The Boatniks

An accident prone Coast Guard ensign finds himself in charge of one of the busiest waterways in the U.S. Include three bumbling jewel thieves and their attempts to recover the jewels from the bottom of the bay. Good comedy but slow in places.

I couldn't believe how insanely boring this movie was. My dad brought it home once because it was cheaper to rent than all the other movies, and it sucked. Yes, yes, I'm a sucker too, I actually watched the whole thing. But how much more bad could it get? Well, the answer is, none more bad. There was absolutely no plot development, and the characters reminded me of doing plays in elementary school where you read the lines for the first time and all the words are disconnected: "oh. i. though. this. movie. was. bad." with no emotion whatsoever. Don't see it.

Like THE APPLE DUMPLING GANG five-years later, Disney juggles two stories in one with wacky villains and a kindheart4ed underdog in a World War II hero's son taking over a West Coast/Coast Guard headed by strict Don Ameche bossing the short, pudgy, gap-toothed Robert Morse...

Way too quickly hooked up with gorgeous sailing instructor Stefanie Powers, who rents vessels to three bumbling jewel thieves headed by Phil Silvers flanked by a cautious Norman Fell and dimwitted Mickey Shaughnessy...

Who take up most of the film, NOT in trying to sail to Mexico but attempting to recover the treasure where they accidentally dropped it in the bay...

Thus providing Morse a chance to prove he's isn't a flake, which is strange since, as the film's "jinxed" lead, he's really not all that clumsy or unlucky...

Meanwhile the best scenes ultimately become the slowest as the crooks keep ahead of their pursuers using a stolen mini submarine in a 100-minute comedy that should've been a sparse 80...

But, overall, the most enjoyable aspect is visual as in bikinis and tan shirtless souls on yachts and sailboats under So Cal's groovy 1970's sunshine: A freedom long gone.

I enjoyed this, possibly Disney's best live-action work since the mid-1960s.

'The Boatniks' captured my attention from start-to-finish, it never drags once thanks to a fun premise and a nicely chosen cast. I was wondering at the beginning how they were gonna connect the two plots together, thankfully they do a fine job at keeping things fresh and amusing.

Robert Morse (Garland) and Stefanie Powers (Kate) team up very effectively, I really bought into how they progress together. Away from those two, you have Phil Silvers (Harry), Norman Fell (Max) and Mickey Shaughnessy (Charlie) who bring most of the comical stuff, their characters aren't anything particularly revolutionary or unique but they are funny - especially given what occurs to them.

Strong pacing, pleasing humour that doesn't get repetitive and a well picked cast. You should definitely give this a watch.

I thought I had seen just about every Disney live action film from the 60's and 70's but I had never even heard of this one till I saw it on the shelf at the public library. I really enjoyed it. You've got your klutzy Coast Guard ensign Thomas Garland, a nice boating instructor girl who helps him out of his jams, and the very well-acted trio of jewel thieves. Plus some interesting minor characters as well. I particularly enjoyed watching Phil Silvers boss around his two crook associates and always seemed to get out of doing any work himself - it was very in character with his cheating and taking advantage of people in his other role I have seen, in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. The only downside for me was that I usually watch films that have a lot of recognizable names (at least for a Disney live-action fan) and Silvers was the only one I could place, and not in a Disney film. I recognized the names of Mickey Shaughnessy, Norman Fell, and Don Ameche as Ensign Garland's superior but didn't know from where until I did some research. I give it an 8 for a very enjoyable story.