A criminal band led by Mr. Kramer (Anthony Perkins) cons its way aboard a Norwegian supply ship that is bound for some North Sea oil drilling and processing platforms. No sooner is the ship underway than they hijack it. During stops at the platforms, divers are dispatched to plant explosives. Once all the explosives are in place, Kramer contacted the British government and demanded millions in payment to save the platforms. As luck would have it, Rufus Excalibur ffolkes (Roger Moore) had trained his commandos for just such a situation. Summoned to deal with the terrorists, ffolkes is soon calling the shots. Oil Platform Administrator King (David Hedison), Admiral Brinsden (James Mason), and even the Prime Minister (Faith Brook) are following his dictates.
As a thriller, it is just okay. There is very little action, mostly just tense situations. The most interesting thing about the movie is the atypical casting of Roger Moore. Rather than a suave ladies man in the vein of his ongoing role as James Bond, here he is a bearded, cantankerous, cat-loving misogynist. The misogyny is played to the full with ffolkes. Rather than make a request of Mr. King's secretary, he would tell King to tell her even though she was in the room. Rather than the cultured drinking of Bond, here he swigs directly from the bottle that he keeps in his bag. I suspect he found this role to be a pleasant change of pace, an opportunity to play against type. Worthwhile just for that.
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