Sat 6 Dec 2014
A Movie Review by Jonathan Lewis: THE LAST OF THE VIKINGS (1961).
Posted by Steve under Action Adventure movies , Reviews[6] Comments
THE LAST OF THE VIKINGS. Tiberius Film, Italy, 1961. Medallion Pictures, US, 1962. Original title: L’ultimo dei Vikinghi. Also released as El último vikingo (Spain). Cameron Mitchell, Edmund Purdom, Isabelle Corey, Hélène Rémy, Andrea Aureli, Mario Feliciani. Director: Giacomo Gentilomo.
Although I didn’t have the highest expectations when I started to watch it on DVD last night, The Last of the Vikings, is a surprisingly good “sword-and-sandal†movie. It’s not The Vikings (1958), but for what it is, namely a fairly entertaining escapist action film, it’s not all that bad.
Directed by Giacomo Gentilomo, (Mario Bava is uncredited), this Italian Viking epic (how’s that for a sub-genre?) stars Cameron Mitchell as Harald, a Viking warrior determined to revenge the death of his father at the hands of the mad King Sveno (Edmund Purdom). Along the way, he both learns what love is, and subsequently falls in love with the beautiful Hilde (French actress-model Isabelle Corey). After numerous obstacles thrown in his path, our fearlessly determined protagonist eventually slays the sadistic Sveno and gets the girl.
Unlike some other costumers and adventures flics from the same era, Last of the Vikings doesn’t play it light.
Indeed, there is something very dramatic (in the Shakespearean sense) about the performances in this little-known film. Cameron Mitchell and Edmund Purdom are both very good actors, and it shows. Look in particular for the scene in which Harald (Mitchell) slays a traitor in his midst. Mitchell’s performance is nearly flawless in that moment; he just seems to be a natural actor for portraying leads in revenge dramas.
Unfortunately, the version of the movie that I watched, a DVD released by Alpha Home Entertainment, has a visual quality that is, well, acceptable, but not much more than that. Since I don’t suppose that anyone will be restoring this movie anytime soon, that may be the best available copy for the foreseeable future.
That’s a shame, because the actors did take their roles seriously and there is a really great – awesome, really – fight sequence at the end, one that far surpasses most, if not all, digitally manufactured CGI battle sequences.
Who knows? Maybe there’s a 35mm copy out there somewhere, tucked away in an archive or a private collection, just begging to be watched on the big screen.
December 6th, 2014 at 10:22 pm
Jonathan
You may be the only critic in history to ever call Edmund Purdom a good actor. I’m not sure he ever got a positive review in his film career — certainly not for big productions like THE EGYPTIAN, THE PRODIGAL, and THE STUDENT PRINCE which he got most of the credit for ruining.
Even the kindest critics found him incredibly bland I suppose he’s a bit better as the villain here and in HEROD.
But you may be unique in calling him a very good actor.
Mitchell was very good if they hadn’t type cast him as a rapist or would be rapist. It seems like in half his films he’s the guy the hero beats up for being unable to take no for an answer even when he is one of the good guys like GARDEN OF EVIL and HELL AND HIGH WATER.
I can’t think if anyone else to play that role so many times.
He does have the unique credit however of giving a terrific little performance in an actual porno as the policeman buddy of private eye John Leslie in DIXIE COSTELLO. See it, it is actually a damn good little nourish PI film — just an XXX one.
December 6th, 2014 at 10:44 pm
Purdom’s career was probably forever damaged in the U.S. by Mario Lanza’s voice… In some ways, his Italian films probably are better. Although I confess, I should have said that Purdom and Mitchell were very good actors in this film specifically
December 6th, 2014 at 10:59 pm
David,
You are on to something but the title is — Dixie Ray Hollywood Star.
December 6th, 2014 at 11:32 pm
Barry,
Thanks. It is a damn good PI film though despite being a porno and the performances are uniformly good, especially Leslie as a Marlowesque private eye about to go into the service. It’s not just the acting or the atmosphere, the plot and the mystery are damn good. Of course it came out of the porn chic era, but all things considered I would not have believed it if I hadn’t seen it.
It compares favorably to a good many straight pi films out of mainstream studios.
Oddly too, much of what is shown in DIXIE RAY is implied in most private eye films, they just don’t close the door in this one.
Dixie Costello is an actual porn star.
December 7th, 2014 at 12:33 am
Ah. Wondered about that.
December 7th, 2014 at 1:04 am
I don’t remember ever seeing Edmund Purdom in any of the long list of films he made — most of them made in Italy, according to IMDb — but I saw Cameron Mitchell most recently in THE UNSTOPPABLE MAN, which Jon reviewed here a short while ago:
https://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=30241
This is the British thriller based on a Michael Gilbert short story, and Mithell played the powerful business executive whose son was kidnapped to perfection — almost cold and impersonal, but seething inside and ready for action when the time came. I thought the movie was well done. and his performance was one good reason why.