Tales of the Vikings
StarringJerome Courtland
Buddy Baer
ComposerBert Grund
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes39
Production
Executive producerEdward Lewis
Running time30 minutes
Production companiesBrynaprod
United Artists Television
Original release
NetworkBroadcast syndication
ReleaseSeptember 8, 1959 (September 8, 1959) –
June 2, 1960 (June 2, 1960)

Tales of the Vikings is an American first-run syndicated television series, first telecast on September 8, 1959 and ran through June 2, 1960. The series was produced by Kirk Douglas' production company, Brynaprod.

Plot

Set in tenth century Scandinavia, the series presented the seafaring exploits of Viking chief Firebeard and his two sons, Leif and Finn.

Characters

Guest stars for the thirty-nine episode run included: Christopher Lee, Patrick McGoohan, Robert Alda, and Edmund Purdom.

Episodes

No. Title Directed by Written by Original air date
1"Pedigree"UnknownUnknownSeptember 8, 1959 (1959-09-08)
2"The Black Stone"UnknownUnknownSeptember 15, 1959 (1959-09-15)
3"The Ransom"UnknownUnknownSeptember 22, 1959 (1959-09-22)
4"Victory Saga"UnknownUnknownSeptember 29, 1959 (1959-09-29)
5"Journey to Bretland"UnknownUnknownOctober 6, 1959 (1959-10-06)
6"Banished Woman"UnknownUnknownOctober 13, 1959 (1959-10-13)
7"The Witch"UnknownUnknownOctober 20, 1959 (1959-10-20)
8"Shipwreck"UnknownUnknownOctober 27, 1959 (1959-10-27)
9"Treasure of Erin"UnknownUnknownNovember 3, 1959 (1959-11-03)
10"Return of the Viking"UnknownUnknownNovember 10, 1959 (1959-11-10)
11"Saracen Gold"UnknownUnknownNovember 17, 1959 (1959-11-17)
12"Return of Aud"UnknownUnknownNovember 24, 1959 (1959-11-24)
13"Doom at the All-Thing"UnknownUnknownDecember 1, 1959 (1959-12-01)
14"House Divided"UnknownUnknownDecember 8, 1959 (1959-12-08)
15"The Weapon"UnknownUnknownDecember 15, 1959 (1959-12-15)
16"The Oathbreaker"UnknownUnknownDecember 22, 1959 (1959-12-22)
17"The Bread of Life"UnknownUnknownDecember 29, 1959 (1959-12-29)
18"The Treasure"UnknownUnknownJanuary 5, 1960 (1960-01-05)
19"Port of Thieves"UnknownUnknownJanuary 12, 1960 (1960-01-12)
20"Cold Steel"UnknownUnknownJanuary 19, 1960 (1960-01-19)
21"The Bowman"UnknownUnknownJanuary 26, 1960 (1960-01-26)
22"The Dragon"UnknownUnknownFebruary 2, 1960 (1960-02-02)
23"The Thing"UnknownUnknownFebruary 9, 1960 (1960-02-09)
24"The Madness"UnknownUnknownFebruary 16, 1960 (1960-02-16)
25"Blood Sacrifice"UnknownUnknownFebruary 23, 1960 (1960-02-23)
26"A Marriage of State"UnknownUnknownMarch 3, 1960 (1960-03-03)
27"Days of Blood"UnknownUnknownMarch 10, 1960 (1960-03-10)

Production

In 1949 Douglas founded his own company, Bryna Productions, named after his mother. Tales of the Vikings was the company's first venture into television. The series, like the Douglas' 1958 film The Vikings, was shot in Europe and used footage, sets, props, and costumes from the film. It was filmed in black and white, and distributed by United Artists Television.[1] Since Tales of the Vikings aired in syndication, air dates varied from one TV station to another during the 1959-1960 season. It also aired on British television, and in 1962 in Finland.

Courtland has his hair and beard dyed blond for the series.[2] Ryan O'Neal got his start on Tales of the Viking. His parents, who were living abroad at the time, got the teenager a job as a stuntman, under veteran John Sullivan, learning fights, falls, and duels.[3] The theme song was written by Bert Grund with lyrics by Sid Morse.

References

  1. ↑ "Kirk Douglas's work in American Theater, Radio, and Television", Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research, University of Wisconsin - Madison
  2. ↑ "Remembering Jerome Courtland", The Walt Disney Family Museum
  3. ↑ Freese, Gene Scott. Hollywood Stunt Performers, 1910s-1970s, McFarland, 2014 ISBN 9781476614700
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.