Le mystère des sables

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).

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.

Tony Maylam (and Christopher Challis - read his autobiography, "Are they really so awful") went all-out in this film to recreate a feel for Erskine Childers's slightly jingoistic novel, and for the joy of messing about in boats. The film achieves much of what it set out to do, but some extra elements grafted on to the original plot slightly spoil it for me.

The plot features Davies, an English amateur yachtsman (brilliantly played by Simon MacCorkindale) who stumbles onto something strange while pottering around the bleak Friesian coast in northern Germany. Mystified, he summons his old friend Carruthers (Michael Yorke) to help uncover the secret.

As a detective tale or spy story viewed through the eyes of either Davies or Carruthers, the film works. The few action sequences, which are almost always seen from the viewpoint of others, tend to fall flat and spoil the overall continuity. The subtitles to scenes in which characters are speaking in German are annoying, since almost everything is also translated verbally for the benefit of Davies who does not speak the language.

That said, this is quite a tense film, and gives a very true rendering of the novel.

The scenery and props are quite superb. Davies's yacht is a joy to look at from the outside and suitable poky in the interior shots. The flat coastal scenery is very atmospherically shot and the costumes are very good.

Except for a rather wooden "Kaiser Bill", the acting is excellent, though this is no less than one would expect from such as Alan Badel and Jenny Agutter.

This film is very enjoyable, but best watched with one's thinking cap on.

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.

In 1901 English amateur yachtsman Arthur Davies is exploring a chain of islands off the German coast, attempting to update navigation charts for the area in which treacherous sandbanks abound. He becomes suspicious of a mysterious German called Dollmann, who apparently is running a salvage operation on one of the islands, and does not welcome Davies' interest in his activities. Davies summons the help of his friend Charles Carruthers, who works in the Foreign Office, to get to the bottom of the curious goings on.

This is an admirable attempt to film Erskine Childers classic novel. It manages to combine the laid back feel of amateur yachting with an intriguing mystery. Simon McCorkindale and Michael York blend together very well as the two English gentlemen turned amateur sleuths. They are complimented by the excellent and much missed Alan Badel as the sinister Dollmann, and Jenny Agutter as his daughter Clara. Much of the film's appeal is due to the exquisite cinematography of veteran Christopher Challis. He manages to evoke a strong sense of time and place with good location work, and is helped in this by solid production design and an enchanting musical score. My only real criticism is that sometimes the suspense sequences could have been more tightly constructed without compromising the genteel atmosphere of the piece.

It would be nice to see this appear on DVD at sometime in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio to really appreciate the photography (BBC2 do at least broadcast it in 1.78:1). However, the film was produced by Rank, and I fear that Carlton will hold the distribution rights. Anyone who has ever purchased one of their DVDs will attest to the utter contempt that they appear to have for the format. Films are usually released in 1.33:1 full frame no matter what their original ratio, and in the case of 'The Eagle Has Landed' there are also some 12 minutes of the film missing! With these points in mind it doesn't bode well. If you haven't seen 'The Riddle Of The Sands' try and catch it next time round on TV. You may be pleasantly surprised by it.