The Viking Queen (1967)

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

So let me see if I can get this straight: The Romans have invaded the British Isles and in the process they try to make peace with Viking Druids who worship… Zeus? But they look and act more like Celtics than Vikings. To make matters even more interesting, the Roman governor, "Justinian" (Don Murray) and the attractive Viking Queen, "Salina" (Carita) fall in love and want to get married. But the Druid priest, "Maelgan" (Donald Houston) forbids it and then conspires to start a revolt for which he expects to win because the Celtics (or whatever they are) have chariots which are ideal for heavily wooded areas and the Romans have apparently never fought against an army that has them. Uh…okay. But having said all of that, I must confess that this film was a somewhat entertaining movie to a certain degree. And although some of the combat scenes were a bit…uh…imaginative and the acting left something to be desired, the film had some sexy women in skimpy attire which surely counts for something. Even so, in order for a person to enjoy it, he or she needs to abandon any sense of reality and just go with it. Personally, I wasn't quite able to do it entirely, but that's just me. Slightly below average.

This is the one and only appearance by the Finnish actress called 'Carita' (Carita Järvinen) and the American, Don Murray. Considering this is about the Druids/Celts in Britain and the Romans, the casting does seem a bit odd. I guess I can understand casting Carita, as she was gorgeous here. Her command of English was quite good though the accent a bit thick and unlike anyone else in the film. And, I must say that when she was being tough and warlike as she swung her sword, I thought it was adorable...though hardly scary or inspiring.The film is set around the year 100 (give or take a week). The Romans are occupying part of Britain and the locals, not surprisingly, are not at all pleased. For a while, the Queen (Carita) and Roman Governor (Murray) get along great and it seems they like each other and co-rule well. Eventually, however, their queen (a local--not some Viking despite the title) leads a revolt because of mistreatment of her people by some evil Romans--much like the real life one Queen Boadicea and her people (the Iceni) waged against the occupiers. Why, then, they keep calling her a Viking is beyond me, as the Vikings didn't arrive until about the year 800. Perhaps it made the film more marketable or the folks making it just knew nothing about history. Or, perhaps "The Viking Queen" simply sounded better than "The Iceni Queen"! And, why do the Iceni keep referring to Zeus--the Greek god?! The film comes off as not only historically inaccurate, but also suffers from two other serious problems. First, it's incredibly talky and often the dialog is horribly bad. Second, although the battles with Rome were epics (with tens of thousands killed), the film seems to show that both armies numbered in the dozens! And, mostly, the soldiers just stand there--doing very little. As for the Queen--she seemed about as scary and powerful as a Teletubby. The overall effect is cheap and a bit silly...and quite titillating at times (which only increases the cheese factor). And, it may well make you laugh--it sure did with me.By the way, some of you might recognize Patrick Troughton in the film. He later played one of the Doctors from "Dr. Who"--one of the more obscure ones. Seeing him here in Celtic garb was interesting to say the least.

This was Hammer Films' sole foray into peplum territory: that it's not typical material for this outfit is also borne by the fact that the writing and producing credits aren't the usual Hammer stalwarts! Don Chaffey, who handles the proceedings efficiently enough, was something of an expert in the field - having directed Hammer's ONE MILLION YEARS, B.C. (1966) as well as the Ray Harryhausen extravaganza JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS (1963).Actually, the plot isn't all that different from that of THE LAST ROMAN (1968-9) which I watched recently: while the latter was low-brow and solemn but rather interesting, this is low-brow and silly but undeniably fun. Thankfully, there's intrigue (resulting in plenty of snarling), action and sadism - not forgetting the beautiful Irish locations - to keep one watching. Still, the lazy scripting is so obviously a mishmash of elements without any rhyme or reason that it somehow seems to think of Druids, Vikings and Greeks (all distinct in culture, geography and timeline) as one and the same people!! With respect to the cast: Carita (whose only film this was) is actually not too bad in the title role - though necessities of plot and an inevitable romance with the enemy leader prevents her from donning armor and turn warrior before the last 20 minutes of the film proper!; Don Murray, saddled throughout with an unbecoming hair-do, tries to keep his dignity as best he can; Andrew Keir (as Murray's jealous aide and the true villain of the piece), Niall MacGinnis and Patrick Troughton actually give good performances; however, Donald Houston's hammy turn as the High Priest of the Druid community is wildly entertaining - and Wilfred Lawson is equally embarrassing as the doddering and moribund Viking King.