Operation Creek, one of the more unusual episodes of Second World War, was kept secret by the British government for quarter of century. When the secrecy officially ended, it opened opportunity for production The Sea Wolves, 1980 action film which is nowadays seen as something like swan song of WW2 action films. The plot, based on the book by James Leesor, begins in late 1942 when German submarines wreak havoc on Allied shipping in Indian Ocean. Their commanders owe their success to detailed information collected by spy network in British India and delivered via powerful radio transmitter situated on Ehrenfels, German merchant vessel interned in neutral harbour of Portuguese Goa. The British have identified the source of signal and two officers of Special Operations Executive – Colonel Lewis Pugh (played by Gregory Peck) and Captain Gavin Stewart (played by Roger Moore) – are sent to Goa to collect intelligence posing as civilian businessmen. Pugh devises a bold plan to eliminate the transmitter with the help of Calcutta Light Horse, reserve regiment of British Indian Army made out of middle-aged tea planters, lawyers and civil servants and whose commander and Pugh’s close friend, Colonel Grice (played by David Niven), is delighted at opportunity to take part in actual combat. Pugh’s idea is to infiltrate Goa with an old barge after which Grice’s volunteers, dressed in civilian clothes and pretending to be drunk businessmen from Bombay, would board and destroy Ehrenfels. As Grice’s men begin to train for the dangerous and difficult mission, Captain Stewart is preparing the diversion in Goa, where he also has to deal with network of German agents led by mysterious Mrs. Cromwell (played by Barbara Kellerman).
On paper, The Sea Wolves had all the proper ingredients for the classic WW2 action film. It was directed by Andrew V. McLaglen, film maker specialised in western and action films. The casting reunited Gregory Peck and David Niven, two stars of Guns of Navarone and Roger Moore, star of James Bond films, who had been previously directed by McLaglen in action hit The Wild Geese was added to the mix. The story was intriguing and the authors even bothered to uncharacteristically high attention to authenticity, which included use of Indian locations and event participants from both sides as technical advisors. On the other hand, casting of Peck and Niven, men in their late sixties, wasn’t the wisest decision for an action film; having middle-aged and, in some cases, elderly men participating in daring commando raid provided opportunity for some comedy, although the jokes were too forced and not particularly funny. Script by Reginald Rose, on the other hand, tried too hard to “spice up” true story with obviously Hollywood-like tropes like the Germans about to receive strategically important information about US aircraft carrier just before the raid or the commandos’ barge having engine failure in critical moment. But the worst detail of the script is addition of fictitious German lady spymaster who, predictably, ends in bed with Captain Stewart, character who talks, behaves, looks and even dresses like James Bond and, despite being based on real person, gives impression of being artificially inserted from another film. Well-directed and spectacular action scene at the end improves general impression enough to satisfy fans of the genre.
RATING: 5/10 (++)
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