Chaps at sea

The Riddle of the Sands (1979)

Based on the book of the same name Michael York and Simon MacCorkindale star in this turn of the century naval espionage. Two chaps who know each other from Oxford try and find out what the evil Germans are up to off the coast of Hamburg.

The plot for this film provides an interesting snap shot into the pre World War One paranoia in Britain that was gradually growing based on increased German militarism but other than that it is not very impressive. There is little suspense or tension in the film and some of the German accents deployed are more suspect than the antagonists plots. In the end this is a fairly average “thriller” without many thrills really, probably a lot more cause for discussion at the time the novel was written in 1903.

3/5 average British sea going adventure with a distinct old world feel.