The Long Ships
The Viking adventurers who challenged the seas... and conquered the world!
1964 | 126m | English
Popularity: 0.9 (history)
| Director: | Jack Cardiff |
|---|---|
| Writer: | Frans G. Bengtsson, Beverley Cross, Berkely Mather |
| Staring: |
| Moorish ruler El Mansuh is determined to locate a massive bell made of gold known as the "Mother of Voices." Viking explorer Rolfe also becomes intent on finding the mythical treasure, and sails with his crew from Scandinavia to Africa to track it down. Reluctantly working together, El Mansuh and Rolfe, along with their men, embark on a quest for the prized object, but only one leader will be able to claim the bell as his own — if it even exists at all. | |
| Release Date: | Apr 22, 1964 |
|---|---|
| Director: | Jack Cardiff |
| Writer: | Frans G. Bengtsson, Beverley Cross, Berkely Mather |
| Genres: | Adventure, Drama |
| Keywords | ship, vikings (norsemen), bell, 10th century |
| Production Companies | Warwick Film Productions, Avala Film |
| Box Office |
Revenue: $0
Budget: $3,000,000 |
| Updates |
Updated: Aug 10, 2025 Entered: Apr 13, 2024 |
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| Richard Widmark | Rolfe |
| Sidney Poitier | Aly Mansuh |
| Russ Tamblyn | Orm |
| Rosanna Schiaffino | Aminah |
| Oskar Homolka | Krok |
| Edward Judd | Sven |
| Lionel Jeffries | Aziz |
| Beba Lončar | Gerda |
| Clifford Evans | King Harald |
| Gordon Jackson | Vahlin |
| Colin Blakely | Rhykka |
| David Lodge | Olla |
| Henry Oscar | Auctioneer |
| Paul Stassino | Raschild |
| Jeanne Moody | Ylva |
| Talitha Pol | Girl in Harem (uncredited) |
| Julie Samuel | Girl in Harem (uncredited) |
| Leonard Rossiter | Persian Soldier Who Falls On Sword (uncredited) |
| Name | Job |
|---|---|
| Jack Cardiff | Director |
| Frans G. Bengtsson | Novel |
| Geoffrey Foot | Editor |
| Veljko Despotović | Art Direction |
| Aleksandar Milović | Art Direction |
| David Ffolkes | Costume Design |
| Neville Smallwood | Makeup Artist |
| Milenko Stanković | Production Manager |
| Beverley Cross | Screenplay |
| Dušan Radić | Original Music Composer |
| Bill Constable | Art Direction |
| Zoran Zorčić | Production Design, Art Direction |
| Vladislav Lašić | Art Direction |
| Milan Todorović | Art Direction |
| A.R. Scott | Hairdresser |
| David W. Orton | Production Manager |
| Christopher Challis | Director of Photography |
| John Hoesli | Art Direction |
| Dragoljub Ivkov | Art Direction |
| Miodrag Mirić | Art Direction |
| Anthony Mendleson | Costume Design |
| Radmila Todorović | Makeup Artist |
| Berkely Mather | Screenplay |
| Vlastimir Gavrik | Art Direction, Production Design |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Irving Allen | Producer |
| Denis O'Dell | Associate Producer |
| Organization | Category | Person |
|---|
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 7 |
| 2024 | 5 | 12 | 21 | 7 |
| 2024 | 6 | 12 | 24 | 6 |
| 2024 | 7 | 14 | 25 | 7 |
| 2024 | 8 | 12 | 22 | 8 |
| 2024 | 9 | 8 | 15 | 4 |
| 2024 | 10 | 10 | 21 | 4 |
| 2024 | 11 | 9 | 19 | 5 |
| 2024 | 12 | 8 | 17 | 5 |
| 2025 | 1 | 8 | 12 | 5 |
| 2025 | 2 | 7 | 13 | 2 |
| 2025 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 1 |
| 2025 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 2025 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| 2025 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Trending Position
Sidney Poitier just about carries his role off, as a Moorish prince obsessed with a mythical great golden bell ("The Mother of All Voices") - reputedly made by monks many years ago. The rest of the cast, however, are fish out of water - Richard Widmark and Russ Tamblyn are not at all plausible as Vi ... king raiders/explorers and the ebbs and flows of the storyline and the pretty verbose dialogue stretch the imagination well beyond the point when it stops being fun and starts being dull. Oskar Homolka gets up to some mischief as the only potentially realistic Viking "Krok" but then Lionel Jeffries and Gordon Jackson show up and it is laughable again. The film does have a good, lavish, look about it and the attention to detail (costumes etc.) are suitably sumptuous but it is way too long and wastes a good adventure story.