Was the 1958 epic The Vikings just a Western in shaggy skins?
In short: Critics once dismissed this swashbuckling spectacle as a Norse Opera, a play on the term for Westerns. Yet, this 1958 production became a massive box office success, defined the cinematic aesthetic of the Viking age, and launched a wave of international films that followed in its wake.
Directed by Richard Fleischer and produced by Kirk Douglas, The Vikings was a lavish 1958 production that relied on natural Norwegian locations like Maurangerfjorden to ground its historical fiction. Based on Edison Marshall’s 1951 novel and the sagas of Ragnar Lodbrok, the film follows the intertwined fates of two half-brothers, Eric and Einar, who are unaware of their shared bloodline. Their rivalry, fueled by the pursuit of a Welsh princess and the shadow of their father’s death, culminates in a brutal siege of a Northumbrian castle.
The production was a technical marvel for its time, utilizing Technirama and Technicolor under the eye of cinematographer Jack Cardiff. Despite its visual grandeur, contemporary reception was polarized. Critics like Bosley Crowther of The New York Times found the narrative formulaic, comparing it unfavorably to standard Westerns, while others, such as Philip K. Scheuer, criticized its elementary drama and excessive violence. Nevertheless, the film resonated with audiences, earning $6.2 million in the US and Canada and $7 million overseas.
Beyond its financial success, the film served as a cultural catalyst. It acted as a trigger for a subgenre of Viking-themed cinema, influencing works like Mario Bava’s Erik the Conqueror and Jack Cardiff’s own The Long Ships. Kirk Douglas, who took no salary in exchange for 60% of the profits, reportedly earned $3 million from the venture. Today, the film is remembered not just for its action, but for its role in cementing the visual language of the Viking epic in the mid-20th-century imagination.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: The Vikings (film)
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