''The Sea Wolves'' is a 1980

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about navy, naval, air force, air, or army, land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle s ...

starring

Gregory Peck Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars, 12th-greatest male ...

, Roger Moore and David Niven. The film, which is based on the 1978 book ''Boarding Party'' by James Leasor, is the true story of Operation Creek during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In the covert mission, the Calcutta Light Horse, part of the Cavalry Reserve in the

British Indian Army The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...

, successfully sank a German merchant ship in Mormugão Harbour in neutral

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

's territory of Goa, India, on 9 March 1943. The ship had a secret radio which was transmitting information about Allied shipping to

U-boats U-boats are naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the First and Second World Wars. The term is an anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the German term refers to any submarine. Austro-Hungarian Na ...

operating in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

. The film, which starred veteran American and British actors, was produced by Euan Lloyd and directed by Andrew V. McLaglen; both had previously worked together on the successful 1978 British-Swiss war film '' The Wild Geese''.

Plot

During World War II, German U-boats are sinking thousands of tons of British merchant shipping in the Indian Ocean. British intelligence, based in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, believes that information is being passed to the

U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...

s by a radio transmitter hidden on board one of three German merchant ships interned in Goa, then a

colony A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their ''metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often orga ...

of Portugal. Since Portugal is neutral, the ships cannot be attacked by conventional forces. The head of the Indian section of the

Special Operations Executive Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a British organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in German-occupied Europe and to aid local Resistance during World War II, resistance movements during World War II. ...

(SOE) authorises attempts to kidnap and interrogate two known German agents, but these operations both fail. An approach is then made to a

Territorial A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

unit of British expatriates, the Calcutta Light Horse, to carry out the mission on its behalf. They all volunteer – all are trained in military skills and keen to 'do their bit'. Whilst the volunteers are trained, Stewart and Cartwright travel covertly to Goa. By a mixture of blackmail and bribery, they arrange diversions on the night of the raid. A party is to be held in the Governor's palace, a

brothel A brothel, strumpet house, bordello, bawdy house, ranch, house of ill repute, house of ill fame, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in Human sexual activity, sexual activity with prostitutes. For legal or cultural reasons, establis ...

will offer free entry to sailors from ships in the port and a Carnival with fireworks will be held. Stewart has a brief affair with Mrs. Cromwell, a mysterious and socially well-connected woman, who turns out to be a German agent and the main conduit to the German 'Master Spy', known to the Germans and the British by the code-name ''Trompeta'' (Trumpet). She is eventually killed by Stewart after she attempts to kill him, but not before she has killed Jack Cartwright. The raiding party sail around the coast in a decrepit and barely seaworthy

barge A barge is typically a flat-bottomed boat, flat-bottomed vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. Original use was on inland waterways, while modern use is on both inland and ocean, marine water environments. The firs ...

; they set limpet mines on the hull of the German ships in Goa. They then board one which is being used to transmit signals to U-boats, catching the depleted crew off-guard. Despite Pugh's order that there be no shooting, several German sailors are killed. The ship is set alight and the party withdraws, watching as the ship sinks. The final scene shows a surfacing German U-boat which is expecting to hear a signal from the now sunken ship.

Differences from actual raid

While certain elements are faithful to the real-life raid, in reality the ships were not blown up by limpet mines but scuttled by their own crew. It is widely believed the intention was the capture of the ships rather than their destruction. Only four German crew died, with the rest swimming ashore. The German spy known as Trumpet was in reality not a single person but a couple. Captured by Pugh and Stewart, they were interrogated by British Intelligence but all trace of them was removed from the records and their fate is unknown.

Cast

Production

Development

The film was originally known as ''Boarding Party''. According to the documentary ''The Last of the Gentleman Producers'', producer Euan Lloyd says that he originally planned to reunite Moore with ''Wild Geese'' co-stars

Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his mellifluous baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s and gave a memor ...

and

Richard Harris Richard St John Francis Harris (1 October 1930 – 25 October 2002) was an Irish actor and singer. Having studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, he rose to prominence as an icon of the British New Wave. He received numerous a ...

as Pugh and Grice. Fifty percent of the budget was provided by Lorimar. They fell out with United Artists, their distributor, before the film was delivered. Lorimar subsequently formed a new relationship with Paramount but producer Euan Lloyd thought that studio regarded the film as "the poor cousin" and as a result it "wasn't sold properly".

Casting

The film reunited much of the cast and crew from 1978's '' The Wild Geese'', including actors Roger Moore, Kenneth Griffith, Jack Watson, Percy Herbert, Patrick Allen, Brook Williams, Patrick Holt and Terence Longdon, writer Reginald Rose, producer Euan Lloyd, director Andrew V. McLaglen, designer Syd Cain, and composer Roy Budd.

Filming

Filming took place on location in Goa, India.

Soundtrack

The title music for ''The Sea Wolves'' was adapted by Roy Budd from the famous '' Warsaw Concerto'' of composer Richard Addinsell. Budd had, at the time, already composed or arranged numerous other film scores, notably those of '' The Wild Geese'' and '' Get Carter''. For ''The Sea Wolves'', Budd added lyrics by

Leslie Bricusse Leslie Bricusse OBE (; 29 January 1931 – 19 October 2021) was a British composer, lyricist, and playwright who worked on theatre musicals and wrote theme music for films. He was best known for writing the music and lyrics for the films '' D ...

to his, Budd's, arrangement of the ''Warsaw Concerto'' music, the resulting song being entitled ''The Precious Moments,'' sung by the British baritone Matt Monro, who had also sung title tracks for many other films. Incidental music is from the Warsaw Concerto.

Release

The film had its world premiere on 3 July 1980 at the Leicester Square Theatre in London before opening to the public the following day there and at the Odeon Marble Arch.

Reception

Film critic Robert Roten gave the film a "C+," and described it as "a workmanlike film told in a non-flashy, straightforward way, featuring an all-star cast."

References

External links

* * * *
Boarding Party
by James Leasor, 1978, 2011. * O Espião Alemão em Goa: SOE operation "Longshanks", 2nd edition – José António Barreiros
A comic movie poster of The Sea Wolves
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sea Wolves 1980 films 1980s historical films 1980s war adventure films British historical films British war adventure films Films based on British novels Films directed by Andrew McLaglen Films set in the British Raj Films set in Goa Films set on ships Films set in 1943 Films about submarine warfare Films shot in England Films shot in India Paramount Pictures films Seafaring films based on actual events World War II films based on actual events World War II naval films Films with screenplays by Reginald Rose Films scored by Roy Budd Films shot in Goa 1980s English-language films 1980s British films English-language war adventure films English-language historical films