1964 - THE LONG SHIPS, very entertaining Viking adventure

No one was ever going to confuse The Long Ships with Tarkovsky's Andrei Rublev, but this is a very entertaining adventure film.  The film stars Richard Widmark as the Norseman Rolfe.  Along with his brother Orm, they kidnap a Viking Princess and steal a Viking boat in search of a giant Golden Bell.  While in search of the Bell they run up against a Moorish King played by Sidney Poitier of all people.  Poitier's queen is the Italian actress Rosanna Schiaffino and the screenplay is written in such a way that Poitier has taken a vow of chastity.  In fact he doesn't even touch the gorgeous Schiaffino at all throughout the entire film.

This film has it all,  shipwrecks, battle scenes a treasure hunt and excellent location photography.  The film was shot on some scenic Yugoslavian locations for the most part.  One doesn't think of the actor Richard Widmark as having a light touch as a swashbuckler in this adventure epic, but he's not bad.  Poitier is all dead seriousness as the Muslim King Aly Mansuh and Rosanna Schiaffino basically stands around and looks beautiful.   Dancer/actor Russ Tamblyn is Widmark's brother and in his fight scenes he hops around like he's back in Seven Brides For Seven Brothers. 

 

Apparently no one wanted to make this film, the thought of being on location in Yugoslavia was less than appealing to the cast, particularly the American actors.  The director Jack Cardiff supposedly spent much of his time trying to get out of his contract to make the picture.  It's amazing this picture turned out as well as it did.

The Long Ships is the type of lightweight adventure epic the film industry doesn't seem to be able to provide these days.  The film was written by Beverley Cross and Berkely Mather.  Beverly Cross had written Ray Harryhausen's Jason and the Argonauts which was clearly an influence on this film's plot.  The running time is 126 minutes.

1960 - HOLIDAY IN SPAIN, Cinerama film without the "Smell -O-Vision."

 Holiday In Spain a film produced by Mike Todd Jr. and presented by Cinerama is partially a travelogue and partially a chase/thriller film.  The legendary cinematographer Jack Cardiff signed on as the director of the film and considering all the challenges of filming in the widescreen format the film looks very good. Filmed in 70 mm instead of the three camera Cinerama system you can't even tell the difference in widescreen formats.

 The story is essentially a chase film with Denholm Elliott playing a British mystery writer attempting to protect an American heiress from being killed by a gang led by Paul Lucas as the heiress races around the Spanish countryside.  Assisting Elliott is the very welcome presence of Peter Lorre as a taxi driver.  A decent cast for the most part.  Holiday In Spain was filmed entirely on location and the film does make Spain look like a great place to take a vacation.

 

It's difficult to review a film like this, it's not really a conventional entertainment in the standard sense.  The film was originally released in a process called "Smell-O-Vision" which was essentially a process where odors were pumped into the theater during the film to enhance the viewing experience for some reason as if a gigantic widescreen film photographing British blonde bombshell Diana Dors wasn't enough of an experience.

 

The film is entertaining in an odd sort of way. It's certainly a great looking film probably due to Cardiff. The running time is 102 minutes.  The film was written by Gerald Kersh.