In 1901, Arthur Davies (Simon MacCorkindale) is sailing his yacht along the Frisian Islands on the German coast. Another yacht takes note of him and soon a young lady arrives to invite him for dinner. She is Clara Dollman (Jenny Agutter), a German girl who speaks excellent English. Arthur accepts the invitation and meets Clara's father and step-mother. Herr Dollman is particularly interested in Davies' activities and reacts with something like alarm when Davies reveals that he is mapping the islands and sandbars. Davies is convinced something peculiar is afoot and sends a letter to his old school chum, Charles Carruthers (Michael York), who speaks fluent German and has a junior post in the foreign office. Carruthers is an aristocrat and, as such, is immediately put-off by Davies' tiny yacht. Moreover, he thinks that Davies has no reason to be suspicious of Dollman. However, he changes his view when he also provokes alarmed reactions from German officers. What are the Germans doing?
The movie is something of a spy thriller, with the two young Englishmen poking their noses where they don't belong. There is a good story here but it comes off mostly dull in this telling. Davies' growing relationship with Clara is not allowed to flourish once Carruthers arrives. Clara is left as a side character with little to do and only interacts with Davies in Carruthers' presence: awkward. Davies and Carruthers should have been fused into one character, especially since most of the excitement sees one or the other infiltrating a factory or fleeing soldiers or fighting sailors. The chemistry between the two is good and their banter is fun, but it distracts from the thriller aspects of the story. Rather than opening and closing narration, the movie should have bookended the story with the discussed Royal visit between Kaiser Wilhelm (Wolf Kahler) and King Edward VII. Open all cordial and jovial before Edward gets a stern look where he says they must discuss something. Insert the action of Davies and Carruthers. Return to the meeting where Wilhelm is now pale. Show, don't tell, especially in a movie.
The most interesting thing about the movie is that it was based on a 1903 book, which warned against a German assault on the English coast. More than a decade before the Great War, Erskine Childers saw conflict coming between the two nations.
It is just okay.
