[4] Lord Alwin (LeRoy Mason), Earl of Northumbria, is captured in a Viking raid and taken to Norway as a slave.

There he is bought by Helga (Pauline Starke), an "orphan of noble blood" under the guardianship of Leif Ericsson (Donald Crisp).

He proves a troublesome slave, and Leif's sailing master, Egil the Black (Harry Woods), prepares to kill him for his insolence, but Helga stops him.

A final, 'modern day,' scene, with God Bless America sung in the background, states that the stone tower still stands in Newport, Rhode Island.

The film was produced by the Technicolor Corporation, but was distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, after production chief Irving Thalberg became impressed with the technology.

[citation needed] Film critic Mordaunt Hall of The New York Times wrote in his review: "the figures often look as if they had stepped out of an opera comique….

The make-up of the players is often more than a trifle overdone, especially when the villain reveals on close inspection his mouse-colored eyelids.

"[6][7] In 1938, Technicolor president Herbert Kalmus wrote: There seemed to be two principal troubles with The Viking, both of which I suspected but without certainty.

Leif Ericson, the Viking hero true to character had a long curling mustache, whereas American audiences prefer their lovers smooth-shaven.