The Riddle of the Sands

I thoroughly enjoyed this old-fashioned spy yarn based on a novel by Erskine Childers. The story is simplicity in itself: a quintessentially British yachtsman, Arthur Davies, is exploring off the coast of Germany when he uncovers some strange activity. He calls in his upper-crust friend, Carruthers, and the two soon find themselves out of their depth and caught up in some sinister events.

Okay, so there isn't much story to go along with, and the story that there is is rather predictable. That's beside the point: RIDDLE OF THE SANDS is a strongly visual film that conveys the joys of being free on the oceans, as well as the pleasure of a world that was a lot simpler than ours. It's well-shot throughout with an infectious charm, and as the two leads, Simon MacCorkindale and Michael York have a wonderfully deadpan chemistry.

The thriller and spy aspects, although relatively mundane by modern-day standards, are interspersed well with the rest of the story, and Jenny Agutter turns up as lovely as ever. There are some well-handled set-pieces dotted throughout - the atmospheric journey through the fog, the hide-out in the loft, the dinner scene - and if the film doesn't perhaps excite you as it might, then it leaves you with a warm and cosy feeling afterwards, like the effect of sitting by the dying-down remnants of a roaring fire.

If you've read the book you'll realise that it couldn't be made into a 90 minute or so film. Bits have to be cut and some scenes adapted so that the film contains a flowing understandable narrative. Often this is not particularly successful. Riddle of the Sands suffers to some extent in this way. Nevertheless this is a pretty good attempt at transferring the book to film. Michael Yorke and Simon McCorkindale are right for the parts they play. Neither are my favourite actors but I don't think many others would have portrayed the characters, warts and all, as realistically. The supporting cast are where the real strength of the film lies. Hans Meyer as Grimm is wonderfully sinister, as indeed is Michael Sheard as Boehme. Alan Badel was one of the best actors ever and his portrayal of Dollman is flawless. Jenny Agutter as Clara also shines. The music by Howard Blake deserves mention because the soundtrack is so important when setting the mood and, besides, the recurrent theme is a very nice piece of music. This is a slow-paced film but is nonetheless a powerful and well told story. If you want fast action and explosions everywhere give it a miss and head for some standard Hollywood identikit action film. If you want a well made story set in beautiful surroundings with good understated performances and a decent soundtrack try and hunt down a copy of the video or catch it on one of its rare TV showings.

It is needless to say that the book is much better. It's a real classic spy story. But the movie adaptation was quite a surprise. It obeys the storyline of the book, but: (1) the first part of the novel is totally left out; and (2) the last 15 minutes are in many ways somewhat different from the novel. Nevertheless, these changes are quite understandable: they make the movie more agile, more suitable for the screen.

The main characters are very faithful to the novel. British actors are very good, well casted and well characterized. German actors are somewhat stereotyped, but go along. Fighting scenes, more often than in the book, could have been better performed. Scenery is beautiful.

For a 1979 movie, I should say it deserves a seven. Had it been filmed in the 21st Century, I think it could have another 20 to 30 minutes – so as to better explore the feelings of the main characters (as the book does in its first part).

The Riddle of the sands is an espionage thriller, but it is also a coming of age story. Carruthers begins as a prat and little by little under Davies' gentle tutelage, he becomes a great human being and a man. The film draws this beautifully, and the three leads are adorable together. For people who like boats, it's a feast, and major actors of the film are the boats... Dulcibella is a great fictional heroine and she (and the others) are beautifully rendered here.

The music is haunting. Yes it doesn't move fast, but that's what sailing's about. It's a pleasure in a fast-moving world to imagine a time when things happened at sailboat speed.

The DVD print is crisp and clear, and there are no format problems A joy to watch!

It's probably impossible to transfer the cozy atmosphere of Erskine Childers's book to the screen, but Maylam's attempt is a creditable one. The Dutch and German villages, the sand banks, the coastline, all in muted browns and greys, look every bit as dull as you'd expect them to, but we begin to see their attraction; and something of the feeling of day-to-day life on a boat is conveyed to us. A nice score by Howard Blake helps give us the measure of things.

It's what we COULD have expected to survive transition to the screen - excitement - that's most really lacking. Childers's novel was (so everyone says) the first modern spy story. In addition to a love of the sea it also conveys a sense of menace, a feeling that something of importance hangs on the riddle of the sands, which the film, blandly paced and having to resort now and then to first-person narration, doesn't. It's still pleasing enough, especially if you've read the book and the film isn't giving away any of its secrets.