Espionagem em Goa

What a group of strange reviews. Granted, I am 69 but I just started watching tons of movies since retiring (we had no money growing up). Thank God for cable, especially TCM, AMC and the History Channel. (And to IMDb.com - the first favourite added to my desktop in 1994!)

The fact that this is based on a true story made all the difference. Yes, life was like that back then.

Re: Mr. Peck's accent - I've known plenty of Englishmen who sounded like that. What odd comments.

The locations were great - nice to see something authentic. And I agree, the clothing could have been a bit less modern. Finances were tight all over during WWII.

And to say these actors were past their prime! An actor is an actor is an actor - until physically or mentally impaired. (I've felt this way since high school so it is not just compassion for those now in my age group.)

All in all, a satisfying experience.

A ponderous, but stately homage to the British Empire and the actual superlative function of British Intelligence. It is beautifully photographed, and in no hurry, which is somewhat refreshing in the light of modern, hyperactive drama. The film features solid acting by some great names supported by a prime polo stable of British character actors. The film makes a conscious effort to keep close to the historical record, which would be the reason for some of its more unlikely episodes. Only the writers of fiction need restrict themselves to the probable.

David Niven is worthy of himself, as is Gregory Peck, with an underplayed British accent. Roger Moore has a great deal of fun being a spy who is NOT James Bond, and is clearly enjoying the role. His feminine antagonist is portrayed as lethal and skilled, and Trevor Howard does himself credit in advanced old age.

The film's accurate sets and equipment are the results of many of the actual parties involved assisting in the film, which was made two years after the actual records of the Raid on Goa were finally made public by the British government.

The Sea Wolves is based on a true incident in which a bunch of middle aged and more than middle aged old soldiers from the British Raj in India got together and blew up three German freighters interned in the Port of Goa on the western coast of India.

The British had a delicate diplomatic problem. For over 300 years Goa and some surrounding suburb was Portugese territory and Portugal under Salazar was neutral in World War II. Made it a place for a whole lot of intrigue. The Nazis had a transmitter on one of those ships that was relaying information about allied shipping and the U-boats were cleaning up.

You might ask why it was the Nazis and not the Japanese. Very simply the Japanese never developed any real submarine capability just as the Nazis disdained developing aircraft carriers. Had both done so, World War II might have turned out differently, at least that's a pet theory of mine.

Gregory Peck and Roger Moore get the job of doing something about the spying and the transmitter. Roger Moore goes into Goa and does a little counterespionage. He certainly as James Bond has the right credentials. He even has a fling with the head Nazi who is a woman played by the very beautiful Barbara Kellerman.

Peck trains a force of former members of the Indian army now retired and waiting for the Raj to end as everyone but Winston Churchill knew it would. David Niven, Trevor Howard, Allan Cuthbertson, Patrick MacNee are some of men employed to go into Goa harbor and do away with those ships.

These are patriotic men whose country is in her biggest crisis and feel helpless in not being able to be of service. It's that way when you've spent your life in the military. When the opportunity knocks, they kick down the door.

In a recent biography of David Niven it's mentioned that Niven enjoyed being reunited with his Guns of Navarone co-star Gregory Peck and another guy who he had worked with, Trevor Howard. But the film was done in actual location in India and it was sometimes 140 degrees fahrenheit. It was pretty stressful and it exacerbated the symptoms of an undetected Lou Gehrig's disease that eventually took David Niven from us.

I remember in the early sixties Goa was eventually just taken over by India. The Portugese had a lease there just as they did at Macao and the British did in Hong Kong. But the Indians just weren't that patient.

The Sea Wolves is a good and entertaining film about a little known and very minor operation during World War II.

I would concur with the previous reviewers comments, though perhaps a little less enthusiastically. The Sea Wolves is entertaining, owing largely to a cast of good British actors. I saw this film on the History Channel, and as World War II buff, my interest in the film is largely around its wartime premise. I don't mind that the film makers have exercised minor artistic license with some of the story. It's often essential for good film storytelling.

In this case, the true story, which was declassified by the British government in 1978, two years before the making of the film, is such a good story that little embellishment is needed to make a good film. I suspect that in this film the romantic exploits of Roger Moore are fiction, but no matter. My favorite films of the war genre, "Force 10 from Navarone" and "The Dirty Dozen" are historical fiction. The Sea Wolves has a similar element of misfit commandos, which is really tautology. Both Force 10 from Navarone and The Dirty Dozen are wildly humorous. Having served in two wars, I recall much of what happened as humorous to the point of farce, equally mixed with the parts that were serious, including a few terrifying experiences. A few brief moments of terror can go a long way, when experienced in real life, but not nearly as far when watched on the screen. Therefore, film makers typically alter the mixture, adding more action to keep us riveted. Like the historical epics films, based on the books of Connelious Ryan ("The Longest Day" and "A Bridge Too Far"), The Sea Wolves seems to strive to be faithful to the actual events, and in doing so, ends up being a little slow in the start.

My harshest criticisms of the Sea Wolves are that its cinematography is rather uninspired, and its costumes are a disappointing to the historical enthusiast. Some of the uniforms and civilian clothes appeared to be reproductions in synthetic fabrics not used at the time. Also, as is typical of studio productions, some of the hairstyles were more influenced by contemporary styles than faithful renditions of the styles of the period. The film was shot entirely on location in India, where the authenticity of the sets and extras offer some consolation for the film's other failings.

In summary, The Sea Wolves, while having the makings of two kinds of great war movies-- the entertaining all-star blockbuster and the ultra-accurate historical epic-- but fails to fully deliver either. Still, a good story and competent acting make it work a look. In doing a little research on the Web, I was able to locate a book, entitled "Boarding Party: The Last Action of the Calcutta Light Horse." The reviews of the book on Amazon are very promising for both entertainment and history. The film has got me interested, so I'll be sure to read it.

This movie really is an oddity - as others have noted its hard to see it being made now and it was pretty odd to see it being made then. However, I'd encourage folk to watch it as its an old-fashioned yarn featuring some splendid cameos from a strong cast of supporting actors. As for the stars - well Messrs Niven, Peck and Moore aren't perhaps stretched too much but they do enough to show just why they were the stars. I think its called 'screen presence'. Peck's accent - a plucky effort and far from the worst I've heard.

A few minor points Why was the film made? Am I alone in suspecting that the director had a key role? Andy McLaglen had a penchant for casting favourite actors (a John Ford influence) and a scenario like this with ample opportunity to cast screen veterans would have appealed. He was also the son of the redoubtable Anglo-Irish actor Victor McLagan, an old soldier who (as you'll find elsewhere on IMDb)in the 1930s organised a semi-militaristic polo club called the 'Light Horse Brigade'. A coincidence - surely not, it must have appealed to McLaglen to publicise the story of another 'Light Horse' that did get to 'do its bit'.

On the German resistance. These were not crack Nazi stormtroopers - they were mainly merchant sailors (tho some would have had naval experience). They were also taken by surprise in a neutral port where they were happily sitting out the duration. Given those circumstances they put up a rather good fight in the film - and its to be noted four German survivors of the raid were advisers on the movie.

On people being shot in the arm. Were they supposed to invent extra British characters so they could kill them? On the whiskey - its the men's cover if the raid went off half-cocked as was quite possible.

On the dedication - Mountbatten was the wartime commander in the area of operations including the Indian Ocean. Being made so soon after his murder it must have appealed to McLaglen (British-born of Protestant Irish stock) to remind the viewers again that not all old soldiers get to live out their retirement peacefully. We should also recall the two teenage boys (one of them local) and the 83-year old woman killed along with Mountbatten in that terrorist atrocity.

Finally, I like the closing moments when the men are gazing at the burning ships. No champagne, no cheers, no high fives - just a comment of 'poor devils'.