"The Long Ships" is the story of a mighty gold bell "as tall as three tall men," the one people call the Mother of Voices, cast long ago by the monks of Byzantium
Prince Aly Mansuh had searched from the mountains to the sea for the bell
Now he must know what lies beyond the horizon until Allah's divine guidance leads him to the treasures of Islam
Prince Aly's wife Aminah thinks that her husband is chasing a legend, a fairy tale that has already cost them dearly in lives and gold
But the prince is no dreamer
He is sure that the bell does exist and it rests somewhere in this world, in a Christian land
For him it was stolen by the Christian armies when they plundered their way across his cities to the dishonor and humiliation of his ancestors
In that morning, the obsessed Moorish prince is informed by his guards that a stranger in the market knows the whereabouts of the golden bell
The stranger is arrested and taken to a tower for interrogation
The stranger assures to the prince that he knows nothing but stories and legends, and swears that, out in the market he was trying to earn some money for food and shelter
He also said that he is a sailor, a dreamer, a Norseman, a Viking who was shipwrecked and was simply trying to get back to his homeland
Richard Widmark is the true Norse warrior who swallowed the ocean
He tells his father that he has returned because he needs another ship and another crew
Rolfe said that he had found the bell
He heard it booming away like a god's hammer on a mountain of ice
Nothing else would've brought him back after losing his ship
That ship cost his father the tribute money he owed the king
Sydney Poitier promised Rolfe that he would not be prepared to die so calmly
He shall give him an example of real courage that comes from authority, 'his' authority
Aly Mansuh asks Lady Aminah to select one of his guards to be the first to feel the kiss of steel before the Viking
Rosanna Schiaffino could offer Rolfe and his comrades the chance to live and to sail from these shores as rich men
With fire in her cheeks, Lady Aminah looked lovely as the most envied woman with eye-catching legs
Orm (Russ Tamblyn) asks the great Odin what did they do that he turns his rage against them ruining his father
Gerda (Beba Loncar) is the beautiful snow princess taken as a hostage and whom to be sacrificed as a maiden to lift the curse of the death ship
Krok (Oskar Homolka) is the old, ruined man who asks himself how a thane whose entire fortune consists of two gold pieces, find or even equip another ship
King Harald (Clifford Evas) practically stole the ship build by Krok's men
He cheated the broken man in giving him two gold pieces for his funeral ship, the difference between the ship's price and two years' tribute he owes him
Sven (Edward Judd) is the sailing master to King Harald of Norseland who really thinks the ship is cursed for being a funeral ship
He commands the sailors, these 'greedy devils' to turn back or they'll be hanged in the king's name
With great stars, mutinous sailors, beautiful cinematography, and a look at a Moorish harem, "The Long Ships" remains another fine Viking adventure with a lot of humor and fun
