Cheap Sea Wolves (Video) (Andrew V. McLaglen) Price

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Customer Reviews of Sea Wolves

Excellent and TRUE Last Hurrah for The Light Horse!
I first saw this film on HBO. I tuned in because two long-time favourites (Roger Moore & Patrick Macnee) were listed. I watched it over several times, bought it on VHS, and now own it on DVD. <
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>This is based on a true event in WWII, when the British were losing cargo to a U-Boat pack in the Indian Ocean. Since the problem stemmed from the neutral Portugese port of Goa, nothing 'official' could be done. The Calcutta Light Horse, a group of retired British military, are recruited to do the impossible, and pulled it off. The event was declassified in 1980, and the film was made. Most of the cast is portraying actual persons involved, as shown in the end credits. <
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>To play the 'past prime' Light Horse members, the film recruited major names: David Niven, Trevor Howard, Kenneth Griffith, Morgan Sheppard, Patrick Allen, Glyn Houston, and a cadre of others you will know. The "thin on top, thick in the middle" troops are led by professional soldiers Gregory Peck, Roger Moore, and Patrick Macnee. Peck plays Col. Lewis Pugh, a colonel whose family was in Coventry when it was plastered by the Luftwaffe. Moore plays Capt. Gavin Stewart, a bit of a playboy who falls for local lovely spy Barbara Kellerman. Macnee plays Major "Yogi" Crossley, the explosives expert fond of reading the paper while standing on his head. All cast members are well up to the task. Most memorable of the supporting cast is Wilton who is charged with nursing the engines of their rather creaky craft. When told he has to stay on the ship rather than going aboard the target vessel, Wilton says: "Request permission to say, 'S--t' sir." <
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>The fun is watching these men train for the mission; the suspense is watching them perform it. To a man, the whole Light Horse volunteered for the mission, despite knowing there was no pay, recognition, medals, or any form of compensation. With only one fatality, despite overwhelming odds and several casualties, they manage. <
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>The only flaw of the film, for me, is Peck's British accent which is overdone when present and tends to fade in and out. Director Andrew McLaglen should have dispensed with it entirely. (MacLaglen also directed Moore in 'fflokes,' another offbeat role for The Saint whose name was Bond.) <
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>Action, humour, romance, suspense - all based on a true story - this one has it all, including a title & credit sequences of the actual event. <
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The Older Guys have the Right Stuff
This is by no means an action packed war movie. Instead, it is about a group of retirees from the Calcutta Light Horse, a regiment from India, who are recruited to a covert operation to sink German ships passing information to U boats in violation of neutrality. The regiment is one that had not seen action since the Boer War at the turn of the century; now they are called to the colors again during WWII. The subtitle, "Last Charge of the Calcutta Lighthorse", conjures up a mental image for me of a bunch of guys on horses charging ships. That is not what happens. They take the James Bond route instead. <
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>The geriatric commandos are eager to serve and do manage to accomplish their mission. They do encounter setbacks and problems and that is where the movie shines. They are assisted in their mission by Gregory Peck and Roger Moore, two people who are trained in the world of clandestine operations. It sounds silly but it works well. <
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>This is a fun movie and worth subsequent viewings.

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they don't make them like this now...
I bought this used in a video store today and the tape freezed up on me 2/3 of the way thru the movie. I am now ordering the DVD on Amazon because I opened (read: broke open) the videotape up in a futile attempt to fix the problem and see the end of the film tonight because I was so enthralled by the story. Drat, I couldn't fix it. <
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>Yes, the story builds a bit slow, but this is a really interesting story based on a true WWII attack. Without giving away the plot, it is highly believable that a minor character, an Indian national was working with the Nazis against the British because he saw this as a way to get independence for India - and/or vent his hatred of Britian. What the Nazis would would have done to the dark skinned Indians had they won the war is another story. But even if you don't know that piece of history, you can get the story (ok, you know it now). The story flows. I can't wait to see the ending and how all characters resolve their issues - as well as how the attack goes down.