The Viking (1931 film)
| The Viking | |
|---|---|
Still from the film
|
|
| Directed by |
George Melford Varick Frissell |
| Produced by | Varick Frissell |
| Written by | Garnett Weston (scenario and dialogue) |
| Story by | Garnett Weston |
| Starring |
Louise Huntington Charles Starrett Arthur Vinton Robert Bartlett |
| Narrated by | Sir Wilfred Grenfell |
| Cinematography | Alfred Gandolfi Maurice Kellerman Alexander G. Penrod |
| Edited by | H. P. Carver |
|
Production
company |
J.D. Williams
Newfoundland-Labrador Film Company |
| Distributed by | J.D. Williams |
|
Release date
|
|
|
Running time
|
70 min. |
| Country |
Newfoundland United States |
| Language | English |
The Viking (a.k.a. White Thunder and Vikings of the Ice Field) is a 1931 Newfoundland/American adventure film about sealing directed by George Melford. This was "the first film to record sound and dialogue on location". It is best known for the explosion aboard the ship SS Viking (an actual sealing ship) during filming, in which many members of the crew, including producer Varick Frissell, were killed. It remains the incident with the largest loss of life in film history.
Set on the coast of Newfoundland, a rivalry develops between Jed Nelson (Arthur Vinton), a seal hunter, and Luke Oarum (Charles Starrett), a local man considered a jinx. Worried that his rival may try to steal his girlfriend Mary Joe (Louise Huntington), calling him a coward, the seal hunter goads Luke into accompanying him on an Arctic sealing expedition on the Viking, commanded by Capt. Barker (Robert Bartlett).. They both end up in a hunting party on the ice floes and eventually find themselves stranded. Jed tries to kill Luke, but the snow blinds him and his gunshot misses.
Despite the attempt on his life, Luke helps walk the blinded Jed across the ice flows back to Newfoundland after they are unable to return to the ship. On recovering his sight at home, Jed gains new respect for his rival and vows that he will beat senseless any man who derides the character of his new friend.
As listed in the credits:
American-born producer Varick Frissell's previous short films, The Lure of Labrador and The Swilin' Racket (also known as The Great Arctic Seal Hunt), prompted him to make a full-length feature entitled Vikings of the Ice Field. Paramount Pictures put up $100,000 to finance the production, while insisting that Hollywood personnel be used. Frissell hired director George Melford, who had attended McGill University in Montreal and had experience in filming Canadian subjects previously.
...
Wikipedia