North Sea Hijack – 1980 | 99 mins | Thriller | Colour

Plot Synopsis

Gripping adventure yarn with Roger Moore in good form as a cantankerous naval trouble-shooter called in when terrorists seize control of a number of oil rigs. Based on the novel Esther, Ruth, and Jennifer by Jack Davies, who also penned the screenplay, North Sea Hijacks terrorist/hostage theme is commonplace today and this film could be seen as a precursor to the big budget Die Hard genre. It is a tense, well-paced thriller with the occasional light touch of wit and humour, able support is also provided by James Mason and Anthony Perkins.

A group of terrorists led by psychopath Kramer (Anthony Perkins) hijack a Norwegian supply ship and threaten to blow up two North Sea oil rigs using the stolen vessel as a floating bomb – unless their ransom demands are met. Unwilling to negotiate, British government representative Admiral Brinsden (James Mason) calls in eccentric adventurer James Excalibur ffolkes (Roger Moore), a cat-loving counter-terrorist to capture the vessel and bring the villains to justice. Ffolkes possesses his own private underwater army of former commando and marines, who battle thunderstorm conditions to storm the rigs.