The Viking Queen (1967) User Reviews (29)

Who needs historical accuracy, lets have some fun instead

[Red-Barracuda · 6/10 · 8 November 2014]

Hammer Studios are, of course, most famous for their Gothic horror films but like any independent studio worth its salt, it chipped in with movies of many other genres that were popular at the time. Sword and sandal flicks were one such sub-genre that was favoured in the 60's and that led Hammer to make The Viking Queen. Set in 1st century Britain, it involves machinations between three sets of inhabitants of those islands – the indigenous Iceni people, the ruling Romans and the Druids. The drama revolves around the queen of the Iceni and the Roman governor, who fall in love but whose relationship has dark consequences.

This movie is historically about as accurate as Hammer's earlier One Million Years B.C. in which dinosaurs co-existed with well-groomed cave people. In this one we have a Viking queen - a few hundred years out and in the wrong country - lead the Iceni people – who were from a completely different part of the country - while the druids seem to worship Roman gods! But the film is hilariously unconcerned with such matters so neither should you be. And to be fair, if you roll with it this is a pretty successfully entertaining bit of hokum. The Viking Queen herself is played by a Finnish actress called Carita, her heavy accent makes her somewhat strange as the leader of the Britons but she has the requisite beauty that puts her into the same bracket as several other Hammer heroines. Like is normal for Hammer too, there are some pretty good character actors underpinning things, including Andrew Keir as the nasty Roman Octavian and Patrick Troughton as the progressively minded Briton, Tristam. Also, like Hammer, the film looks really handsome despite its low budget. The locations look great and the sets and costumes are all nice also. There's some salacious material included too to enliven things further such as a human sacrifice ceremony and a violent assault on the Iceni village by the rampaging Romans. It might all be nonsense but its pretty good nonsense.

More period fun with Hammer Studios.

[Hey_Sweden · 6/10 · 16 June 2013]

The title is somewhat misleading in this mash up of historical epic and violent action picture. The script is so silly one simply has to laugh at it, but I'll get to that in a moment. At least it follows in the tradition of Hammer and is exceptionally good looking, with decent battle scenes and lovely female cast members.

The "viking queen" of the title is Salina (played by Finnish beauty Carita, in one of only two film roles), a young Briton living under the rule of Roman conquerors in ancient times. Her father, King Priam (Wilfrid Lawson) is sure that his people can peacefully co-exist with the Romans and conveys this belief to Salina, who inherits the role of queen when he passes on. But there's more. These Britons are part of a group of Druids - who pray to the Greek god Zeus. Salina embarks on a romance with nice guy Roman governor general Justinian (Don Murray of "Bus Stop"), but their happiness will be short lived thanks to Justinians' hateful and power hungry second in command, Octavian (Andrew Keir), and the restlessness of the natives.

Carita looks stunning, so some viewers may not care if her performance isn't all that hot. Murray looks quite out of place, and the excellent supporting cast (Niall MacGinnis, Donald Houston, Adrienne Corri, Patrick Troughton, et al) helps to keep this watchable, although it's sluggish at times. It attempts to be funny with a chariot race that ends in falls into the drink. With Don Chaffey in the directors' seat, the film does serve up doses of sex, violence and sacrifice, enough to maintain our interest for a while. Gorgeous Irish scenery complements the physical charms of the actresses. While one couldn't take it seriously, it does have an endearing camp factor going for it.

In any event, we have to hand it to Hammer for making this kind of thing as we sure don't see much like it anymore. As long as people go in knowing it's absolutely no history lesson and just accept it as escapist entertainment, they can find it diverting enough.

Six out of 10.

laughable historical fantasy manages to be lots of fun

[OldAle1 · 6/10 · 11 April 2008]

From the trying-for-sublime to the content-to-be-ridiculous. Carita, a Finnish model-turned-actress, is surprisingly credible (well, not really, but she's not as bad as one would expect) as window dressing turned queen Salina of the Britons, trying to keep her people's semi-sovereignty while romancing the Roman general Justinian (Don Murray, pretty darn bland) who is supposed to be keeping her and her people in check. What I liked about this most, apart from the nice location photography and the presence of 2nd Dr. Who Patrick Troughton as wise warrior Tristram was the slightly more complex than expected political intrigue of the thing, with druids, merchants, British nobles and Romans all playing off against each other. What I liked least were the very cheap, poorly choreographed battle scenes where hardly a drop of red paint is even to be seen, and the swords are so obviously dull and plaster that you can't help laughing at times. Still, Carita is cute and the pacing keeps one more interested than not.

DVD rental (double DVD with Vengeance of She watched previously).

It's Hammer Time!

[scorpio-x · 6 July 2001]

Ah, yes, let us now all take a moment and consider our debt to the fine British gentlemen of Hammer Films, who kept the 60s and 70s full of luridly colored historo-horror epics. Arguably, the essence of the Hammer style is 1,001 ways to nearly show naked breasts, and "The Viking Queen" is a high example of such. The queen of the title seems to be based on Bodicea, bloodthirsty queen of the Britons. Still, she is a Viking, even though she is supposedly British, and queen of the Druids, even though they all worship the Greek god Zeus. Whatever. Said queen is played by "International Beauty" Carita in a style so rigid that "wooden" doesn't even cover it. This was her only film--I believe she was actually a hairstylist and did Jane Fonda's astonishing do's in the Euro-Poe flick "Spirits of the Dead." Starring opposite her as her hot-panted, eyeliner-ed Roman love interest is Don Murray, a long way from Marilyn Monroe and the "Bus Stop."

Still, my favorite scene is where the British-Viking-Greek-Druids are sacrificing Romans to the fiery pit and there's this great awkward moment where some kind of assistant priest has to climb down from the big rock and stoke the fire for the next human sacrifice while all the other British-Viking-Greek-Druids stand waiting impatiently. I hate it when that happens.

THE VIKING QUEEN (Don Chaffey, 1967) **1/2

[Bunuel1976 · 5/10 · 27 April 2007]

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.

Middle-of-the-woad.

[BA_Harrison · 5/10 · 7 April 2008]

When Don Chaffey directed the historically ludicrous and rather camp dinosaur epic One Million Years B.C., he cleverly distracted viewers from the film's sillier aspects through the use of stunning stop-motion creature effects, and Racquel Welch's even more stunning chest. The result was a completely daft, but thoroughly entertaining piece of schlock cinema.

With The Viking Queen, an equally silly and factually inaccurate sword and sandal movie, he once again uses 'big breast diversion tactics'—only this time with less successful results. Perhaps Chaffey should have thrown caution to the wind and chucked in a T-rex or two!

Beautiful, pillow-chested model Carina plays Celtic Queen (yes... Celtic!) Salina of the Iceni, who is forced to pick up a sword and fight the Romans, despite the fact that her lover, Justinian, is their leader. Carina sure is gorgeous, but even her breath-taking looks and marvellous physique are not enough to prevent one from noticing her wooden acting, the dreadful script, and plodding direction.

Stay the course, and you will be treated to a couple of unintentionally hilarious scenes (of which the lowering of Romans into a fiery pit was my favourite), a smattering of partial nudity (nipple tassles spoil the fun), and a silly battle with Boudicca-style warrior women in chariots (with blades on the wheels) attacking Romans with glee.

But even these enjoyably dumb moments cannot stop The Viking Queen from being a merely mediocre effort.

Very bad

[MarioB · 1/10 · 1 August 2000]

Sometimes, some movies are so bad that they becomes good.

Everbody knows what I mean. This is one of that kind. It's also a true Hammer film : very cheap but with sex in it. See the viking queen goes to war against the Romans in mini-skirt! See the slaves! Add a little bit of Ben Hur in it, just for the laugh (chariot race). That girl, Salina, is very awful. That was her only film. Don Murray looks like a used car saleseman dress in Roman. Ah! Those great trash Z-Movies of the 1950's and 1960's! There's a lot of those today in the USA, but they have million dollars for the shooting and the publicity. You know Armageddon, Independance day and all those things. I prefer the cheap for the past. They were bad, but they have a kind of sincerity.

An engaging look at Celtic/Roman Britain

[wyrdstick · 7/10 · 3 December 2001]

Although it has its quirks and is horribly mis-named (the Vikings entered the European scene 700 years after the movie's setting), this movie is a fun and engaging look at a much-overlooked historical stage. Some disbelief-suspension is required (the title character's accent, for example), but historical-fiction fans should find this film quite entertaining. While the costumes and characters (e.g. the sensational depiction of the Druids) might not be 100% believable, the plotline and settings more than make up for it. As a fan of both the old Hammer style and of Roman history, I was quite engrossed. I just wish they'd called it "Queen of the Celts"!

Strictly for Hammer completists and those bored on a Sunday afternoon

[tomgillespie2002 · 4/10 · 30 November 2012]

Never a company to let something like historical accuracy get in the way of some good ol' fashioned blood shed and some barely covered breasts, Hammer Studios went all-out anachronistic in 1967, telling the tale of The Viking Queen, Salinas (Carita), a British druid who was not a Viking and seemed to worship the Greek god Zeus. It's a rather dull tale about Salinas' love affair with invading Roman general Justinian (Don Murray), whose truce causes both the Druids and the Romans to heavily oppose it and wage war against each other. With Justinian raising taxes of the rich merchants, and lowering them for the poor small-folk, a plot is forged between the merchants and the usurping Roman Octavian (Andrew Keir) to overthrow Justinian and conquer the Druids.

Shot with an almost sickening lucidity, The Viking Queen is certainly an example of Hammer's strives for visual lushness and oily-skinned beauties, possibly to compensate for the sheer monotony on show. This was Finnish fashion model Cairta's only starring role (she appeared in small roles in a couple of other productions), and although she certainly looks the part (in terms of what Hammer were obviously looking for), her inexperience shows and zones in a rather flat performance. The wildly historical inaccuracy can certainly be forgiven if the film was entertaining, such as it was in Hammer's Rasputin The Mad Monk (1966), but there is nothing going for this film apart from the odd amusing camp performance, and the sight of Nita Lorraine's (credited as Nubian Girl Slave) shiny flesh. Strictly for Hammer completists and those bored on a Sunday afternoon.

www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com

It is supposed to be fun, and it is.

[andrejedi-1 · 7/10 · 3 December 2011]

I agree it is not historically correct. But there are still lots of fun watching this. Despite it was made in the 60s, one can still watch it nowadays and find it enjoyable. The final battle scene was entertaining. Too bad they let the two princesses slain so easily. (Did I see Octavius fondling the dying Talia after he received his own death blow? ) Of course if made today, the battle scene should be more crowded. (There was hardly a cohort there, not to mention a legion and computer technology would help that out today). And the love scenes would be more explicit (and showing).

The names of the three princesses were not very cleverly or carefully chosen. No Briton princess would be called Beatrice or Salina at that time. (and of course, like many here said, no Viking either) But who cares? It is supposed to be fun, and it is.

Misleadingly titled historical folly - very camp, very silly, and very bad (in a bizarrely enjoyable way).

[barnabyrudge · 2/10 · 25 January 2007]

Director Don Chaffey had enjoyed such a box office success with One Million Years B.C that the folks at Hammer entrusted him with this intentionally campy adventure flick set in Roman Britain. Once again, Chaffey is called upon to provide semi-naked women, bloodthirsty battles, woefully inaccurate history and sensationalised plotting, all in the name of entertainment. Alas, the trick doesn't work twice and The Viking Queen emerges a curious historical folly, more memorable for the wrong reasons (stupid dialogue, continuity errors, over-the-top acting, etc.) than the right ones.

In Celtic times, a dying king of the Britons makes a final wish that his daughter Salina (Carita) should take control of the Iceni tribe after he has passed away. His request is for Salina to forge an alliance with the honourable and honest Roman, Justinian (Don Murray). As requested, Salina tries to uphold her father's dying wish. indeed, she even finds herself falling in love with the Roman. However, the druids - who believe it is their right to advise and guide Salina in her decisions - are not pleased by this growing bond between Iceni and Roman forces, and forbid them to consummate their relationship via marriage. Similarly, some of the more aggressive and attack-minded Romans are just as troubled by Justinian's actions, so they too try to set up obstacles in the path of his plans of love. Octavian (Andrew Keir) in particular is hell-bent on preventing a meaningful comradeship between the two tribes, and he does everything he can to stir trouble. While Justinian is away fighting a battle in Anglesey, the Romans take advantage of his absence to abuse and mistreat the Iceni people. Ultimately things come to a head and much blood is shed as Salina is forced to put the pride and passion of her people before everything else. She leads her tribe into a fatal battle against the Romans, sacrificing her chance of love in order to protect their way of life..

The fact that Salina is actually a Celtic queen, living in an era some 700 years before the Vikings had any meaningful link with British history, is a sore point that has been discussed by other reviewers already. Not that script-writer Clarke Reynolds seems particularly bothered by it, evading the issue by adding a half-line to explain that her mother was a Viking and therefore she is, technically, of Viking ancestry. The attractive photography (by Stephen Dade) on Irish locations is one of the film's few pleasures. Bad movie as it is, it still looks colourful and eye-catching throughout. The over-the-top acting is also enjoyable in a cruel and twisted way (I guess it's that idea of revelling in the misfortune of others - taking pleasure in watching good actors in terrible trouble and all that). Donald Houston is perhaps the guiltiest of all, giving a performance that is embarrassingly unrestrained as the trouble-making druid Maelgan. Carita, on the other hand, is an amateurish non-actor given the responsibility of carrying the picture when, in actual fact, she is simply incapable of doing so (she never starred in another film). See The Viking Queen if you're a fan of Hammer and you don't mind history that is camp and inaccurate. avoid it if you want something serious, enlightening and believable.

Unexpectedly Good

[Wuchakk · 7/10 · 11 March 2014]

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

Viking Druids Who Worship...Zeus?

[Uriah43 · 4/10 · 19 October 2013]

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.

There's a way to make this movie better...

[boom-10 · 25 March 2003]

The Viking Queen is not an epic about the history of Romans in England. It is not a movie about romance (although there's a half-hearted attempt at it). This isn't, as the cover claims, a movie of action. Sit back, relax, and let your mind switch off. That's how to enjoy this film. In the inimitable style that brought us other pseudo-historical films, Hammer has ensured that our time and money is not wasted. It's certainly worth the wait to see the bladed chariot of death. Please don't try to praise this film, or even attempt to call it a classic. It's a joyful romp through the English countryside with an attractive blond, a wicked high priest, and a Machavellian second-in-command. Enjoy!

"There's a time to be a queen and a time to be a woman."

[utgard14 · 4/10 · 16 December 2014]

Boring costumer about the love affair of a Celtic queen and a Roman general while the Celts and Romans battle it out in ancient Britain. Despite the title, it doesn't have a damn thing to do with Vikings. The misleading title is the sort of thing I'd expect from Roger Corman, not Hammer. It's all very dull. Even the action is unexciting. The only times it got a reaction out of me were the times I laughed at the silly dialogue, particularly from Donald Houston's eccentric Druid priest. A fine cast of mostly British actors playing dress up. Finnish actress Carita plays the lead in her only starring role. She does a decent job. Of note, perhaps, to Doctor Who fans because this was the movie Patrick Troughton was filming when he got the offer to be the Doctor.

It seems quite historically accurate....if you are INSANE!

[planktonrules · 2/10 · 22 October 2011]

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.

Crazy Title Crazy Film

[malcolmgsw · 5/10 · 29 October 2021]

This film is the epitome of a good bad film. It is so bad it is really entertaining. Hammer also seemed to have devised the ultimate in show lots of cleveage without showing the naughty bits.

It has a good cast,leads apart. Wilfred Lawson literally on his last legs. An unrecognisable Donald Houston hamming it up for all he was worth,Patrick Troughton and Adrienne Corri.

Not too much of a surprise that this wasn't a box office smash.

Not aware of it having been shown on TV,so the DVD makes us aware of the efforts of all these famed thesps,and not forgetting Dennis Shaw in a fetching wig.

Roman rule, Celt customs, Druid rites

[Kakueke · 6/10 · 3 February 2002]

Salina is the lovely daughter chosen by her dying Celtic father to succeed her as the royal ruler in Roman-occupied Britain, just after the time of Christ, because she would be the moderate one among his daughters--not too militant or to soft--she would have the best judgment in dealing with the Romans. This is immediately compromised because the Roman ruler Justinian (played by Don Murray) and she quickly fall in love. Her affections for him are partially stirred because issues involving Roman rule include religion, rites, and taxes, and Justinian is fairer than other less virtuous Romans in his orbit in being accommodating. The Celts also acknowledge the protection the Romans provide against bandits etc. However, the Celtic Druids will not allow the marriage of Salina and Justinian.

Trouble is instigated by the bad elements of the Romans and Celts--led by Roman honcho Octavian and Celtic merchants whose taxes have been raised while farmers with bad harvests have been given relief. This has been done to draw off Roman forces (including Justinian) from the seat of government and split them up to quell the scattered Celtic attacks, while the intrigues of Octavian and his schemers are orchestrated, and they turn the queen and her coterie against the Romans. (Note a principal Roman administrator is named Tiberian--do up the aura with those imperial nomenclatures.)

"The Viking Queen" has good visuals, and offers the viewer its attempt to portray the customs, dress, and Druid religious rites of the Celts. However, the title is a mystery--actually, maybe not--it is more dynamic than "Celtic Queen." Anyway, the women were sometimes dressed (or pictured) in ways just short of "revealing." The chief disappointment is the ending. Viewers want a certain type of ending in this type of movie, but it wasn't to be, and is a letdown as entertainment. However, recommended otherwise.

A bad film yes, but not one of the worst

[adamscastlevania2 · 2/10 · 2 October 2014]

(17%) Although not as awful as many have claimed, this is still really quite poor. The direction is very average to say the least, and is not up to Hammer's usual high standard from around this period, also the editing is really awful at times, and the script is pretty dire. On a plus note the costumes, particularly the Roman ones, are really well done, so at least someone was on the ball, and for a PG there is a surprising amount of bare naked (well almost) ladies on screen, but it is not enough to save the movie from its very poor action sequences, dull pacing and lack of decent performances. One for Hammer die-hards only, everyone else should stay well away.

Pseudohistorical Ancient Britains v Romans story.

[LW-08854 · 6/10 · 31 December 2023]

The Viking Queen is a fictional story very very loosely based on real events. It's a Hammer production but this is no horror film but more of a period movie. Movies set in ancient Britain are few and far between, good ones even less so, this one is okay but I wouldn't say it's great. The film follows an ancient British Queen who inherits her kingdom from her father. She forms a romantic attachment to the roman governor but trouble strikes when the druids conspire with a roman traitor and some British merchants to cause trouble.

Getting into the movie I thought some of the costume design for the romans was quite good, just brown leather armour and red cloaks, you can't really go wrong. For the Brits it was a mixed bag, the white clad druids looked interesting, the rags for the ordinary brits and blue war paint worked well, but our Queen at one point seems to be wearing a pair of purple hot pants which didn't feel right at all. The filming locations all looked okay to me, it's shot mostly in the country, and the climate looks right. There's a bit thrown in about some mistletoe and a sort of Stonehenge set to invoke a pagan feeling, they didn't worship Zeus though otherwise the romans and Brits would have been pretty much on the same page. Some of the scenes with chariots are shot quite well, the film also portrays human sacrifice too another unpleasant Celtic custom apparently. I thought the flogging scene was done quite well in some respects, the love story is the cheesiest aspect but the final battle is not bad in terms of the fighting and the number of extras included.

The film's main weaknesses are the love story, some of the obvious budget constraints and some other more fanciful story elements. The strengths are that it competently does give us a story of conflict between the romans and ancient Britain's which is what we'd all probably come into the movie hoping for. As an actual history lesson though there's a lot more invention than fact. The film is also starting to look a bit dated now, very much a 60s movie.

No Vikings in The Viking Queen

[bkoganbing · 3/10 · 31 December 2013]

What an absolute mishmash of a historical film that Hammer inflicted first on the British and then the world wide movie-going public with The Viking Queen. But as in their horror films the accent was on blood and gore as opposed to historical accuracy. And for a film called The Viking Queen, Vikings don't even appear in this epic.

It is the dying wish of an ancient Briton king that his daughter share rulership with a nice Roman guy sent over to bring the enlightened ways of Rome to those uncivilized Celts. Don Murray is the Roman legion head and Carita in the second of her only two film is our Celtic princess. They love each other and have some ideas considerably ahead of their times, but too many vested interests on both sides get in the way.

On her side there's Donald Houston playing a Druid priest who keeps invoking the Greek King of the Gods Zeus. He's the best in the film, he has glorious part that calls for overacting, he knows this film is a Thanksgiving gobbler and goes full blast. With that full head of hair and beard that makes him look like Charlton Heston as Moses on steroids, Houston is light years away from the pretty youth on that South Sea Isle with Jean Simmons in The Blue Lagoon.

And among his crowd is his jealous second in command Andrew Keir who thinks there's only one way to deal with conquered people. Keir takes over while Murray's away on business and starts a war where most of the cast eventually is killed.

If you like Hammer films for their gore than you'll like The Viking Queen. But personally with references to Zeus and characters like Osiris from Egyptian culture and Priam who was the King of Troy this is one mess of a film and everyone connected with this knew it.

Silly, But Entertaining

[claudio_carvalho · 6/10 · 8 April 2022]

In the invaded Britain kingdom of Icena, Queen Salina (Carita) inherits the throne after the death of her father King Priam (Wilfrid Lawson). The King has made a deal with the fair leader of the Roman Legion Justinian (Don Murray) to share the government of Icena, despite the wishes of the Druids leader that wants war against the invaders. Out of the blue, Salina falls in love with Justino, and brings protests in both sides. A greedy merchant decides to promote the Druid uprising in the countryside to force Justino to travel and makes a deal with his right-hand Octavian (Andrew Keir) to overthrow Justino and begin a war in Icena.

"The Viking King" is a silly, but entertaining romantic adventure by Hammer very funny. The writer might be under influence when wrote this story so crazy it is. The Viking queen is not Nordic, but British. The druids worship the Greek god Zeus. The beginning of the romance between Salina and Justino is hilarious, after a chariot race. Anyway, the colors are beautiful and the film entertains in a rainy afternoon. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "The Viking Queen"

No history here

[Leofwine_draca · 4/10 · 9 December 2021]

THE VIKING QUEEN (1967) is one of Hammer's last forays into period adventure movies and that's no real bad thing, because it turns out to be quite awful. It's one of the most historically inaccurate movies I've seen, a bargain basement oddity with no Vikings at all; rather we get a Celtic uprising loosely based on the story of Boudicca of the Iceni and her battle against the Roman occupiers. Here, characters swoon around in love and talk about going "on honeymoon" while the druids worship Zeus (!), so I can only imagine that the writers skipped history lessons at school.

The film lacks budget and decent cast members; Lee was offered a role but wisely declined, so that leaves us stuck with interesting character actors like Patrick Troughton, Niall MacGinnis and Andrew Keir in supporting roles. Finnish actress Carita tries for haughty grandeur as the titular character, like Ursula Andress in SHE, but the effect isn't really the same, although she is very beautiful. There isn't much violence and there's only one battle towards the end, but Hammer throw in as much female flesh as they dare get away with. I thought the whole thing was quite silly and sadly just not very interesting.

Low-budget and low-brow, but has some degree of camp appeal

[Poseidon-3 · 28 April 2004]

During the height of the breasts-on-display, low-budget-epic era in the mid-60's, Murray got off at the wrong "Bus Stop" and wound up flailing around in this sword and sandal howler. He plays the Roman ruler of a Celtic tribe in ancient Britain. The Celtic King dies and appoints one of his three daughters to rule in his place (even though she is virtually a figurehead because of the Roman occupation.) He picks Carita and, because her mother was a Viking, she is dubbed The Viking Queen. (Apparently, she picked up her mother's accent along the way even though she was raised in Britain?) Murray and Carita have an affection for one another, but it is put to the test when he leaves to fight an enemy and his second-in-command starts wreaking havoc on her people. Finally, she's had enough and rises to battle the Romans even at the expense of her relationship with Murray. Carita is lovely (as any former model should be), but her acting inexperience shows much of the time. Murray couldn't possibly be more miscast and he and Carita have only adequate chemistry at best. They do have their own little mini-Ben Hur chariot race which ends up in a swamp, but their great love is not aptly demonstrated in the film. Corri and Pagett play her sisters. One looks old enough to be her mother and dabbles in the occult while the other has a tentative love affair with a local bruiser played by Caffrey. Houston is a raving, rabble-rousing Druid priest who, at times, makes Victor Buono look subtle. Actors like Keir and Troughton attempt to give real performances, but are done in by the pedestrian script. The ad copy for this film promised all sorts of wild events on screen, but most of them are presented in a more-than-tame manner. There is also a heavy dose of hilarious feminine pulchritude on display as scantily-clad ladies show off their bodies with strategic arm, pasty and hair placement to cover the naughtiest bits while they lie around stroking and petting the various men of the cast. One, in particular (referred to as the Nubian slave) is an obviously Caucasian girl in blackface with "Star Trek" make up who probably has more costume changes than the lead! It's not the dullest film ever made and has a few intriguing moments and some eye-catching scenery and costumes, but doesn't hold up as history, nor as titillation.

Doesn't live up to its hype

[Space_Mafune · 5/10 · 7 December 2002]

Looking at the DVD box cover or watching the trailer, one expects out and out adventure and excitement. Well in reality this film doesn't have a whole lot of that. Sure there are some exciting scenes in there particularly towards the end but most of the best scenes in the film involve things used to shock the audience more than anything else.

There are some fine actors involved in this one including Andrew Keir as the villainous Octavian and Patrick Troughton as the heroic and peace-minded Tristram. Carita is also surprisingly good in the lead role of Salina-the Viking Queen(although even she cannot quite match the box cover). Don Murray is fine in the role Justinian and these few actors/actresses almost rise the film up a notch in two in quality if only there weren't so many scenes of people walking, riding, etc. which do become very tiresome and boring.

When it comes to historical accuracy I don't think that was ever the intention behind this film --the trailer, poster and DVD box cover suggests action excitement but one never really gets enough of that from this film. Many of the more shocking scenes are also much too obvious and border on cheesy they are so overdone.