The Long Ships (film)

The Long Ships is a 1964 BritishYugoslavian adventure film shot in Technirama directed by Jack Cardiff and stars Richard Widmark, Sidney Poitier, and Russ Tamblyn.

The story centres on an immense golden bell named The Mother of Voices, which may or may not exist. Moorish king Aly Mansuh Sidney Poitier is convinced that it does. Having collected all the legendary material about it that he can, he plans to mount an expedition to search for it. When the shipwrecked Norseman, Rolfe Richard Widmark, repeats the story of the bell in the marketplace, and hints that he knows its location, he is seized by Mansuhs men and brought in for questioning. Rolfe insists that he does not know and that the bell is only a myth. He manages to escape before the questioning continues under torture.Managing to return home, Rolfe reveals to his father that he did indeed hear the bell pealing on the night his ship was wrecked in Africa. However, Rolfes father has been made destitute after spending a fortune building a funeral ship for the Danish king, Harold Bluetooth, who then refuses to reimburse him citing an outstanding debt. Rationalising that the ship does not yet belong to Harold since he is still living, Rolfe and his brother steal not only the ship, but kidnap a number of inebriated Vikings to serve as its crew. In order to prevent Harold from killing his father in revenge for the theft, he also takes the kings daughter as a hostage. Harold declares that he will summon every longship he can find and rescue her. After prolonged difficulties at sea, the ship is damaged in a maelstrom. The Norse are cast ashore in Mansuhs country. Captured by the Moors, the Norse are condemned to execution but Mansuhs favourite wife Aminah Rosanna Schiaffino convinces her husband to use them and their longship to retrieve the bell. ........

Source: Wikipedia