North Sea Hijack (released as
ffolkes outside the UK and as
Assault Force on US TV) is a British
action film from
1979 starring
Roger Moore,
James Mason,
Anthony Perkins, and
Michael Parks. It was directed by
Andrew V. McLaglen and adapted by
Jack Davies from his novel
Esther, Ruth and Jennifer.
This film was a vehicle for both Moore and Perkins to try to escape typecasting. Previously Moore had been practically typecast as a
womanising, happy-go-lucky
playboy in such series as
The Saint, The Persuaders! and
James Bond. In contrast to those parts, he is shown here as a bearded, eccentric, arrogant cat-loving,
misogynist, yet he does show heroic qualities and is a master
strategist. Moore once said in an interview that he preferred this film to all the
James Bond movies he had starred in, despite acknowledging he was miscast in the lead role.
Story outline
Misogynist freelance marine
counter-terrorism consultant Rufus Excalibur ffolkes (
Roger Moore) is asked by
Lloyd's of London to develop a contingency plan should any of the
North Sea oil installations they insure be threatened.
Months later, "Esther", a
North Sea supply ship, takes on board a group of men posing as reporters who are visiting the oil production platform "Jennifer". The leader of this group, Lou Kramer (
Anthony Perkins), along with his second-in-command (and possible lover), Harold Schulman (
Michael Parks), hijack the...
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