tomgillespie2002 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

OldAle1 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).

Jonathon Dabell 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 and very beautiful 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.

Kakueke 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.