The Norseman
1978 American adventure film
| The Norseman | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Charles B. Pierce |
| Written by | Charles B. Pierce |
| Produced by | Charles B. Pierce |
| Starring | Lee Majors Cornel Wilde Mel Ferrer Jack Elam |
| Cinematography | Robert Bethard |
| Edited by | Robert Bell Stephen Dunn Aladar Klein Shirak Kojayan Sarah Legon |
| Music by | Jaime Mendoza-Nava |
Production companies | Charles B. Pierce Film Productions Fawcett-Majors Productions |
| Distributed by | American International Pictures |
Release date | October 5, 1978 |
Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $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
- ^ a b c d e Taylor, Clarke (March 24, 1978). "A PIERCE FILM: Lee Majors' Image Switch". Los Angeles Times. p. g20.
- ^ 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
- ^ "NORSEMAN". The Monthly Film Bulletin. Vol. 46, no. 540. London. January 1, 1979. p. 48.
- ^ Harris, Will (November 28, 2019). "Lee Majors on Ash Vs. Evil Dead, Elvis Presley, and The Six Million Dollar Man". The A.V. Club.
- ^ 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
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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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