- For the MST3K episode, see MST3K 317 - The Saga of the Viking Women and Their Voyage to the Waters of the Great Sea Serpent.
The Saga of the Viking Women and Their Voyage to the Waters of the Great Sea Serpent is a 1957 mythology/folklore film directed by Roger Corman and written by Lawrence L. Goldman from a story by Irving Block.
Its title is sometimes shortened to Viking Women and the Sea Serpent.
Plot[]
The Great Sea Serpent attacks the Viking Women
A group of Viking women have been alone for three years, since their men disappeared on a sea journey. The women set out to locate the men, only to face many perils.
Desir is the de facto leader of the Viking women. She is challenged by Enger, who covets Vedric (Desir's betrothed). Ottar, the only remaining male of the village, stows away on the Viking women's vessel to join them on their voyage.
The group encounters a shark, a sea serpent, a killer storm, a vortex, and their ship is struck and set afire by lightning. They jump out of the sinking boat and are washed up on the beach at the feet of the Grimwald Warriors.
The cruel Grimwald leader Stark and his son Senya imprison the newly-arrived Viking women. The Grimwalds then force the Vikings to undertake a series of challenges. There's a boar hunt wherein Desir saves Senya's life, then a party with an arm wrestling contest between Senya and Desir which devolves into a fight. The women travel to a cave to find the captive male Vikings, including Vedric.
Meanwhile, Engar cozies up to Stark, getting special privileges. She visits Vedric in the cave and offers to free him if he will run away with her. Senya is struck by lightning and is killed.
Vedric and Desir are set to be burned at the stake, but a timely storm saves them. The remaining Vikings escape, narrowly avoiding the sea serpent before returning to their home.
Cast[]
- Abby Dalton as Desir
- Susan Cabot as Enger
- Bradford Jackson as Vedric
- June Kenney as Asmild
- Richard Devon as Stark
- Jonathan Haze as Ottar
- Sally Todd as Sanda
- Jay Sayer as Senya
- Betsy Jones-Moreland as Thyra
Notes[]
- Cliff Gorman, who would later play Emory in The Boys in the Band, auditioned for the role of Senja, bringing the same interpretation to that character that he will bring to Emory, but Corman rejected him as "way too butch", and instead selected Jay Sayer. Sayer's rather eccentric performance may be partially explained by the fact that the character is supposed to be about fifteen years old.
- Susan Cabot recalled an incident that happened during the scene where the Viking women first set out in the boat to look for their men. She said that there were 11 women in the "Viking ship", which was being towed out to sea by a boat that was out of camera range. When the scene was over and the towing boat was supposed to stop, they discovered that the man piloting the tow boat had fallen asleep, and no matter how loudly they yelled at him to wake up, the sounds of the ocean drowned them out. The bottom of the "Viking ship" began to fill up with water, and out of the 11 women on the ship, only Cabot and Abby Dalton could swim. They finally caught the attention of two passing surfers, who took a couple of the girls and headed to shore, but by the time the rest of the girls and the boat reached land, which was the base of a cliff jutting out into the ocean, the tide was beginning to rise and the sand at the base of the cliff was quickly being covered over by water. The girls had to climb up the face of this cliff, with the water slowly rising after them, until they got to the top of it. There they ran into some film-crew members who had been searching for them, and they took the girls back to the set on buses.
MST3K Connections[]
- Director and producer Roger Corman was director and producer for It Conquered the World, Teenage Cave Man, Gunslinger, Day the World Ended, and The Undead. He was also executive producer for Attack of the Giant Leeches, High School Big Shot, Night of the Blood Beast, Deathstalker and the Warriors from Hell, Wizards of the Lost Kingdom, Wizards of the Lost Kingdom II, Deathstalker II, Lords of the Deep (in which he also portrayed a corporate executive), and Munchie, as well as director for Swamp Diamonds, producer for Avalanche, and distribution producer for Starcrash.
- Story writer and special photographic effects creator Irving Block was matte painter for Rocketship X-M and special effects technician for World Without End.
- June Kenney also portrayed Carol Flynn in Earth vs the Spider, a basement girl in Village of the Giants, and Betty Scott in Bloodlust!.
- Richard Devon also portrayed Satan in The Undead.
- Jonathan Haze also portrayed Pvt. Manuel Oritz in It Conquered the World, the curly-haired boy in Teenage Cave Man, Charlie in Swamp Diamonds, Jake Hayes in Gunslinger, and a contaminated man in Day the World Ended.
- Sally Todd also portrayed Natalie Andries in The Unearthly.
- Michael Forest (Zarko) also portrayed a photographer in The Deadly Mantis.
- Herman Hack (Grimault rider) also portrayed a barfly in Gunslinger.
- Signe Hack (Grimault woman) also portrayed a villager in The Undead.
- Ross Sturlin (Grimault warrior) also wore monster costumes in Teenage Cave Man, Attack of the Giant Leeches, and Night of the Blood Beast.
- Executive producer Samuel Z. Arkoff was also executive producer for The Amazing Colossal Man, It Conquered the World, Earth vs the Spider, Teenage Cave Man, War of the Colossal Beast, Gunslinger, The Incredible Melting Man, Day the World Ended, Terror from the Year 5000, The She-Creature, and Squirm, as well as producer for Bride of the Monster, I Was a Teenage Werewolf, Reptilicus, The Time Travelers, The Land That Time Forgot, At the Earth's Core, and Circus of Horrors.
- Executive producer James H. Nicholson was also executive producer for The Amazing Colossal Man, It Conquered the World, Earth vs the Spider, Teenage Cave Man, War of the Colossal Beast, Gunslinger, Day the World Ended, Terror from the Year 5000, and I Was a Teenage Werewolf, as well as producer for The She-Creature.
- Composer Albert Glasser was also musical director and orchestrator for Rocketship X-M, as well as composer for The Amazing Colossal Man, Earth vs the Spider, Teenage Cave Man, War of the Colossal Beast, Indestructible Man, Tormented, Beginning of the End, Invasion USA, and Last of the Wild Horses.
- Cinematographer Monroe P. Askins was also cinematographer for The Human Duplicators.
- Editor Ronald Sinclair was also editor for The Amazing Colossal Man, Swamp Diamonds, Day the World Ended, and The She-Creature, editorial supervisor for Earth vs the Spider and both for War of the Colossal Beast.
- Art director Robert Kinoshita was also associate producer and production designer for The Phantom Planet.
- Makeup artist Harry Ross was also makeup artist for The Mad Monster and Lost Continent.
- Assistant director Jack Bohrer was also assistant director for Teenage Cave Man, as well as production manager for Attack of the Giant Leeches and Night of the Blood Beast.
- Property master Karl Brainard was also property master for It Conquered the World, Teenage Cave Man, Night of the Blood Beast, Day the World Ended, The Undead, and The She-Creature.
- Visual effects technician Louis DeWitt also did visual effects for The Phantom Planet and The Beast of Hollow Mountain.
- Special effects technician Jack Rabin also did special effects for World Without End and photographic effects for Robot Monster, Rocketship X-M, Invasion USA, and The Beast of Hollow Mountain.
- Key grip Charles Hannawalt was also key grip for Gunslinger, Day the World Ended, and The Undead, head grip for Swamp Diamonds, and chief grip for The Screaming Skull.
Critical Response[]
- Leonard Maltin wrote: "BOMB ... Grade-Z hokum... By any name, it stinks."[1]
References[]
- ↑ Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide, 2015 Edition