''The Viking Queen'' is a 1967

Hammer A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as w ...

adventure film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, an ...

directed by

Don Chaffey Donald Chaffey (5 August 1917 – 13 November 1990) was a British film director, writer, producer, and art director. Chaffey's film career began as an art director in 1947, and his directorial debut was in 1953. He remained active in the ind ...

and starring Don Murray. It is set in

Roman Britain Roman Britain was the period in classical antiquity when large parts of the island of Great Britain were under occupation by the Roman Empire. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. During that time, the territory conquered was ...

. The title of the film caused much confusion, because there are no Norse

Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

in the movie. However, there is another meaning of the word "viking": a raider or plunderer, of which there are many such characters in this film. In addition, "viking" was understood internationally, having been recently used in other film titles.

Plot summary

According to her father's wishes, Queen Salina agrees to share the rule of Icena with Justinian, a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

. This decision angers both the bloodthirsty Druids and Romans less just than Justinian. As the two rulers fall in love, the Druids and the Romans begin to plot their downfall. It's not long before the hills of Britain are stained with the blood of the lovers' followers. The plot combines elements of life of the historic queen

Boudica Boudica or Boudicca (, known in Latin chronicles as Boadicea or Boudicea, and in Welsh as ()), was a queen of the ancient British Iceni tribe, who led a failed uprising against the conquering forces of the Roman Empire in AD 60 or 61. She ...

(featuring the

Iceni The Iceni ( , ) or Eceni were a Brittonic tribe of eastern Britain during the Iron Age and early Roman era. Their territory included present-day Norfolk and parts of Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, and bordered the area of the Corieltauvi to the we ...

tribe, combat chariots) with elements seemingly drawn from

Vincenzo Bellini Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini (; 3 November 1801 – 23 September 1835) was a Sicilian opera composer, who was known for his long-flowing melodic lines for which he was named "the Swan of Catania". Many years later, in 1898, Giu ...

's opera '' Norma'', though that is set in

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

, and

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane an ...

Cast

Don Murray Don Murray may refer to: * Don Murray (actor) (1929–2024), American actor * Don Murray (clarinetist) (1904–1929), American jazz musician * Don Murray (drummer) (1945–1996), American drummer and aminator * Don Murray (footballer) Donald Ja ...

as Justinian * Carita as Salina * Donald Houston as Maelgan *

Andrew Keir Andrew Keir (né Buggy, 3 April 19265 October 1997) was a Scottish actor who appeared in a number of films made by Hammer Film Productions in the 1960s. He was also active in television, and especially in the theatre, in a professional career t ...

as Octavian *

Adrienne Corri Adrienne Corri (born Adrienne Riccoboni; 13 November 1931 – 13 March 2016) was a Scottish actress. Early life She was born Adrienne Riccoboni in Glasgow in November 1931, the daughter of an English mother (Olive Smethurst) and an Italian f ...

as Beatrice *

Niall MacGinnis Patrick Niall MacGinnis (29 March 1913 – 6 January 1977) was an Irish actor who made around 80 screen appearances. Early life MacGinnis was born in Dublin in 1913.

as Tiberian * Wilfrid Lawson as King Priam *

Nicola Pagett Nicola Mary Pagett Scott (15 June 1945 – 3 March 2021), known professionally as Nicola Pagett, was a British actress, known for her role as Elizabeth Bellamy in the 1970s TV drama series '' Upstairs, Downstairs'' (1971–1973), as well as being ...

as Talia * Percy Herbert as Catus * Patrick Troughton as Tristram *

Sean Caffrey Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (anglicized as ''Shaun/ Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; anglici ...

as Fergus *

Denis Shaw Denis Shaw (7 February 1921 – 28 February 1971) was a British character actor specialising in slimy villains. Born in Dulwich as Douglas Findlay Shaw, he was a rotund man, with dark, wavy hair and slanty eyes. This appearance meant he would ...

as Osiris * Philip O'Flynn as Merchant * Brendan Matthews as Nigel * Gerry Alexander as Fabian * Patrick Gardiner as Benedict * Paul Murphy as Dalon, Maelgan's Son *

Arthur O'Sullivan Arthur O'Sullivan (1912 – 17 February 1981), also known as Archie O'Sullivan, was an Irish actor who appeared on stage, screen and radio. Radio career The Radio Éireann Players were a repertory company for radio formed in 1947 which performed ...

as Old Man at Tax-Enquiry *

Cecil Sheridan Cecil Sheridan (21 December 1910 – 4 January 1980) was an Irish comedian and actor who performed in variety shows and pantomimes in Ireland and Great Britain during a versatile career spanning over forty years. Early life Born at 31 Pearse Squ ...

as Shopkeeper at Protest Gathering * Anna Manahan as Shopkeeper's Wife * Nita Lorraine as Nubian Slave Girl

Production

The film was budgeted at £350,000 and went over budget by £61,000.Marcus Hearn & Alan Barnes, ''The Hammer Story: The Authorised History of Hammer Films'', Titan Books, 2007 p. 79 During filming in Ireland, Patrick Troughton, who was playing the part of Tristram, was offered the role of the Second Doctor in ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

''. Eventually, he accepted.

Reception

''The Viking Queen'' was given mixed reviews on its original release while it performed poorly at the box office.Marcus Hearn, ''The Hammer Vault: Treasures from the Archives of Hammer Films'', Titan Books, 2011 p. 93 For a much later television screening, David Parkinson in the ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...

'' thought the film used "a story that would struggle to get a pass grade in

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private sc ...

English."; while in ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...

'' a reviewer wrote that it is "an interesting, well-photographed attempt to depict the land of the blue-painted troglodytes...The costumes reveal more flesh than might have been wise in the cold, damp climate of the Irish mountains where location scenes were shot."

Box Office

According to Fox records, the film needed to earn $1,625,000 in rentals to break even and made $835,000, meaning it made a loss.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Viking Queen, The 1960s historical adventure films 1967 films British historical adventure films Cultural depictions of Boudica 1960s English-language films Films directed by Don Chaffey Films set in the Roman Empire Films set in the 1st century Hammer Film Productions films 1960s British films