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The Riddle Of The Sands

1979, Movie, NR, 102 mins

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British yachtsman Arthur Davies (Simon MacCorkindale) is sailing along the northern coast of Germany, circa 1901, when he encounters German sea captain Dollmann (Alan Badel), who, it is later discovered, is actually a renegade British naval officer. His suspicions aroused, Davies calls on his old college chum Charles Carruthers (Michael York), and together they uncover the Kaiser's secret plan to invade England. The film is based on the 1903 Erskine Childers novel considered by many to be the forerunner of the modern espionage thriller; however, there are no thrills in this film adaptation, full of implausible situations and long sections in which nothing really seems to be happening. MacCorkindale and York are adequate but given very little to do; the exceptional Jenny Agutter may be familiar to fans of Nicholas Roeg's WALKABOUT (1971). The film does have some fine photography and interesting visual compositions. leave a comment
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