rdoyle29 It's the Roman occupation of England and the king of the Iceni dies, leaving the throne to his daughter Salina. She wants peace with the Romans, which the Roman governor Justinian (Don Murray) also wants. In fact, they both want it so bad that they fall in love with each other. He wants to marry. She says they can't unless the druids okay the marriage, and the druids oppose peace with the Romans. Justinian's right hand man Octavian (Andrew Keir) also opposes peace, wanting the Romans to clamp down on the Celts. None of this goes well for our star crossed lovers.So ... this is not a very good Hammer films. First thing to note: There are no Vikings in this film. It's an unofficial telling of the story of Boudica, the queen of the Iceni who opposed Roman rule. Second, Carita, who plays Salina, is a terrible actress. Despite a game supporting cast, which also includes Patrick Troughton, she really drags this film down. Finally, Don Chaffey is, at best, a workmanlike director, and he does a fairly poor job here.

Wuchak I'm a bit surprised at some of the low reviews for "The Viking Queen;" I've watched it three times now and my appreciation for this 1967 Hammer flick has increased with each viewing.The biggest criticism is that Salena is a Celt and the movie should therefore be titled "The Celtic Queen." Yet this is explained right at the beginning of the story: Her father chooses her to reign after his death and says, "Like your mother you shall be called 'the Viking Queen.'" So, Salena is the Viking Queen simply because her mother was of Viking ancestry.One may argue that the Vikings didn't exist for another 700 years (the story takes place shortly after the time of Christ) but "Viking" is simply a collective designation of Nordic people -- Danes, Swedes and Norwegians. And even IF the word "Viking" didn't exist at the time of the film's setting, so what? Just imagine Salena's father saying, "You shall be called the Nordic Queen." Another major gripe is that the Druids improperly pray to Zeus, a Greek God. Although this is a legitimate beef, the filmmakers obviously chose to do this because the Druids lacked a recognizable deity. This problem is rectified by simply supplanting the word "Zeus" with the Druid deity of your choice when hearing the Druids pray in the film (Bet you can't think of ONE Druid deity, can you?).The story is roughly based on the historical Boudicca, queen of the Iceni, a British tribe. Her impressive revolt against the Roman occupants included the sack of London (then Londinium) and the death of some 70,000 Romans (!). The Roman governor of Britain ultimately destroyed Boudicca's force; in despair, she killed herself by taking poison in 60 AD.In "The Viking Queen" you'll certainly get a good glimpse of what this era was like. The story is ultra-serious and the actors perform their roles accordingly. Salena is played by Carita, who, although very beautiful, is completely believable in the role. Be on the watch for her in a breath-taking purple mini-skirt near the end (speaking of such, be on the lookout as well for Salena's super-cute sister Talia, played by Nicola Pagett). Needless to say, it's too bad this was Carita's sole excursion into acting terrain.The locations (Ireland), costumes and sets are all of the highest order for a Hammer film of the time period.One other complaint is that it is unbelievable that Salena falls in love with the Roman governor (played by Don Murray) and vice versa, yet isn't it realistic to assume that more than one Briton babe fell in love with a Roman occupant, particularly if he was in a command position? Besides, the tragic ending is emotionally compounded by this love story.FINAL WORD: "The Viking Queen" is a movie in the vein of "Braveheart," "Gladiator" or "Attila." If you're a fan of such films you'll likely enjoy "The Viking Queen." Personally, I feel "Braveheart" is overrated and I'd pop in "The Viking Queen" before "Gladiator" any day.If, like me, this film inspires you to research the true history of Boudicca, then the filmmakers have accomplished far more than mere entertainment. Enough said.The movie runs 91 minutes.GRADE: B

andrejedi-1 I agree it is not historically correct. But there are still lots of fun watching this. Despite it was made in the 60s, one can still watch it nowadays and find it enjoyable. The final battle scene was entertaining. Too bad they let the two princesses slain so easily. (Did I see Octavius fondling the dying Talia after he received his own death blow? ) Of course if made today, the battle scene should be more crowded. (There was hardly a cohort there, not to mention a legion and computer technology would help that out today). And the love scenes would be more explicit (and showing).The names of the three princesses were not very cleverly or carefully chosen. No Briton princess would be called Beatrice or Salina at that time. (and of course, like many here said, no Viking either) But who cares? It is supposed to be fun, and it is.

MARIO GAUCI This was Hammer Films' sole foray into peplum territory: that it's not typical material for this outfit is also borne by the fact that the writing and producing credits aren't the usual Hammer stalwarts! Don Chaffey, who handles the proceedings efficiently enough, was something of an expert in the field - having directed Hammer's ONE MILLION YEARS, B.C. (1966) as well as the Ray Harryhausen extravaganza JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS (1963).Actually, the plot isn't all that different from that of THE LAST ROMAN (1968-9) which I watched recently: while the latter was low-brow and solemn but rather interesting, this is low-brow and silly but undeniably fun. Thankfully, there's intrigue (resulting in plenty of snarling), action and sadism - not forgetting the beautiful Irish locations - to keep one watching. Still, the lazy scripting is so obviously a mishmash of elements without any rhyme or reason that it somehow seems to think of Druids, Vikings and Greeks (all distinct in culture, geography and timeline) as one and the same people!! With respect to the cast: Carita (whose only film this was) is actually not too bad in the title role - though necessities of plot and an inevitable romance with the enemy leader prevents her from donning armor and turn warrior before the last 20 minutes of the film proper!; Don Murray, saddled throughout with an unbecoming hair-do, tries to keep his dignity as best he can; Andrew Keir (as Murray's jealous aide and the true villain of the piece), Niall MacGinnis and Patrick Troughton actually give good performances; however, Donald Houston's hammy turn as the High Priest of the Druid community is wildly entertaining - and Wilfred Lawson is equally embarrassing as the doddering and moribund Viking King.