When Eight Bells Toll
Tags: comedy, revenge, intrigue, murder, violence

Plot synopsis:
British Treasury secret agent Phillip Calvert (Anthony Hopkins) is sent to investigate the hijacking of five cargo ships in the Irish Sea, tracking the latest hijacked ship—the Nantesville, carrying £8 million in gold bullion—to the Scottish Highlands and the sleepy port town of "Torbay" on the "Isle of Torbay" (patterned after Tobermory, on the Isle of Mull).
Posing as marine biologists, Calvert and his partner Hunslett (Corin Redgrave) find the local inhabitants suspicious and hostile. They suspect that Cypriot tycoon and shipping magnate Sir Anthony Skouras (Jack Hawkins), whose luxury yacht Shangri-La is anchored off the coast, may be behind the pirating of the gold bullion. While searching the surrounding area in a Royal Navy Helicopter, Calvert makes contact with a group of remote shark fishermen who appear more friendly than Torbay's locals. Calvert also meets the occupants of a castle, Lord Kirkside and his teenage daughter, who behave strangely as well as being hostile.
As the helicopter brings Calvert back to Torbay it comes under attack from the shore and the Royal Navy pilot is killed. The helicopter crashes, explodes and plummets into the sea. Calvert escapes from the helicopter after it sinks to the bottom. When he returns to his research yacht Firecrest he finds Hunslett is missing.
Operating out of his yacht, Calvert is joined by his boss Sir Arthur Arnford-Jones, known as "Uncle Arthur" (Robert Morley). Together, they combat boarders and make ready for sea. On raising the anchor they find the dead body of Hunslett tied to it.
They are joined by Skouras's wife, Charlotte (Nathalie Delon), and when a pirate speedboat approaches, Calvert rams it, shoots the occupants and blows up the boat in vengeance for Hunslett's death.
Calvert recruits the shark fishermen to deal with Skouras and his modern day pirates. Guessing that the missing bullion ships are being sunk to allow the gold to be offloaded invisibly, Calvert dives in the bay and finds the Nantesville. He fights and kills one of the divers, whom he has previously encountered and who he suspects killed Hunslett.
He then secretly enters Kirkside's castle and questions the Lord's daughter, discovering that Skouras is an innocent victim whose real wife is being held hostage along with other locals down in the castle's dungeons. He then sneaks into the underground dock of the castle where the gold is being offloaded.
At midnight (eight bells) the shark fishermen ram the gates of the underground dock with their boat. The pirates are expecting them because Charlotte has been transmitting Calvert's plans to them by secret radio. A fire fight ensues in which the pirates are wiped out, after which Calvert lets Charlotte escape with a single bar of gold in her possession.

Review: The cast perform their roles well, Anthony Hopkins and Robert Morley particularly playing mutual antagonism with some nice comic touches.One reviewer mentioned that Charles Gray's dubbing of Jack Hawkins's voice seemed a bit slapdash.
It seems that the whole world and their dogs know of Commander Bond, who takes his martinis shaken and not stirred, has his dalliances with the ladies, and manages to save the world before dawn.Agent Calvert (played most suitably by Anthony Hopkins) is how I believe Bond should have been.
Don't get me wrong, I really am a fan of the Bond genre, but this performance by Hopkins seems gritty and more realistic a character and compares quite favourably to the Bond character played by other actors.There is some great dialogue between the upper middle class boss of Agent Calvert (Uncle Arthur played by Robert Morley) and Agent Calvert, which helps keep interest in the film between the action scenes.
Compared to many of the scenes produced by action heroes of the last 10 years, some are a little dated, although there were still enough to keep me interested.Nathalie Delon was a great choice as the leading lady requiring rescue from the sea (were her intentions good or bad?), and its a pity that most outside of her native country did not see much more of her in other things.One of my personal favourite pieces of work by Anthony Hopkins.If you're an action fan, I still think this is worth a look.
In fact, a review at the time of his performance in When Eight Bells Toll proclaimed he played his character Calvert in a way that "made James Bond look like a lounge lizard." The film is a fondly remembered actioner from my childhood (well, early teens).
Although there's no way in which the pyrotechnics on show could bear realistic comparison with the CGI-dominated eye-candy extravagance of today's equivalents (witness the studio bound finale in the boat house if you really need convincing), it remains a brisk, fun way to idle away the best part of two hours.The script is sharp, the dialogue cynical, the action belts along nicely - and Robert Morely's Whitehall mandarin thrust into the field is an eccentric delight.
Add Old Vic stalwart Corin Redgrave as Calvert's pragmatism-challenged sidekick and you have a recipe for some top fun.The plot (McGuffin) is some nonsense about missing bullion ships, but it's no more than a hook to hang the action on.
I just love it.For anyone who likes the early seventies Bond movies, it's almost an essential accoutrement.Right, next stops on the Alistair MacLean '70s movie DVD trail - Fear Is The Key, Caravan To Vaccares and the sublime Puppet On A Chain..
At my age, It just seems about right to remark films that left decided impressions on me, many years ago.As one reviewer remarked, this film was released shortly after Sean Connery's last appearance in the original James Bond series, with "Diamonds Are forever".
I can still see his walk, how he carried a machine-gun, and his wry, somewhat jaded smile.Everything about the film is "Bond on a low budget"; and the fact that MacLean actually wrote the script tells me that this was probably intentional - the Bond films, after all, had borrowed heavily from earlier films based on Maclean novels, while at the same time effectively burying them - "The Guns of Navarone" is well-remembered, but only brought out of mothballs for the Turner Movie Channel every now and again, but everyone owns a copy of "Goldfinger".Yet it is this quality - which I recognized at once on initial viewing - that endeared the film for me forever - Producer Albert Brocolli had turned Bond into a clown; MacLean returned my hero to me as I always imagined him.I think that says something positive about this one..
watching this film for the first time, I'm enjoying this flick enormously, Philip Calvert as a hard man who gets the job the done, isn't afraid to disobey orders and with the wonderful Robert Morley as his boss.as i write it its all very James bond, Hopkins handling the job very well, Morley hamming it up as only he can.like all Alastair McLean films - I'm finding it very watchable, a pity no more films about Calvert's exploits have been made, as he is everything James bond is, without the gimmicks, and its all home based, no flash locations - just a man with a job to do and he ain't afraid to bend the rules to do it.I'm half way in to the film - i don't want it to end ...
No-nonsense and a hero in a sense, Calvert as a character is very entertaining and likable and Hopkins is exactly that too.
Even better is Robert Morley who provides a deliciously comic turn as Calvert's spy-master, while Nathalie Delon is beautiful and luscious as the lovely Charlotte.Overall, an entertaining film.
"When Eight Bells Toll" is a very decent and entertaining action/adventure movie, just don't expect the same dazzling tempo, ingenious gimmicks or impressive stunts as you would in an actual James Bond film.
The Rank Film Corporation figured that Alistair MacLean's maverick secret agent Philip Calvert would be the best to take his place.Obviously that didn't work out.
I think it would have befitted considerably from a slower pace and an extra twenty minutes.Still, it's fun to see a young Anthony Hopkins doing the action hero thing, even if I have do damn clue what the title means..
I love this film, because I think it is pretty true to McClean's book and Calvert is suitably downmarket to be a more believable agent than James Bond ever could be.
The film is actually a pretty good bit of action hokum, but it's Hopkins that makes it memorable.
In all, well worth a watch for the Hopkins, a delicious Robert Morley, good location work, and a brisk plot..
While adaptation of Alistair MacLean's books been popular few have been successful, and this is one of the less successful.Even with a great script (screenplay by MacLean) the film just doesn't take off, not least due to the fights and in various dark surroundings, where you really can't tell what is supposed to happen.Anthony Hopkins as the undercover man, and Corin Redgrave as his clumsy pal, works great, less sure about the bad guys.
Robert Morley, as Hopkin's boss, is marvelous, and Leon Collins, as the shark fisherman, not bad at all.So great script, nice scenes from around Skye & Torbay, from the water, from the air and from land, buy much of the lighting and cinematography stinks!
Hopkins rocks as the no no nonsense Calvert and gives a very convincing performance, and the rest of the cast don't disappoint either.Seen this for the first time as a kid and I guess it just clicked.
Hopkins rocks as the no nonsense Calvert and gives a very convincing performance, and the rest of the cast don't disappoint either..
As soon as a successful new thriller appears in the bookstalls, movie studios compete to buy up the film rights.
Not all the books for which film rights have been purchased actually finish up as movies but many of them do; so we now have movies, readily available for home viewing, which are based on novels from such highly respected writers of thrillers as Hammond Innes, Alistair MacLean, Tom Clancy and many others.
I find that the prominence given to the shoot-out action sequences in such movies usually means that there is no time for gradually revealing the complexities of character that made the original novel interesting.
I particularly enjoyed the interplay of character between Anthony Hopkins playing a very dour investigator, Corin Redgrave playing his sidekick, and Robert Morley who gives a great performance as their superior officer.
"When Eight Bells Toll" is an early look at British actor Anthony Hopkins.
Certainly not for playing a James Bond role.And that's precisely what he is in this film.
Still, he adds a little humor to some situations, as James Bond is wont to do.Robert Morley and Jack Hawkins have supporting roles, but there's nothing special about their characters.
In almost a Bond type film, Sir Calvert does encourage the audience to think of our hero as a spy.
Unusual for Hopkin, but nevertheless, he performs convincingly and is insured by his cast members which include Jack Hawkins and Robert Morley.
All in all, this is one film which should allow audiences to believe that young Hopkins could and did establish himself as a man of action.
He gets to find himself not very well welcome.I think Robert Morley is magnificent in his role as Uncle Arthur, and so is Anthony Hopkins as agent Philip Calvert, which have naturally bad manners, according to his boss, being born to a lesser class.
Uncle Arthur's Lines are hilarious, and much wittier than his equals in James Bond-movies.Agent Calvert kills off bad guys like puppets on a chain (!), and the film keeps the mystery for a long time, making the ride an interesting one.
This tells me Hopkins could have been a great Bond.The film is very time typical of early 70'ies, and it's a lovely coast and salty water film.
It gets more entertaining and exciting as the film proceeds, and I think that it's a great period piece to watch.Recommended for those enjoying classics!.
I've loved all of them and When Eight Bells Toll came out it joins the list albeit in a more minor vein.This film gave a young Anthony Hopkins a chance to be an action hero.
When Eight Bells Toll is no exception.Robert Morley plays the spymaster supervisor of Hopkins and is less avuncular than usual.
Whoever dubbed him sounded to me remarkably like Alec Guinness.When Eight Bells Toll is not as good as some of the other McLean inspired films I mentioned before.
James Bond like action thriller with evil villain.
A young handsome Anthony Hopkins is sent to investigate the pirating of ships transporting gold.A Scottish Island has been taken over by a villain using hostages.
Anthony Hopkins is rough naval agent type sent to work out what's going on with a missing ship off Scotland.Hopkins is good in his first lead role as the touch guy agent.
Instead, it's a routine, if tidily efficient modern-day thriller with a young Anthony Hopkins as a maverick Government agent tasked with finding out why a series of boats carrying gold bullion are disappearing off the west coast of Scotland.While you can't quite imagine Hopkins as a budding James Bond, in fact for the opening action sequences he's more like the Man from Milk Tray older TV viewers might remember, once he settles into the part, he's a more than capable action hero, with that little bit of extra added intensity which later became his hallmark.As main support he's surrounded by the experienced Robert Morley as his nagging, bumptious boss, a fish out of water when out in the field and Jack Hawkins as the titled lord inveigled into events beyond his control.
There are plenty of action sequences, in the air, on the ground and underwater, a lot of fisticuffs and random killings and a big shoot-em-up finale plus naturally time for Hopkins to bed the gangster's moll.Being a Scot, I was quite at home seeing the grey, grainy locations and hearing identifiable local accents.
Anthony Hopkins is perfect as the hero avenging his best friend's death (Corin Redgrave) with a vengeance, gunning people down without hesitation whenever necessary or when he feels like it, and you don't object, since in MacLean's actually very realistic thrillers you generally feel the executions taking place as justified.
Anthony Hopkins was best in his early films, and this was one of them – as a possible James Bond he would have landed somewhere between Sean Connery and Timothy Dalton, the two best.
But MacLean for his realism, intelligent plots and great characterization is much better than Ian Fleming and his heroes much more interesting than Bond, since they always have to go a very hard way to get out alive in the end – James Bond is a snug playboy in comparison.
Here, as so often in MacLean's stories, the hero Anthony Hopkins has to take everything on himself, as he gets very little help from his boss, the ridiculous peacock Robert Morley, who only thinks of his dissatisfaction with what he has to eat under the circumstances, but in all his exaggerated pedantry he always caps all his films by his splendid diction and eloquence – he is ridiculous, but very eloquently so.This MacLean thriller differs from his normal intrigues by adding a very spicy romance to it, as the lady comes swimming across cold waters a long distance just to get to Anthony Hopkins, but he does well in not feeling flattered or jumping at the opportunity but rather, as the experienced veteran he is, regard the invitation with some misgivings.It's a small but great adventure film and you get to see a great deal of the Scottish wildest archipelago..
Finding the ship again is the first step but soon Calvert has uncovered a bigger scheme involving the disappearance of many other smaller boats.As a teenager I read Where Eagles Dare and, from there, got quickly into other Alistair McLean books and still would tend to enjoy them now.
The character development is poor; Calvert is a cardboard cut out and the film really suffers from the lack of a bad guy with any sort of screen presence because there isn't any tension built up other than in the odd scene.
Morley is at least quite funny in his role and is a welcome injection into the film; he may not help build tension but he at least provides a bit of life or animation into things.
When this movie was produced James Bond was still fashionable and you can't help thinking the studio was trying to muscle in on a market for a series of gritty , more down to earth and more realistic secret agent anti-hero in the shape of Phillip Calvert .
In the meantime When Eight Bells Toll was released, scripted by Alistair MacLean from his own novel, and gave audiences a chance to see a different actor in a similarly adventurous role.
Whether or not it was intended as an action 'calling card' for the young star (whose fourth film it was) Eight Bells certainly owes a lot of its inspiration to the 007 series, not least in that its hero Philip Calvert (Anthony Hopkins) is tough, naval officer, a "professional bastard," used to killing in the course of duty, working undercover against some widespread criminal combine.
north of England grammar school, working his way through life..." Of course the central irony of the film is that the main villain of the piece is exactly the sort of person that Uncle Arthur welcomes onto the wine committee of his club with open arms, while the insubordinate and independent Calvert proves an essential part of the operation's success.Calvert's closest friend - and the only genuine relationship he maintains during the film, is Hunslett (Corin Redgrave), a bespectacled intelligence man whose faces a somewhat predictable demise.
The frequently adapted MacLean was on a roll at this time, having seen his work made into such successful projects as the early Guns Of Navarone (1961), then Ice Station Zebra and Where Eagles Dare (both 1968).
Her scenes with Hopkins are adequate, but this is a film that has little time for the sexual shenanigans of Bond, (in fact she has to directly proposition the hero while there is no bedroom scene) saving Charlotte's best scene for that at the very end of the film.
With some fine airborne photography as Calvert searches the Scottish coastline for ships as well as some effective settings in and around Torbay harbor, Eight Bells is a film which manages to be very atmospheric on what must have been a modest budget.
Hopkins turns in a fine performance as the single-minded Calvert, made even more resonant when one remembers the notoriously hard living the actor was famous for at the time.
Those who have only seen Hopkins in later years as the most famous celluloid serial killer will be in interested in this unmannered early role.Among other highlights is Morley's fussily upper-crusted Uncle Arthur, whose eventual, grudging acceptance of his wayward officer is convincing - and he even makes a fair pass at waving a gun and defending the boat with a timely use of an open hatch.
Even at 34 Anthony Hopkins made an unlikely hero for a rousing adventure thriller such as When Eight Bells Toll, based on the book by Alistair Maclean.
Still, Hopkins carries off the role of Commander Philip Calvert, an agent for British Naval Intelligence, with aplomb.
When Eight Bells Toll isn't a great adventure thriller, but within its own limits it's entertaining.
Anthony Hopkins makes a credible man of action, more than ably supported by Corin Redgrave as his intelligence officer sidekick.
Oscar-winning actor Anthony Hopkins was slim and trim back in 1971 when producer Elliott Kastner cast him as Royal Navy scuba diving expert Commander Philip Calvert for this ocean-going opus about five hijacked British bullion ships in the Irish Sea. At one point, the grim but indestructible Calvert informs his peremptory superior that he doesn't have guests and friends, just enemies.
Interestingly enough, "When Eight Bells Toll" was Hopkins' first role as the leading man.
As Sir Arthur Artford Jones ('Uncle Arthur'), Robert Morley is good as Calvert's supercilious superior.
"When Eight Bells Toll" contains all the ingredients of a sturdy Maclean thriller: mystery, surprises, a hero competent on land, sea, and beneath water, and a sterling cast that includes Jack Hawkins and Ferdy Mayne.
Hopkins star in an average Alistair Maclean thriller.
But sometimes it just get silly, for example when a wooden small boat explodes upon crashing on some rocks.Starring in this movie is Anthony Hopkins in a very early role.