North Sea Hijack

This film is the archetype for the Die Hard franchise and their ilk, only the Roger Moore character of ffolkes is about twice as interesting as Bruce Willis ever was. The situations, the way they deal with the terrorists are all completely real (barring a few questionable things - would it really take so long to get together $25 million?).

Anthony Perkins, James Mason, and Roger Moore all turn in outstanding performances. There is a female lead as one of the captives who, though not dressed sexy, is somehow incredibly hot. Moore is particularly entertaining as a curmudgeon of a man who openly dislikes women, loves cats, Scottish booze, and needlepoint. The movie builds steadily, keeping tension throughout while retaining a strong sense of humor.

If you've seen Roger Moore as The Saint, as 007, as any other character, even if you haven't liked him, you'll enjoy him as "ffolkes," the cat-loving misogynist of this movie. Even though I'm very much a feminist I loved this character. I don't think that the casting of Anthony Perkins was too obvious, I think he brought complications to a simply drawn character. The supernumeraries on either side are just complicated enough to be slightly confusing and still enjoy their conflicts.

This is one of my favorite movies. Of course, so is "Eating Raoul."

It has often been said that Roger Moore can't act - that all he can do is raise his eyebrows a few inches. This film refutes this notion. Here we see Roger Moore in an unusual role...for anyone, not just him.

A group of hijackers take over an oil rig. The owners have no choice but to call in an SAS-style group of mercenaries under the command of Roger Moore's character - an eccentric woman hating cat lover named ffolkes (with two small fs), who lives in a Scottish castle.

The plot is pretty formulaic and predictable. What makes this film watchable is Roger Moore's character.

Hilarious are the reactions of the passengers in a first class train compartment to ffolkes doing his petit point while slugging a huge bottle of whisky.

He is also superb in his acting just before he gets rejected by the terrorists for "grinning like a cat." It's enough to make one a Roger Moore fan!

North Sea Hijack is a fast paced, frequently entertaining thriller about the ingenious hijacking of a major North Sea oil rig. It features a totally off-the-wall performance by Roger Moore as an anti-terrorist expert who has some bizarre habits indeed, such as sewing, raising cats, and drinking whisky at 10a.m. Other memorable characterisations are conveyed by Anthony Perkins (the principal baddie), James Mason (a stiff upper lipped admiral), David Hedison (a stressed out oil rig official) and Faith Brooks (a strong willed lady prime minister).

The core of the action occurs at sea, with Perkins and his menacing bunch hijacking a supply ship and planting mines beneath the oil rig. Moore is brought in to thwart them, and plays a tense psychological games with his adversaries, constantly provoking them and second guessing their actions whilst trying to ascertain the most effective way to attack them aboard their vessel. There are some well delineated scenes, such as an exciting sequence in which a couple of ships crew try to poison their captors but are found out and killed. Another invigorating sequence features Moore having to sneak up on the terrorists whilst clad in a glowing red wet suit (it was the only wet suit available to him on the oil rig).

Moore's character is wonderful. He has an uncharacteristic beard and follows a series of bizarre daily routines to the letter. His savage side, especially towards women (whom he seems to hate more than terrorists) provides some amusement.

This is an under rated gem. It is the kind of film you discover by accident (it doesn't have a particularly high reputation), but by God it really moves and is enormous fun whilst on.

Actor Roger Moore is best known for his work as Agent 007 in the James Bond movies but during his stint as James Bond he made a number of other movies of variable quality. One of the best was this 1979 adventure (it was released in 1980 in the US under the title "Ffolkes") in which Moore stars as an eccentric British adventurer with a disdain for women and a fondness for cats. Moore leads a small underwater commando group that does the occasional favor for Lloyds of London. The British government has a problem. Two oil rigs in the North Sea and a Norwegian Cargo Freighter are being held to ransom. A terrorist group has overrun the freighter and has both it and the two rigs fitted with booby trapped bombs. The economic, environmental and human cost if the British refuse the ransom could be astronomical. Unwilling to negotiate with hostages the government decides to contact Lloyds with a view to using their private specialized methods for dealing with problems. This is where Moore's character Ffolkes comes in. With a truly exceptional cast including James Mason, Anthony Perkins and David Hedison "North Sea Hijack" (aka "Ffolkes") is an enjoyable romp that is high on action and good humor. I highly recommend this movie.