The Riddle of the Sands

1979
PG
1h 42m

IMDb RATING

6.4/10

1.4K

YOUR RATING

Jenny Agutter, Michael York, Wolf Kahler, and Simon MacCorkindale in The Riddle of the Sands (1979)

Adventure Drama Thriller

In 1901, two British yachtsmen visiting Germany's Frisian Islands accidentally discover a German plot to invade England.In 1901, two British yachtsmen visiting Germany's Frisian Islands accidentally discover a German plot to invade England.In 1901, two British yachtsmen visiting Germany's Frisian Islands accidentally discover a German plot to invade England.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.4/10

1.4K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Trivia
The author of the novel, Erskine Childers, was a British Army veteran of the Boer War and World War I. He became an Irish nationalist and revolutionary leader. He was later executed during the Irish Civil War on November 24, 1922. His son Erskine Hamilton Childers served as the fourth President of Ireland from June 25, 1973 until his death on November 17, 1974.

Goofs
When Clara visits just after the attempted ramming, she is wearing a hat and coat. When she leaves and rows away, she is just wearing a dress without the coat and hat. She is clearly seen throwing the coat into the boat before rowing away.

Quotes
Davies: Do you realize that England has not defenses at all facing Germany? No North Sea fleet? And all her naval bases are in the south: Portsmouth, Chatham.
Carruthers: Historical accident.
Davies: Oh quite! But now it's not France whom we have to guard against. Germany is growing stronger every single day, and very soon, her navy will rival ours.

Crazy credits
Opening credits prologue: Frisian Islands, Germany 1901

Connections
Featured in Wonderland: Episode #1.4 (2022)

User reviews42

Review

Featured review

8/10

As a film and as an adaptation, Riddle of the Sands is solid

The book is an absolute classic, but it is not a very easy one to adapt at all. While not quite succeeding, Riddle of the Sands is a very solid film. It is quite slow in places and the actor playing Kaiser is very wooden. However, the film is beautifully shot, with striking locations, interesting fashions and exquisite photography. Howard Blake's haunting score compliments the mood of the film brilliantly and the story and the script are very interesting. The sailing scenes are excellently done, and there is a fine cast, excepting Kaiser. Michael York and Simon McCorkindale are excellent, actually in regards to McCorkindale I don't think I have seen him this good before, while Alan Badel is appropriately sinister and Jenny Agutter provides an emotional weight that wasn't there in the book but was welcome here. So all in all, solid and worth watching. 8/10 Bethany Cox