The Riddle of the Sands (1979)

In the early years of the 20th Century, two British yachtsmen (Michael York and Simon MacCorkindale) stumble upon a German plot to invade the east coast of England in a flotilla of ... See full summary »

Director:

Tony Maylam

Writers:

John Bailey (screenplay), Erskine Childers (novel),

Stars:

Michael York, Jenny Agutter, Simon MacCorkindale

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Michael York	...	Charles Carruthers
Jenny Agutter	...	Clara Dollmann
Simon MacCorkindale	...	Arthur Davies
Alan Badel	...	Dollmann
Jürgen Andersen	...	Cmdr. von Bruening (as Jurgen Andersen)
Michael Sheard	...	Boehme
Hans Meyer	...	Grimm
Wolf Kahler	...	Kaiser Wilhelm II
Olga Lowe	...	Frau Dollmann
Ronald Markham	...	Withers

Storyline

In the early years of the 20th Century, two British yachtsmen (Michael York and Simon MacCorkindale) stumble upon a German plot to invade the east coast of England in a flotilla of specially designed barges. They set out to thwart this terrible scheme, but must outwit not only the cream of the German Navy, but the feared Kaiser Wilhelm himself.

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Plot Keywords:

england | invasion | agent | male rear nudity | baltic sea | 

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Taglines:

Men can disappear without a trace...and their secrets with them.

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English German

Release Date:

1979 (UK)

Also Known As:

A homokpart rejtélye

Company Credits

Production Co:

National Film Finance Consortium, Rank Organisation, The, Worldmark

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Alan Badel was cast as Dollman when the originally cast actor withdrew from the project.

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Goofs

When Clara visits just after the attempted ramming she is wearing a hat and coat. When she leaves and rows away she is just wearing a dress without the coat and hat.

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Connections

Version of The Riddle of the Sands (1987)

User Reviews

Best ever small sailing boat movie.

The people who commented obviously loved it so much. So did I. No movie can be perfect, and anything with a strong nautical theme is very, very hard to get looking right. Look at all the pirate movies where it is obvious that a period ship, recreated at huge expense, has its sails hanging slack and is being propelled through the water by engines. There was a Columbus movie not long back where the bottom edge of a sail was flapping round his face while he said something deep and meaningful.

RofS is one of the few films that manage to sustain realistic nautical action and atmosphere right through. My only very minor quibble was that in the scene below decks where Clara puts on the kettle, there is far too much space above her head. But that could not detract from the "awkward English chap" conversation Arthur has with her.

Of course anything with Jenny Agutter in it is a good movie, but with Jenny and sailing boats as well, this is one to love.