it shares leading man Cameron Mitchell) – but, for this second viewing, I opted to check out the English-dubbed version off "You Tube"…which was not so bad as these things go, despite having to make do with washed-out colours and rampant panning-and-scanning!Anyway, the movie was not only Mitchell's debut European venture (which, among others, led to as many as six collaborations with Bava) but the first of several "Norse operas" to emerge from Italy, clearly in the wake of the classic Hollywood spectacle THE VIKINGS (1958) – belying the film's very title, which generally implies (but is seldom the case, if ever) that a definitive statement was intended! Among those that came after it were two by Bava and with Mitchell himself, namely ERIK THE CONQUEROR (from the same year) and KNIVES OF THE AVENGER (1966). Interestingly, another offshoot "series" of THE VIKINGS dealt with various fighting people (such as Mongols and Tartars) that included not only the above-mentioned ATTACK OF THE NORMANS but THE COSSACKS (1960) as well – which had Edmund Purdom for villain and who reprises the same duties here, albeit in far more caricatured (read: scenery-chewing) terms! Indeed, the script seems to suffer from undigested gobs of Shakespeare – as Purdom's evil Scandinavian king was clearly modeled on Richard III, while a supporting character is egged on by his ambitious wife towards laying claim to the Viking throne a' la "Macbeth" and Mitchell himself displays a Hamlet-like tendency towards dragging of feet in exacting his vengeance! Plotting is otherwise quite routine (a revenge-seeking hero, impersonation, a romance that runs less than smoothly, betrayal, torture, the inevitable righting of wrongs, and what have you) but this type of crowd-pleasing fare is hardly expected to be anything more.That said, the movie is certainly enjoyable thanks as much to the always welcome genre trappings (in the form of the vivid medieval atmosphere, a handful of violent skirmishes, the Vikings' rowdy behavior and lusty disposition, etc.) as the inferred histrionic approach (with even Mitchell – prone to calling Purdom's royal "Schven" – and younger sibling Giorgio Ardisson – the two would play unknowing twins in the subsequent ERIK THE CONQUEROR – tending to ham it up!). I would imagine that the latter picture, over which Bava had greater control, was the better overall effort but, really, none of the director's peplums constitute major achievements, let alone masterpieces! Amusingly, the Viking call sounded on the horn here felt awfully familiar to my ears – and I would not be surprised if it were lifted outright for ERIK itself!

A couple of Hollywood names Cameron Mitchell and Edmond Purdom who were finding it harder and harder to get decent big screen roles with the coming of television spent some time in Italy in the Sixties doing all kinds of film genres. In The Last Of The Vikings the two are on opposite sides as Viking prince Mitchell seeks to reclaim the throne of his father which has been stolen by Purdom the usurper.In Hollywood in some of his more known features, Edmond Purdom was said to be wooden by some critics. To make up for that Purdom chews an entire carpet factory in his performance. It reminded me of Jay Robinson as Caligula on steroids it was that overacted. Purdom was such a nut case I found it hard to believe anyone would join in a revolt with this loony tune as a usurper.As a study in the extent that overacting can be carried on screen, I recommend watching The Last Of The Vikings, otherwise beware.

Though made in the wake of the worldwide success of "Hercules," this modest but vigorous Italian production plays less like a "sword-and-sandal" and more like a "Robin Hood." Much of the action takes place in the villain's medieval castle but the action, perhaps because of a limited budget, rarely results in the hoped-for excitement. The cast, however, is a notch above average, led by Cameron Mitchell in the good-guy role and Edmund Purdom as the Sheriff-of-Nottingham-like villain. Mitchell's hair has been unconvincingly bleached blond but he manages to get through the proceedings with dignity largely intact. Purdom, however, is another story. He played the title role in 20th Century Fox's most expensive production of 1954, "The Egyptian" and in 1955 he played the leading man to Lana Turner in MGM's most expensive production of that season, "The Prodigal." This one-two punch should have made him a star but he soon wound up back in Europe slumming in B-movies such as this one. Here he plays a mincing, giggling villain who scampers about like a campy Richard III, his eyes darting nervously here and there and his hands, when they're not being wrung, clasped prissily across his chest. It's a "fun" performance but, oh, how the mighty have fallen. Perhaps the film's most memorable moment comes when Mitchell rescues his brother (George Ardisson) from a cell in Purdom's castle. The brother's palms have been nailed to an X-shaped cross and Mitchell has to pull the spikes out, mostly by hand. Fans of beefcake-bondage, laced with blood and sweat, take note.