Last of the Vikings

Mad King Sveno's army sweeps across Norway, overwhelming the scattered chiefdoms and slaughtering fierce warriors. When a shipload of Vikings, under the command of Harald and his younger brother Guntar, return from a three year voyage, they're stunned to find that their leader, Harald's father, has been executed and that their homeland is now under the rule of a sadistic Swedish tyrant. Too few in number to seriously threaten Sveno's superior forces, they instead send Harald, disguised as the Danish ambassador, to map out the defenses of the king's impregnable fortress. Hoping to get in and out quickly before his dangerous ruse is discovered, Harald's plans are dealt a cruel twist when he discovers his brother Guntar crucified in Sveno's dungeon. The Viking's bitter fury will only be quelled by spilling Swedish blood.

Last of the Vikings vividly captures the harsh brutality of medieval life and battle in the cold Northern reaches of Europe with surprising authenticity, considering the fact that it was a predominantly Italian production. Cameron Mitchell excels as the grim warrior, Harald, at the center of this action-packed sword spectacle. Last of the Vikings was one of a series of European films Mitchell did in the Sixties, midway between earlier acclaimed roles in Death of a Salesman (1951), Les Miserables (1952) and How to Marry a Millionaire (1953), and his subsequent fame in the popular TV Western, "The High Chaparral" (1967-1971).