Le commando de sa majesté

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.

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.

True WWII story about a commando-style mission undertaken by a group of middle-age semi-retired British Cavalrymen in 1943 . The crew of veteran saboteurs (most of them formed by veteran actors as Trevor Howard , Patrick Mcnee ,Morgan Sheppard , Terence Longdon and several more besides ) commanded by Gregory Peck and David Niven are assigned the dangerous operation by the general (Kenneth Griffith) to blow up a German ship called Ehrenfels that carries a radio station located in the port of Marmagoa . They must destroy a transmitter in Goa , a Portuguese colony and neutral territory . As the end credits of this movie state , "during the first 11 days of March 1943, U-boats sank 12 Allied ships in the Indian Ocean , after the Light Horse raid on Goa, only one ship was lost in the remainder of the month¨. The film is dedicated to the memory of the honorary colonel of the Calcutta Light Horse , Admiral of the Fleet the Earl Mountbatten of Burma , K.G. 1900-1979 . The producers wish to thank the Government of India and Administration and peoples of Goa and to pay tribute to commander B.S. Davies whose skill and courage at the helm of ¨Phoebe¨ contributed so much to the success of the mission . There are not the ¨Sea Wolves ¨of the title also called ¨Wolf pack¨ , that refers to the Nazi U-boats that are doing the shipwrecked and damage on the Allied fleet.

This exciting film contains intrigue , suspense , noisy action scenes ,fascinating battles and an enjoyable love story with treason and tragedy between Roger Moore and Barbara Kellerman who results to be the main fascination of the film . Other chief excitements about the movie, will be in the intervention of famous British secondaries who realize professionally competent interpretations , some of them with no more than a line or two to say as Allan Cuthberson ,Patrick Allen , Donald Houston , Jack Watson , Grahame Stark , John Standing , Percy Herbert and several others . Vibrant and rousing musical score by Roy Budd with agreeable final song titled ¨The precious moment¨ sung by the usual Matt Monroe . Colorful and evocative cinematography by Tony Imi .

The picture finely directed by Andrew V. McLagen is based on the book ¨Boarding party¨ by James Leasor who took actual events for his writing , these are the following : On reserve since the Boer War, they are most noted for their attack with members of the Calcutta Scottish against the German ship, Ehrenfels. The operation was organized by SOE's India Mission. It was kept covert, to avoid the political ramifications of contravening Portuguese neutrality in Goa, and was not revealed until thirty-five years afterwards, in 1978. The Ehrenfels was known to be transmitting information on Allied ship movements to U-boats from Mormugao Harbour in Portugal's neutral territory of Goa on 9 March 1943.The Light Horse embarked on the barge Phoebe at Calcutta and sailed around India to Goa. After the Ehrenfels erupted in a fireball and was sunk by the team of British saboteurs, British intelligence dispatched an open message over the wire falsely warning that they would invade Goa. The crews of the other two German ships in the Harbour, the Drachenfels and Braunfels, received the message and scuttled their ships in Goa's Harbour in the belief that they were protecting their ships from capture by the British. Italian ships in the Harbour were also destroyed. In 1951 all three ships were salvaged.

Based on a true story, the Sea Wolves are a geriatric impossible mission team called back to duty after 40 years of retirement with the offer of a dangerous mission that carries no hope of reward or recognition for their efforts. And they jump at the chance!

The movie itself is rather average, but the story is great fun, and more suspensible at times than one might expect. It suffers only from a decidedly 1970s made-for-television feel to the production, though the story is set in 1943. But even this drawback is ameliorated somewhat by closing credits where images of the real-life heroes from World War II are juxtaposed with those of the actors who immortalized their heroism in this film. Well worth watching.

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.