Cabot is the pensive priestess Enger, the lone dark-haired woman among them. Stowing away on the trip is Ottar (a bleached-blond Jonathan Haze), who was left behind to protect the women. The Viking ship (an ordinary canoe with accoutre- ments) runs afoul of the “crea- ture of the Vortex,” landing the women ashore in the land of the Grimolts, ruled by Stark (Rich- ard Devon) and his sissypants son Senya (Jay Sayer), who have enslaved the Viking men (Brad Jackson, Gary Conway, others). An attempt to liberate them is foiled by Enger, who sides with Stark against her own people when Desir’s betrothed Vedric (Jackson) rejects her love. Michael Forest (ATLAS) appears in the thankless role of Zarko, the Grimolt warrior who deals out whippings. What impresses me: Susan
Cabot’s performance, showing her once again to be an actress of uncommon sincerity, depth and sensitivity (I found myself pondering what a fine Anne Frank she might have been, earlier in her career); Abby Dalton’s athleticism, as seen in her swimming and riding scenes, and the way she bargains with Jay Sayer after saving him from a wild boar; Jonathan Haze’s impressively physical perfor- mance—especially in his fight- ing scenes, which otherwise suffer from a lack of punchy editing—and the pluck he shows by courting statuesque Betsy Jones-Moreland, more than a head taller than he; the physical beauty of much of the underclothed cast, including I WAS A TEENAGE FRANKEN- STEIN’s Gary Conway, whose build makes one wonder what Brad Jackson is doing in charge; and the special effects, particu- larly the matte paintings and the trick shots of lovers Dalton
70
and Jackson being burned at the stake (one of several ideas which Bava later incorporated into ERIK). What doesn’t im- press me: the untimely slang (“She gives me the creeps”); Ri- chard Devon’s villainy, which is sabotaged by a ridiculous dog- eared helmet and a ratty fur outfit from Western Costume; Albert Glasser’s ham-fisted score (no Ronald Stein he); and the sea serpent, seen mostly in haphazard process shots, which is not unlike Reptilicus. Most Priceless Line of Dialogue: “If you only understood a civilized tongue, I’d tell you some things, you big slob!” Like other releases in “The
Arkoff Film Library,” VIKING WOMEN AND THE SEA SERPENT originates from an original TV syn- dication 1" standard-frame video master. The compositions look consistently unimpaired, but since the original theatrical as- pect ratio was 1.85:1, and this disc does not zoom well on a widescreen set, we must con- clude the image is modestly cropped. The source element is clean and intact, with good sound (and optional Dutch sub- titles), but even in progressive scan playback, the image looks stale with dark grayish blacks and brights that don’t pop. This was OK for TV broadcasts ten or more years ago, but one expects more from an official DVD re- lease. There are eight chapter marks and the extras, in case you missed them on all the other “Arkoff Film Library” discs, are repeated again: nine AIP trailers (not VIKING WOMEN, alas) and the 50m Sam Arkoff audio interview. Onscreen title: THE SAGA
OF THE VIKING WOMEN AND THEIR VOYAGE TO THE WA- TERS OF THE GREAT SEA SER- PENT—it’s almost as long as the movie.
SOURCES
ALPHA VIDEO
www.oldies.com Box 101
Narberth, PA 19072 800-336-4627 Fax: 610-649-0315
BLUE UNDERGROUND
www.blueunderground.com
HOME VISION
ENTERTAINMENT
www.homevision.com 4411 N. Ravenswood Ave. 3rd
Chicago, IL 60640-5802 800-826-3456 Fax: 773-878-8406
POKER INDUSTRIES
www.pokerindustries.com 22D Old Matawan Road Old Bridge, NJ 08857 732-238-5969 Fax: 732-238-8435
RAZOR DIGITAL
ENTERNTAINMENT
www.razordigitalent.com 8383 Wilshire Blvd. S-212 Beverly Hills, CA 90211 323-658-9166, ext. 119
RETROMEDIA
ENTERTAINMENT
www.retromedia.org
6260 Laurel Canyon Blvd. #201 N Hollywood, CA 91606
SOFTCEL PICTURES
www.softcelpics.com PO Box 71306
Des Moines IA 50325 1-800-338-6827
XPLOITED CINEMA
www.xploitedcinema.com 7310 Ames Rd Parma, OH 44129
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