Operation Mermaid (1963) User Reviews

"When that chart's complete, look out!"

[hwg1957-102-265704 · 7/10 · 30 August 2017]

Skipper Nick Rawlings summons three former Royal Navy comrades from the war to go in search of looted Nazi treasure amassed by a Gestapo general Von Kreisling which involves finding three pieces of a cut up map eventually leading them to the hidden hoard. Their quest in a yacht takes them to several picturesque locations. With intrigue, thrills and a bit of romance this is an entertaining film. It moves at a good pace and there is fine footage of the sea which provides a solid nautical flavour to the narrative. There is a good music score by Johnny Douglas.

It was produced by two Greek film companies but the cast and crew are nearly all English. The actors are all fine in their roles; Keenan Wynn as the doughty skipper, Ronald Howard, Trader Faulkner and the always delightful Rona Anderson as his shipmates, Mai Zetterling as the mysterious woman they pick up on the way. The redoubtable Rita Webb appears briefly as a landlady as does Murray Kash whose character is 'Boor' and who earns his epithet by being too persistent to the pianist Pru.

Worth watching with a well written plot by Christopher Davis. It is also known as 'Pattern for Plunder' and 'Operation Mermaid'.

Decent Thriller

[malcolmgsw · 6/10 · 4 December 2017]

I remember this film well from its cinema release.I also remember visiting Mont St Michel which is a big tourist attraction.It is a reasonable thriller which utilises the common plot device of Nazi gold.Keenan Wynn is the parachuted in American star,and he does a reasonable job in his leading role.This was not really a B film more a co feature.

Adventure Flick

[boblipton · 6/10 · 5 June 2003]

Decent although unremarkable adventure flick as Keenan Wynn -- who looks dashing and satanic in a beard -- and a crew composed of other Royal Navy Reservists -- go searching for stolen Nazi gold. The opening sequence in which the team is assembled and instructed via ape recording looks like it was lifted for "Mission Impossible" three years later.

Decent little thriller

[Igenlode Wordsmith · 6/10 · 26 July 2022]

This film is a decent little thriller with some lovely period yachting sequences -- it wasn't quite what I'd expected, which is probably a point in its favour. The running time feels briefer than its actual 80 minutes, and there really isn't much space for subtleties; the film leans happily on every post-war cliché going, has no room for red herrings or false leads (the treasure quest really is remarkably straightforward!), and makes good use of its one big mystery, Who Is Helene (and what is she really up to?) One interesting twist is that since the cast are all of them supposed to have been on active service during the War eighteen years earlier, none of them, even the two women, can be played by youthful starlets. For me Ronald Howard stood out as the avuncular Bill Webb, whose kindness and good humour help keep things calm; there is a small romantic sub-plot between Pru and David, the younger two (which is to say that they are probably not yet forty), but the film doesn't waste too much time on that. We have Incredibly Evil Nazis, stolen treasure with a map in multiple parts, the undercover radio operator leaving the tap running to cover the sounds of the Morse key (which is of course a heinous crime in its own right on board a yacht with limited water-tanks, and I was relieved to see the script point that out!), treacherous quicksands, sinister thugs (whose identity I don't think is ever explained, unless they were in fact simply the port police), a secret vault inside which one can become trapped, and a slightly jaw-dropping amount of alcohol being served out at every opportunity.

The twist at the end is well executed and took me for one completely by surprise; my stomach lurched in anticipation of one dramatic irony, and then we ended up with a completely different turn of events. (And that's about the one part of the plot that does actually get a scene afterwards explaining how it worked, which was obviously felt to be necessary -- given the 'convenient coincidence' attitude of most of the rest of the action, I don't think I would have questioned it myself!)

There's always a twisted angle.

[mark.waltz · 6/10 · 31 August 2023]

With flashbacks in regards to the history of the mysterious Nazi treasure that a group of five are after (one a brash American, the rest British, three men and two women), this adventure sets sail and never stops until the end credits roll. Of course some of them are not who they seem to be, all exposd in the final moments and in spite of a very low budget, it ends up an exciting post-war thriller even though several times during the film I did think it was going to be a dud.

Keenan Wynn speaks with the crass outspoken nature his image has stereotyped him as, and he's funny especially because his character isn't trying to be funny. In fact, he's more funny because of his obnoxiousness than anything else. Mai Zetterling, Ronald Howard, Rona Anderson and Trader Faulkner round out the other four, with the film focusing on how they don't always get along and suspicions that one or more are planning on double-crossing the others. The twists aren't unpredictable, but the way it is done is quite clever.

Humdrum, with contrived plot

[Marlburian · 5/10 · 13 April 2022]

I've just watched this on the Fast32 streaming service. The four ex-naval people had a convoluted and contrived trail to follow and it's remarkable that their journey went more or less to plan. The sound on the version I watched was a bit low, and perhaps that's why I didn't understand who were the bunch of thuggish-looking men who threatened them in the French pub.

Perhaps one for yachting fans, which I'm not, so I may be mistaken in thinking that the cabins were quite large for such a small boat!

The trouble with old comrades

[dbborroughs · 9/10 · 25 April 2004]

Keenan Wynn shows up on the door of several of his old army buddies promising a fortune in lost Nazi gold if only they join him to get it. Crazy as it might sound they join up and before long they are hip deep in intrigue.

This is a well acted story of post war greed that doesn't want to be anything other than an entertaining evening. There are plot twists and a traitor in their midst and if you put your mind to it you might be able to figure things out, but its so much fun just watching whats going on on screen that it really isn't worth the effort.

If you come across this film take the time to watch it since its 90 minutes well spent.