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The Viking Queen |
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There are no Vikings in The Viking Queen, a low-budget adventure from Hammer studios set in the British Isles during the Roman reign of Nero. Salina (Carita), the curiously Italian-accented daughter of a dying British king, inherits his kingdom on the eve of a treaty that splits power between the native monarchy and the Roman government. American star Don Murray (of Bus Stop and The Hoodlum Priest fame), looking oddly uncomfortable in a Roman tunic, is the fair-minded Roman governor-general Justinian, whose jurisprudence and willingness to compromise infuriates his bloodthirsty second in command. Plots from within both camps threaten not just the uneasy peace between the Britons and the Romans but the hot-and-heavy love affair between Salina and Justinian (whose flirtatious chariot race leads to a little riverside nooky). This sword-and-sandal-meets-bearskin-and-clubs adventure is at its best on location in the British countryside, where the grand scenery belies its meager budget, but the battle scenes suffer from a tiny cast of soldiers and lackluster choreography. There are plenty of scantily clad maidens (who knew the ancient British climate was so temperate?), Druid ceremonies with human sacrifices, and even a kinky flogging, but ultimately director Don Chaffey's attempts to inject Hammer's lurid edge into the drama come off as both perfunctory and forced. Though often entertaining, this period adventure never reaches the smart, sexy, and showy gothic splendor of Hammer's horror classics. --Sean Axmaker
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