Themes: Survival in the Wilderness, Love Triangles
Main Cast: Louise Huntington, Charles Starrett, Arthur Vinton
Release Year: 1931
Country: CA/US
Run Time: 70 minutes
Plot
This adventure is set upon the rugged coast of Newfoundland and centers on the rivalry between a seal hunter and the town jinx. Thinking that the luckless fellow may move in on his girl, the seal-hunter forces the alleged coward to accompany him on an Arctic expedition. They both end up in a hunting party on the ice floes. Something goes wrong and the two are stranded. There the hunter tries to kill the other, but the snow blinds him and he misses. Despite the murder attempt, the "jinx" helps the sightless fellow back to the safety of their ship, The Viking. After he recovers his sight, the hunter gains new respect for the heroic fellow and vows that he will beat senseless any man who derides the character of his new friend. The film was shot on location in the Arctic, and over 20 men died during the shooting when The Viking exploded and sank en route. The film contains a prologue and eulogy by famous explorer Grenfell. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
On the coasts of Newfoundland and focuses on the rivalry between a seal hunter and a local jinx. Worried that the jinx may attempt to steal his girlfriend, the seal-hunter forces the alleged coward to accompany him on an Arctic expedition. They both end up in a hunting party on the ice floes and eventually find themselves stranded. The hunter tries to kill the jinx, but the snow blinds him and he misses. Despite the murder attempt, the jinx helps the hunter back to the safety of their ship called The Viking. On recovering his sight, the hunter gains new respect for the jinx and vows that he will beat senseless any man who derides the character of his new friend.
Production
American born producer Varick Frissell's previous short filmsThe Lure of Labrador and The Swilin' Racket gave him interest to make a full-length feature entitled Vikings of the Ice Field. Paramount Pictures put up $100,000 to finance the production while insisting that Hollywood personnel be used. Frissell hired director George Melford who went to McGill University in Montreal and had experience in filming Canadian subjects previously.[1] On a second voyage to attain more footage for the film, Frissell, Alexander Penrod, and 26 other film crew members were killed in an explosion while trying to film an Iceberg.[1][2]
Reception
Despite the tragedy on set, the film was completed and released in 1931. Reviews for the film varied while the story was generally berated. The New York Times referred to the film's story as "sketchy" while the Theater Guild Magazine found the story "melodramatic" finding the screenplay uninteresting in comparison to the cinematography. The Film Daily gave a negative review noting the "weakness" of the story.[2]
