The Sea Wolves
The Sea Wolves
PG | 05 June 1981 (USA)
The Sea Wolves Trailers

A German spy is passing on information about the location of Allied ships in the neutral harbor of Goa, India, with catastrophic results. Unable to undertake a full military operation in the Portuguese stronghold, English intelligence brings out of retirement a crew of geriatric ex-soldiers, veterans from World War I, using their age as cover. These old soldiers are asked to take to the seas and pull off an unlikely undercover mission.

Reviews
Reptileenbu Did you people see the same film I saw?
Holstra Boring, long, and too preachy.
SparkMore n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.
Connianatu How wonderful it is to see this fine actress carry a film and carry it so beautifully.
Leofwine_draca This affectionate wartime thriller sees a bunch of old timers meeting up for one final mission, their aim to destroy a trio of German ships that have been responsible for destroying many allied ships off the coast of India. It's a nostalgic movie that harks back to the good old days of derring-do and stiff upper lips, and I have to say that I enjoyed the feelings and memories it evoked. It's also pleasing to see a film entirely populated (for the most part) by "old" actors who prove themselves just as capable as their younger brethren.The film isn't perfect by any means and in fact it's rather rough around the edges: the running time is bloated and I would have preferred the exclusion of all the sub-plots surrounding Roger Moore's character. Moore is playing a Bond type in rather laborious subterfuge scenes in which he visits casinos, beds a beautiful woman (Barbara Kellerman, who went on to be the White Witch in the BBC LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE), has a few shoot-outs with German henchmen, and tracks a deadly traitor. Sadly, all of these moments are extraneous to the central plot and drag the pacing down. Moore is at his cheesy worst despite the presence of his twinkling blue eyes and he makes half the film feel like a sub-Bond outing.The scenes involving the gang of old codgers aboard their boat are far better and a lot of fun. I loved the way these aged heroes play against stereotype, raring to go and looking for action despite the creaks and groans. Gregory Peck adopts a fine British accent as the chief hero, and he's supported by a quite wonderful cast of familiar British faces: David Niven, Trevor Howard, Patrick Macnee, Patrick Allen, and Percy Herbert to name but a few. The actual storming of the German ship only takes place in the last twenty minutes of the film, but it's a riveting and action-packed climax and one that (rarely) doesn't disappoint.
buiger What great escapist fun! This movie is excellent as long as you don't take it seriously, like the above critics did. Anyone who knows the Brits will understand. The two critics main complaint is that the movie is too slow getting where it is headed. My answer to them is: 'It is not reaching the goal that counts but the journey itself!' Today's 'modern' movies are far too fast-paced for their own good in my opinion.Granted, it is strange to make almost a parody out of a true WW II exploit, but then again, making fun of serious matters and of oneself is the basis of British humor... The cast of course is great, how enjoyable is it to watch the likes of Gregory Peck, David Niven, Roger Moore and many others really having fun filming this flick! I very much enjoyed this cross between 'Bridge on the River Kwai', James Bond and 'Monty Python'. They don't make them like this any more... Highly recommended, as long as you don't expect a 'real' WW II film.
Claudio Carvalho In March 1943, in the World War II, the Germans use the neutral harbor of the Portuguese colony of Mormugoa to transmit information to a U-Boat about the allied ships to sink them in international waters. In Calcutta, the British Intelligence assigns Colonel Lewis Pugh (Gregory Peck) and Captain Gavin Stewart (Roger Moore) to spy in Goa and they discover that there are three German vessels anchored in the area and the famous spy Trompeta (Wolf Kahler) is based in Goa. They kidnap Trompeta to interrogate him but Lewis accidentally kills the spy after fighting with him in the runaway car. Meanwhile Gavin has one night stand with the gorgeous and elegant Mrs. Cromwell (Barbara Kellerman), who is the partner of Trompeta. They fail in their mission, but Lewis and Gavin convince their chief to use the veterans from Calcutta Light Horse led by the retired Colonel W.H. Grice (David Niven) to travel to Goa on board of the old ship Phoebe, pretending to be drunken businessmen on holiday. They prepare to destroy the Ehrenfels and the two other Nazi radio ships and get the German secret codes under the command of Lewis. Meanwhile Gavin on shore has a love affair Mrs. Cromwell and prepares the diversion to facilitate the mission of Lewis and his men."The Sea Wolves" is an entertaining adventure apparently based on a true but incredible story. The use of retired military in the operation in a neutral zone seems to be too fantastic and romantic to be true and does not make sense why risky the operation exposing old men and not real soldiers. Would it make any difference to England after the sinking of twelve allied vessels? The unknown Barbara Kellerman is really a pretty woman and tailored for the role of a seductive spy. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "Espionagem em Goa" ("Spionage in Goa")
max843 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.