Moorish ruler El Mansuh is determined to locate a massive bell made of gold known as the "Mother of Voices." Viking explorer Rolfe also becomes intent on finding the mythical treasure, and sails with his crew from Scandinavia to Africa to track it down. Reluctantly working together, El Mansuh and Rolfe, along with their men, embark on a quest for the prized object, but only one leader will be able to claim the bell as his own — if it even exists at all.
Richard Widmark
Rolfe
Sidney Poitier
Aly Mansuh
Russ Tamblyn
Orm
Rosanna Schiaffino
Aminah
Oskar Homolka
Krok
Edward Judd
Sven
Lionel Jeffries
Aziz
Beba Lončar
Gerda
Clifford Evans
King Harald
Gordon Jackson
Vahlin
Colin Blakely
Rhykka
David Lodge
Olla
Henry Oscar
Auctioneer
Paul Stassino
Raschild
Jeanne Moody
Ylva
Talitha Pol
Girl in Harem (uncredited)
Julie Samuel
Girl in Harem (uncredited)
Leonard Rossiter
Persian Soldier Who Falls On Sword (uncredited)
Director
Jack Cardiff
Novel
Frans G. Bengtsson
Screenplay
Berkely Mather
Screenplay
Beverley Cross
June 14, 2024
5
Sidney Poitier just about carries his role off, as a Moorish prince obsessed with a mythical great golden bell ("The Mother of All Voices") - reputedly made by monks many years ago. The rest of the cast, however, are fish out of water - Richard Widmark and Russ Tamblyn are not at all plausible as Viking raiders/explorers and the ebbs and flows of the storyline and the pretty verbose dialogue stretch the imagination well beyond the point when it stops being fun and starts being dull. Oskar Homolka gets up to some mischief as the only potentially realistic Viking "Krok" but then Lionel Jeffries and Gordon Jackson show up and it is laughable again. The film does have a good, lavish, look about it and the attention to detail (costumes etc.) are suitably sumptuous but it is way too long and wastes a good adventure story.
Status:
Released
Original Language:
English
Budget:
$3,000,000.00
Revenue:
$0.00