The
late 1950s and early 1960s saw a boom in adventure films, with the rise
of the Hollywood Epic, from biblical classics like
The Ten Commandments (1956) to historical epics including
Spartacus (1960) and
El Cid
(1961), at the same time, Italian producers saught to capitalise on the
sucess of these films with a series of smaller scale Sword and Sandal
titles known as
Pepla, beginning with
Le Fatiche di Ercole (1958). After the release of Richard Fleischer's
The Vikings in 1958, many of the Italian studios adapted their Greco-Roman productions to more modern history, from Normans (
I Normanni (1962)) to Genghis Kahn (
I Mongoli (1961)) and of course, the Vikings...
After
the Vikings invaded England in the 8th Century, they began to colonise
- but the English forces stood up against them, lead by Sir Rutford,
who massacres a Viking village acting against the orders of his King.
When the Monarch chastises him, a servant of Rutford kills him, blaming
the attack on a Viking. Two young brothers are seperated in the attack,
Eron (Cameron Mitchell) is returned to Scandinavia where he becomes a
powerful chieftan, but risks his life with a love affair with one of
Odin's Vestal Virgins, while Erik (George Ardisson) is found by the
newly widowed Queen, and raises as a English nobelman. When the
Vikings, lead by Eron, raid England; Erik is sent out with the fleet to
attack them, but his ship is sunk by a trecharous soldier, hired by Sir
Rutford and Eron finds himself washed up on the Scandinavian shores.
Meanwhile, Eron's soldiers have sneaked into the English castle of
Queen Alice, and take her back with them, appointing Sir Rutford as the
King of England. When Erik discovers his adopted mother is a prisoner,
he sets out to free her and escape back to England, but comes into
conflict with Eron and his army...
Bava's
third film shows all of his classic hallmarks with some stunningly
beautiful sets and cinematography that gives the film both a mythical
and dramatic feel (particularly in the climactic assault on the castle,
which is even more exciting than the similar scene in the Richard Fleischer film)
and goes some way towards hiding the low budget - unfortunately,
the dramatic naval battle in the middle of the film does betray this;
with the action obviously studio bound. Historical inaccuracy also extends to the production,
with the Scottish soldiers who appear later on in the film clearly
sporting later Medieval armour, while the use of the crossbow by the
British forces is unlikely (they were introduced into Britain after the
Norman invasion of 1066). The soundtrack is provided by Roberto
Nicolosi who also scored Bava's debut Black Sunday (1960), and although that film's sappy love theme does make a brief appearance here, the score is generally good and effective.
American
actor Cameron Mitchell is top billed here in his second of many
Euro-cult movies during the 1960s, from Pepla to Spaghetti Westerns -
amazingly rugged, he really looks the part and plays well throughout.
George Ardisson plays his brother, and the pair do look genuinely
similar, with the smart looking Ardisson plausibly looking like he was
raised as the son of a Noble, but equally able to put up a good fight.
Interestingly the pair played brothers earlier in the year, in the lesser
known Euro-Viking movie,
L'Ultimo dei Vikinghi
(1961), also for producers Galatea Film. The beautiful Kessler sisters
play the twins Rama and Daya, with whom the brothers fall in love, and
prove themselves to be more than just pretty faces. The rest of the
cast is solid, with plenty of familiar faces.
Suffering from some forgivable historical inaccuracy, and some less forgivable plot holes and budgetary limitations,
Gli Invasori
remains a good film thanks to some beautful cinematography and a strong
pair of lead performances. Fans of Mario Bava will certainly want to
see this film, and fans of the 1950s/60s Pepla will find plenty to
enjoy here as will general action movie fans, just don't expect
anything too historical, or any epic scale battles. Recommended.
