The Riddle of the Sands (film)

Several producers and directors had tried to make a film based on the novel but the Childers family had not wanted to sell the rights. This ceased to be a problem when the novel passed into the public domain.[3]

Tony Maylam and Drummond Challis, son of photographer Christopher Challis, formed a production company to make the film and succeeded in raising the finance from the Rank Organisation, who had recently decided to get back into film production, prompted by the success of Murder on the Orient Express (1974). Additional finance was provided by the National Film Finance Corporation. It was the feature film debut for both Challis and Maylam.[4] Rank announced the project in January 1978 as part of a slate of films worth £8 million.[5]

The script was basically faithful to the novel although some details and the ending were changed. Maylam thought the novel "had a rather more anti-climactic ending, and we felt a more up-beat ending was essential for a feature film. But we feel it is still very much in the Childers style."[3]

Among the changes were the inclusion of the Kaiser (although his presence at the trial towing of the lighter is hinted at in the book) and the fate of the character of Dollman (in the original novel he drowned himself; in the film he is mortally wounded after being shot, then killed when the Germans ram his yacht.) Maylam:

The failing of the book is that Dollman falls apart as a character in the last chapter. In one breath he is a total opportunist who would do anything for his grand plan. The next moment he is a defeated man. I believe he was an opportunist to the bitter end. Oh, the purists will have a go at me, definitely, but in all other respects we have strived to remain faithful to the book. Without bastardising the story, we are making the characters more defined and the ending is now much more believable and exciting.[4]

Filming was done in the Netherlands, West Germany and at Bushey Studios, Hertfordshire, England. Many scenes were shot on the Frisian Islands on the North Sea coast of Germany and the Netherlands, the same locale as in the book.

The unit was partly based in the town of Enkhuizen in the Netherlands; although that town had no relevance to the novel, its harbour provided easy access to the Zuider Zee where the unit could shoot sailing sequences all day unhampered by tidal delays. Many of the crew lived on board a cruiser during the shoot because it was cheaper than staying in local accommodation, of which there was a shortage. The train scenes are filmed between Twisk and Medemblik (Bensersiel and Emden in the film respectively) on the track and in the carriages of the Hoorn–Medemblik heritage railway.

Several scenes were also shot in the German village of Greetsiel. The sequence of Carruthers and Davies navigating their way between sandbanks in the Frisian Islands was shot on Frensham Ponds in Surrey with the aid of nine large fog machines; this was done because the tidal flows and sands of the Frisian Islands would have made actually filming there very difficult.[4]

While filming on the Johanna Lucretia, playing the Medusa, cinematographer Christopher Challis and camera operator John Palmer would hold the camera in place with slings of rope and elastic, soaking up the ship's motion and allowing the operator free rein. This technique was developed by Challis and Palmer when they made The Deep (1977).[4]

Davies' boat, the Dulcibella, was converted from an Isle of Wight lifeboat.

The film was Tony Maylam's feature film debut. He said during filming:

So much rests on this picture. It's very important to prove myself. I owe a big debt to people like Alan Parker and Ridley Scott, who proved to the film establishment that a young film director can get it all together and deliver. If this is a commercial and artistic success it can only help my generation of filmmakers. My motto is compromise under pressure. One hopes one doesn't have to compromise too much. But let's face it, the whole of life's a compromise.[4]

During filming, Michael York took an option for the film rights on a biography on Erskine Childers, The Zeal of the Convert by Burke Wilkinson. This film was never made.[6]

The film was not the hoped for success at the box office and was one of the last films financed by the Rank Organisation.[7]

In February 1980 the Rank Organisation reported the losses on Eagle's Wing, The Lady Vanishes and Riddle of the Sands would be £2-3 million, contributing to an overall loss to Rank that year of £1.5 million.[8]

In the United States, the film was released in April 1984.[9]

The critic from the Observer called the film "an affectionate, commendably straight adaptation... the excitement somewhat abates in the perfunctorily handled scenes ashore... the cinematographer Christopher Challis uses the Panavision screen to fine dramatic effect."[10] The Guardian also praised the cinematography but complained "the set pieces are none too convincing and the whole regrettably lacks the eye for detail that could have made it into an entirely convincing period piece."[11]

Alexander Walker of the Evening Standard said it "wasn't meant to be a children's film but that's how it looked - and it cost several hundreds of thousands of pounds, too much for that kind of film."[12]

The New York Times called the film a "slow but affable period piece"[13] while the Los Angeles Times said it "has the quaint, old fashioned sound of a Hardy Boys mystery about it" which "plays like a slightly more lethal boys' adventure story."[14]