The Riddle of the Sandbank (TV series)
| Television series | |
|---|---|
| Original title | The riddle of the sandbar |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| year | 1984 |
| length | 50 minutes |
| Episodes | 10 in 1 season |
| genre | Spy thriller |
| Theme music | Isabel Varell : The Riddle of the Sands |
| Director | Rainer Boldt |
| script | Christoph Mattner |
| production | Wolfgang Esterer Multimedia Film- und Fernsehproduktion GmbH |
| First broadcast | October 11, 1985 (D) on ARD |
| occupation | |
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Main actor:
Supporting cast:
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The Riddle of the Sandbank is a German television series from 1984. It is based on the novel Das Rätsel der Sandbank by the Irish writer Robert Erskine Childers .
action
In the late summer of 1904, the young Englishman Carruthers was invited by his former student colleague Davies to go duck hunting on a yacht in the German North Sea . Although they lost sight of each other after graduation, the bon vivant accepted the invitation, as his superior in the Foreign Office urged him to do so in the hope of finding out more about the armament of the German navy . Instead of an expected luxury yacht with staff, however, the Dulcibella turns out to be a small boat that Davies can sail with one hand . Otherwise Davies is obviously only superficially interested in duck hunting in the Wadden Sea of the German Bight . Instead, he wants to create maps for the British Admiralty on his own with Carruthers off the East Frisian Islands in the North Sea , so that he can get into the Royal Navy .
Davies met the dubious businessman Dollmann from Sweden on Norderney . After an initial refusal, he surprisingly invites him to go on a sailing tour to Hamburg. Since Carruthers has not yet arrived, he agrees, probably also to get closer to Clara, Dollmann's daughter. During the voyage, a storm approaches, Dollmann leads Davies with the Dulcibella onto a sandbank and sails away in the storm. Davies runs aground and is only saved by a merchant ship by luck. When Carruthers arrives at Norderney, a letter awaits him from Davies suggesting a meeting in Flensburg . There he is convinced by Davies to convict Dollmann. You are returning to the North Sea.
They find out that Dollmann is apparently running a treasure hunt on Memmertsand with the German captain von Brüning and the engineer Böhme . A Napoleonic gold transport is said to have sunk there. When Davies and Carruthers find the corpse of a drowned German infantryman while mapping the priele , they decide to pay a visit to Memmertsand at night, especially since everyone involved is trying very hard to get the two Englishmen to leave. Carruthers overhears a meeting on Memmertsand in which a distinguished visit is announced. Back on Norderney, they discover that Dollmann is actually a lieutenant in the Royal Navy. Apparently Dollmann and von Brüning do not want to prevent Davies from capturing the Wadden Sea, but rather keep a much larger project secret.
Carruthers is quoted back in the Foreign Office. He leaves for pretense, but returns and manages to be part of the mysterious visit: Wilhelm II inspects the preparations for the shipping of a German invasion fleet to England at night.
Davies and Carruthers kidnap Clara and Dollmann in order to take them to England with the Dulcibella and indict Dollmann there. They are from v. Brüning pursued with his torpedo cruiser , Dollmann escapes from the Dulcibella by jumping into the water and v. Brüning lets the Dulcibella escape.
In London, Davies and Carruthers are arrested without explanation. First Dollmann, now a Commodore , informs her about the plans of the British secret service before both are set free again.
Davies marries Clara and is inducted into the Royal Navy as a lieutenant.
production
The joint production of Radio Bremen and Multimedia (Berlin) based on the script by Christoph Mattner did not take place at the East Frisian locations Bensersiel and Norderney mentioned in the book , these locations were rather based on the outdoor locations in Tetenbüll on Eiderstedt and on Baltrum . The interior shooting took place in a water basin in the old hall of the Husum shipyard . The experience and know-how from the production of the film Das Boot were used for special effects . In addition, it was of course filmed in the watt.
While the series was being shot, a television film was produced at the same time, which was broadcast on July 28, 1987. This is mostly a compilation of the series episodes, some scenes were re-shot for the film due to the otherwise wrong connections. While the film can be ordered from Radio Bremen's recording service on request, the series has been available in a box with 4 DVDs since September 24, 2008. Since November 23, 2018, the feature film has been available in a complete DVD edition with the series.
publication
On September 24th, 2008 the series was released in a box with 4 DVDs. Total playing time is 450 minutes. On November 23, 2018, the series was released again, including the feature film version and a shooting report, in a box with 4 DVDs. The total playing time here is up to 500 minutes.
See also
Web links
- The film: The Riddle of the Sands in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Angela Leifeld: The water was up to your chest - Heavy shooting for "The Riddle of the Sandbank". In: Sunday magazine of the Lübecker Nachrichten of January 13, 1985.