The Norseman

1978 American adventure film

  • October 5, 1978 (1978-10-05)
Running time
90 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishBudget$3 million[1]Box office$1 million[2]

The Norseman is a 1978 American adventure film starring Lee Majors, directed, produced and written by Charles B. Pierce.[3]

Plot

An 11th-century Viking prince sails to North America to find his father, who on a previous voyage had been captured by Native Americans.

Cast

  • Lee Majors - Thorvald
  • Cornel Wilde - Ragnar
  • Mel Ferrer - King Eurich
  • Jack Elam - Death Dreamer
  • Susie Coelho - Winetta
  • Christopher Connelly - Rolf
  • Jimmy Clem - Olif
  • Deacon Jones - Thrall
  • Denny Miller - Rauric
  • Kathleen Freeman - Old Indian Woman
  • Jesse Pearson - Narrator (voice)

Production

The film was a co production between Charles Pierce and Lee Majors with AIP doing the distribution. It was Pierce's first film with a major Hollywood studio.[1]

Majors said it "took a lot of guts" to play a Viking but was persuaded by a fee of $500,000 and 10% of the profits.[1] He later said, "I had a little time off, and they said, "It shoots in Florida, on the coast there, out of Tampa," and they had a bunch of Tampa Bay Buccaneers that were gonna play Vikings, so  ... I don't know, I thought it'd be fun, so I did it."[4]

The film was shot in Tampa, Florida. Postproduction was done at Pierce's $2 million facility at Shreveport, Louisiana.[1]

"There is no character to develop here and hardly any dialogue," said Majors, "this is a formula film."[1]

Reception

The Los Angeles Times called it "tedious business".[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Taylor, Clarke (March 24, 1978). "A PIERCE FILM: Lee Majors' Image Switch". Los Angeles Times. p. g20.
  2. ^ Donahue, Suzanne Mary (1987). American film distribution : the changing marketplace. UMI Research Press. p. 301. ISBN 9780835717762. Please note figures are for rentals in US and Canada
  3. ^ "NORSEMAN". The Monthly Film Bulletin. Vol. 46, no. 540. London. January 1, 1979. p. 48.
  4. ^ Harris, Will (November 28, 2019). "Lee Majors on Ash Vs. Evil Dead, Elvis Presley, and The Six Million Dollar Man". The A.V. Club.
  5. ^ Thomas, Kevin (July 7, 1978). "Majors in Armor as 'Norseman'". Los Angeles Times. p. h14.

External links

  • The Norseman review at The Guardian
  • The Norsemen at Letterbox DVD
  • The Norseman at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  • v
  • t
  • e
Films directed by Charles B. Pierce
  • The Legend of Boggy Creek (1972)
  • The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976)
  • The Winds of Autumn (1976)
  • Grayeagle (1977)
  • The Norseman (1978)
  • The Evictors (1979)
  • Sacred Ground (1983)
  • Boggy Creek II: And the Legend Continues (1985)


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