The Saga of the Viking Women and Their Voyage to the Waters of the Great Sea Serpent (also known as The Viking Women and the Sea Serpent) is a 1957 film directed by Roger Corman. It starred Abby Dalton, Susan Cabot and June Kenney.
A group of lonely Viking women build a ship and set off across the sea to locate their missing menfolk, only to fall into the clutches of the barbarians that also hold their men captive. There is a cameo appearance by the sea serpent.
Plot[]
A group of lonely Viking women build a ship and set off across the sea to locate their missing menfolk, only to fall into the clutches of the barbarians that also hold their men captive. There is a cameo appearance by the sea serpent.
In the Viking era, somewhere in the North Atlantic area, the Viking Women are awaiting the return of their Viking Men from a hunting expedition and, growing tired of the long wait, the Viking women, led by Desir, (and, possibly desire as Viking Nights are long and cold), set sail in search of their Viking Men. In the course of the journey, their ship is destroyed and a handful (of the best-looking ones) are washed upon an Island. There, they find their Viking Men, who are being kept prisoners in a large rock quarry by a primitive band of Viking-era Barbarian Warriors. With much resourcefulness, they rescue the men-folk and all set sail for Viking Land, pursued hotly by the Barbarian Warriors. But the pursuit party is destroyed by a Viking-era Sea Monster, who then turns its attentions upon the Viking Flotilla, but Vedrick tosses a sword at the Sea Monster, which instantly deflates it.
Cast[]
- Abby Dalton as Desir
- Susan Cabot as Enger
- Brad Jackson as Vedric
- June Kenney as Asmild
- Richard Devon as Stark
- Betsy Jones-Moreland as Thyra
- Jonathan Haze as Ottar
- Jay Sayer as Senya
- Lynn Bernay as Dagda
- Sally Todd as Sanda
- Gary Conway as Jarl
- Mike Forrest as Zarko
- Wilda Taylor as Grimolt Dancer
Production[]
Corman says he was approached to make the film by special effects experts Irving Block and Jack Rabin, who had acquired a script by Louis Goldman. Block and Rabin made a presentation about the effects which Corman called "breathtaking. Their pictures were beautiful, absolutely wonderful." Corman felt the "script was not especially great" but was persuaded to do it by Block and Rabin's promise to work for a small fee in exchange for a cut of the profits. Corman was reluctant to put his own money into the film. He went to AIP, who agreed to finance $70,000 to $80,000, although Corman said the presentation was more suited for a $2 million picture.
Corman was reportedly inspired to make the film by the production of The Vikings (1958). He felt if he made the movie fast enough he could have it in cinemas before that movie and take advantage of publicity for the bigger budgeted film. In June 1957 Corman announced he would make the film for $300,000, triple of what he was used to. He said $50,000 of the budget would be assigned to special effects by Block and Rabin; Corman would normally spend $2,000 on effects. Another article that month said the effects would cost $210,000 and the movie would be Corman's twentieth and most expensive film to date. Rabin and Block had done effects on Rocketship XM, Kronos and Invisible Boy and filming would start in August, with release through AIP.
Release[]
The Saga of the Viking Women and Their Voyage of the Waters of the Great Sea Serpent was released in theaters in December 1957 by American International Pictures as a double feature with The Astounding She-Monster. The film was released on DVD by Lionsgate Home Entertainment on April 18, 2006, as part of a two-disc set, with Teenage Caveman as the first disc.
Reception[]
Dan Lester of Electric Sheep magazine wrote in his review: "This is a cheap looking film even by Roger Corman's standards. There is only one proper set, the Grimalts' dining hall (probably left over from another film), with most of the action taking place in featureless outdoor such as woods and beaches". Film critic Glenn Erickson wrote that although the cast was "gung-ho and athletic [...] the whole exercise plays like a high school effort," and that "[t]he laughable script is one howlingly bad line reading after another." TV Guide called it "one of the strangest films to emerge from the fertile imagination of Roger Corman".
In popular culture[]
The Saga of the Viking Women and Their Voyage to the Waters of the Great Sea Serpent was later featured in an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000.
External links[]
The Saga of the Viking Women and Their Voyage to the Waters of the Great Sea Serpent (1957) at the Internet Movie Database- The Saga of the Viking Women and Their Voyage to the Waters of the Great Sea Serpent (1957) at AllMovie
- The Saga of the Viking Women and Their Voyage to the Waters of the Great Sea Serpent (1957) at Rotten Tomatoes
- The Saga of the Viking Women and Their Voyage to the Waters of the Great Sea Serpent at Wikipedia
|
This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at The Saga of the Viking Women and Their Voyage to the Waters of the Great Sea Serpent. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Horror Film Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License. |