A spectacular, rousing epic adventure opens with the 200-man Viking army invading the small kingdom of Northumbria, the death of the English leader and the succession to the throne of the extremely sadistic King Aella (Frank Thring). His queen is pregnant and flees to a new land with her child. Years later, the child, now a young man (Tony Curtis), turns up as a slave in the Viking village. Unknown to both of them, Curtis is the brother of future Viking heir Kirk Douglas, and their is an immediate enmity between them. They clash in a duel. Tossed into a pit of giant crabs, Curtis is saved when his true identity is discovered. A new Viking raid rescues King Aella's future queen, Princess Morgana (Janet Leigh), and the presence of this beautiful princess, increases the hatred between Curtis and Douglas.

A spectacular, rousing epic adventure opens with the 200-man Viking army invading the small kingdom of Northumbria, the death of the English leader and the succession to the throne of the extremely sadistic King Aella (Frank Thring). His queen is pregnant and flees to a new land with her child. Years later, the child, now a young man (Tony Curtis), turns up as a slave in the Viking village. Unknown to both of them, Curtis is the brother of future Viking heir Kirk Douglas, and their is an immediate enmity between them. They clash in a duel. Tossed into a pit of giant crabs, Curtis is saved when his true identity is discovered. A new Viking raid rescues King Aella's future queen, Princess Morgana (Janet Leigh), and the presence of this beautiful princess, increases the hatred between Curtis and Douglas.

Kirk Douglas stars as Owen Waterbury, a philandering best-selling novelist.

Kirk Douglas stars as Owen Waterbury, a philandering best-selling novelist.

A cave collapse in New Mexico traps a man, and all eyes turn toward the tragedy including those of Charles "Chuck" Tatum (Kirk Douglas...

Michael Douglas talks about his relationship with his famous father, Kirk Douglas.

The rich legacy of cinema legend Kirk Douglas is explored in Academy Award-winning actress and documentary-filmmaker Lee Grant's illuminating look at the personal side of a Hollywood royalty. With roles in such indisputable Hollywood classics as Spartacus, Kirk Douglas achieved the kind of cinematic superstardom that dreams are made of. As the torch was passed to his talented son Michael in such efforts as Romancing the Stone, Wall Street, and Basic Instinct, it became obvious to filmgoers that the Douglas dynasty would continue to thrive. Now, for the first time ever on camera, filmmaker Grant conducts exclusive interviews with both Kirk and Michael, their friends, and various family members to offer the definitive look at both the public and private lives of the father and son who made Hollywood history. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide.

John Wayne and Kirk Douglas spend half of The War Wagon trying to knock one another off and the other half working shoulder to shoulder. Settling an old score with avaricious mine owner Bruce Cabot, Wayne plans to steal a $500,000 gold shipment from his enemy. Douglas, at first hired by Cabot to kill Wayne, goes along with the robbery scheme. Also in on the plan is Howard Keel, superbly cast as a world-weary, wisecracking Native American (it's the sort of part that nowadays would go to Graham Greene). The titular war wagon is the armor-plated, Gatling-gun fortified stagecoach wherein Cabot's gold is transported. Thus the stage is set for a slam-bang finale, and director Burt Kennedy isn't about to disappoint the viewers. Best bit: after Kirk and The Duke gun down Cabot's henchmen Bruce Dern and Chuck Roberson, Douglas quips Mine hit the ground first--whereupon Wayne replies Mine was taller. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide.

The Big Sky is based on a popular novel by A.B. Guthrie. Kirk Douglas and Dewey Martin play a pair of Kentucky frontiersmen who embark upon the first keelboat trip up the Missouri River way back in 1830. Joining Douglas and Martin are Martin's grizzled old uncle Arthur Hunnicutt and garrulous Frenchman Steven Geray. Running afoul of various Indian tribes, Douglas nonetheless romances Sioux princess Elizabeth Threatt (their off-screen relationship was on the kinky side, as an embarrassed Douglas reveals in his autobiography). Director Howard Hawks leavens the Boys' Own Adventure atmosphere of the film with a few isolated comic sequences, including a sidesplitting scene in which Douglas' gangrenous finger is cut off. Produced for RKO Radio by Hawks' own Winchester Pictures, The Big Sky was released at 141 minutes, though the TV print runs 122 minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide.

Stars Michael Douglas and Kirk Douglas, and director Fred Schepisi discuss having three generations of the Douglas family play three generations of Grombergs in the film.