With a Hollywood career spanning over 60 years, Kirk Douglas has an impressive back catalogue.
His most famous historical films may be World War 1’s Paths of Glory and Ancient Rome’s Spartacus, but there’s an underrated classic he shot with Tony Curtis and hs then-wife Janet Leigh around this period too.
1958’s The Vikings is based on the saga of Ragnar Lodbrok and was a major box office success.
This turned out to be particularly fortunate for Douglas as he took no salary from the movie in return for 60 per cent of the profits.
This means the 41-year-old pocketed around $3 million ($32 million in 2025) for the movie narrated by Orson Welles.
The film’s synopsis reads: “Viking Prince Einar (Kirk Douglas) doesn’t know it, but his most fearsome enemy, the slave Eric (Tony Curtis), is actually his half brother. Their feud only intensifies when Einar kidnaps Princess Morgana (Janet Leigh), the intended bride of the brutal King Aella (Frank Thring). Einar intends to make the beautiful girl his own. Unfortunately for him, Morgana has eyes only for Eric — leading to much bloodshed and the capture of their father, King Ragnar (Ernest Borgnine).”
The Vikings is leaving Amazon Prime Video within the next 30 days.