The Long Ships (1964)

Director:

Jack Cardiff

Writers:

Frans G. Bengtsson (novel)
Beverley Cross (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

24 June 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure

Tagline:

The Greatest Viking Adventure Of Them All!

Plot:

There is a legend about a great bell, called "The Mother of Voices," made of pure gold, three times the size of a man, made by monks many years ago...

Plot Keywords:

Bell | Death | Gold | Viking | Brother Brother Relationship

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award.

Cast

Richard Widmark	...	Rolfe
Sidney Poitier	...	Aly Mansuh
Russ Tamblyn	...	Orm
Rosanna Schiaffino	...	Aminah
Oskar Homolka	...	Krok
Edward Judd	...	Sven
Lionel Jeffries	...	Aziz
Beba Loncar	...	Gerda
Clifford Evans	...	King Harald
Gordon Jackson	...	Vahlin
Colin Blakely	...	Rhykka
David Lodge	...	Olla
Henry Oscar	...	Auctioneer
Paul Stassino	...	Raschild
Jeanne Moody	...	Ylva
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Milan Bosiljcic	...	(uncredited)
Zorica Gajdas	...	(uncredited)
Dragan Lukic-Omoljac	...	(uncredited)
Cliff Lyons	...	(uncredited)
Charles H. Radilak	...	(uncredited)
Leonard Rossiter	...	Persian Soldier Who Falls On Sword To Prove Loyalty (uncredited)
Ljubo Skiljevic	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
Jack Cardiff

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Frans G. Bengtsson		novel "The Long Ships" (as Frans Bengtsson)
Beverley Cross		screenplay
Berkely Mather		screenplay

Produced by
Irving Allen	....	producer
Denis O'Dell	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Dusan Radic

Cinematography by
Christopher Challis

Film Editing by
Geoffrey Foot

Production Design by
Vlastimir Gavrik		(uncredited)
Zoran Zorcic		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Bill Constable		(as William Constable)
Vlastimir Gavrik
John Hoesli
Zoran Zorcic
Veljko Despotovic		(uncredited)
Dragoljub Ivkov		(uncredited)
Vladislav Lasic		(uncredited)
Aleksandar Milovic		(uncredited)
Miodrag Miric		(uncredited)
Milan Todorovic		(uncredited)

Costume Design by
David Ffolkes
Anthony Mendleson

Makeup Department
A.R. Scott	....	hairdresser
Neville Smallwood	....	makeup artist
Radmila Todorovic	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
David W. Orton	....	production manager (as David Orton)
Milenko Stankovic	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Bluey Hill	....	assistant director
Cliff Lyons	....	second unit director
Stevan Petrovic	....	assistant director
Stevan Petrovic	....	second unit director (uncredited)
Michael Reeves	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
A. Benzon	....	mosaics by

Sound Department
Paddy Cunningham	....	sound recordist
Gordon Daniel	....	sound editor
Vladimir Stankovic	....	boom operator
Hugh Strain	....	sound recordist
Hugh Strain	....	dubbing crew (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Sydney Pearson	....	special effects (as Sid Pearson)
Bill Warrington	....	special effects
Wally Armitage	....	special effects (uncredited)
Brian Gamby	....	special effects (uncredited)
Martin Gutteridge	....	special effects (uncredited)
Fred Heather	....	special effects (uncredited)
Garth Inns	....	special effects (uncredited)
Malcolm King	....	special effects (uncredited)
Jimmy Ward	....	special effects (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Ivor Beddoes	....	matte artist

Stunts
Ken Buckle	....	stunts (uncredited)
Milan Mitic	....	stunts (uncredited)
Slavoljub Plavsic-Zvonce	....	stunts (uncredited)
Skender Radotina	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Austin Dempster	....	camera operator
Skeets Kelly	....	camera operator: second unit
Ray Parslow	....	camera operator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ron Beck	....	wardrobe master

Music Department
Borislav Pascan	....	conductor
Muir Mathieson	....	conductor (uncredited)

Other crew
Angela Allen	....	continuity
Maurice Binder	....	title designer: prologue and main title
Eileen Head	....	continuity
Erik Kjersgaard	....	technical advisor (as Erik Kiersgaard)
Paul Maslansky	....	assistant to producer
Bob Simmons	....	action sequences

Production Companies

• Avala Film (as A Warwick/Avala Production)
• Warwick Film Productions

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures Corporation (1964) (UK) (theatrical) (presents)
• Columbia Pictures (1964) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1967) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Columbia-Bavaria Filmgesellschaft m.b.H. (1964) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (2003) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (1996) (USA) (VHS) (pan/scan)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Video Ltd. (1988) (UK) (VHS) (pan/scan)

Also Known As:

Dugi brodovi (Yugoslavia: Serbian title)

Runtime:

USA:126 min

Country:

UK | Yugoslavia

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) | Australia:PG | West Germany:12 (nf) | Norway:16 | Netherlands:12 (2003) (DVD) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Yugoslavia

Company:

Avala Film

Trivia:

Film known for a torture contraption called the "Mare of Steel" depicted as a huge curved blade as large as a Trojan Horse, which unlucky prisoners were forced to climb and ride down on their exposed bellies, hands tied, splaying them open at it's base and impaling them on a bed of two foot steel spikes.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The Crusades took place after the era of the Vikings.

Quotes:

Rolfe: If we ever had children, my lady, what princely liars they would be!

Who Gets IT?

Oskar Homolka got it. Richard Widmark got it.Even Gordon Jackson got it.Does anyone remember "the Crimson Pirate"? Folks this is not history! This is fun. One of My childhood favorites. The score that every one seems to love is the tipoff.This is going to be a swashbuckler! Only Poitier seems to think he's playing Shakespeare's Moor. This is a great adventure movie! So well done in fact;that no one, in my Saturday matinee audience,even noticed the interracial romance.Kudos to Cardiff for pulling that off! Quite a feat in 1963! This is the kind of film parents hated,because scrap lumber and yardsticks disappeared to make swords,and every trash can lid became a battered shield [that no longer fit the can]. By Sunday morning there were many bruised and splinter wounded 10 year olds You should rate this type of movie by the number of bandaids passed out to young berserkers!