The French Atlantic Affair
Encyclopedia
The French Atlantic Affair is a novel by Ernest Lehman
which was published in 1977. A 3 part TV miniseries based on the book was produced and broadcast in 1979.
Two young ham radio enthusiasts are the only link between the ship and the outside world. The SS Marseilles was based on the ocean liner SS France
(1961) of the French Line.
In the novel, the hijackers were a group of employees laid off by NASA and its contractors after the termination of the Apollo program; the hams were a passenger not a member of the group and his on-shore friend, both physicians.
Ernest Lehman
Ernest Lehman was an American screenwriter. He received 6 Academy Award nominations during his screenwriting career...
which was published in 1977. A 3 part TV miniseries based on the book was produced and broadcast in 1979.
Plot
A luxury ocean liner, the SS Marseilles of the French Atlantic Line, is hijacked by a group of unemployed, middle-class Americans for a $35 million ransom in gold. It's not known which of the passengers on board belong to the gang.Two young ham radio enthusiasts are the only link between the ship and the outside world. The SS Marseilles was based on the ocean liner SS France
SS France (1961)
SS France was a Compagnie Générale Transatlantique ocean liner, constructed by the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard at Saint-Nazaire, France, and put into service in February 1962...
(1961) of the French Line.
In the novel, the hijackers were a group of employees laid off by NASA and its contractors after the termination of the Apollo program; the hams were a passenger not a member of the group and his on-shore friend, both physicians.
Cast
- Telly SavalasTelly SavalasAristotelis "Telly" Savalas was an American film and television actor and singer, whose career spanned four decades. Best known for playing the title role in the 1970s crime drama Kojak, Savalas was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Birdman of Alcatraz...
: Father Dunleavy - Horst BuchholzHorst BuchholzHorst Werner Buchholz was a German actor, remembered for his part in The Magnificent Seven and Nine Hours to Rama. He appeared in over sixty films during his acting career from 1952–2002.-Life and work:...
: Dr. Chabot - Jean-Pierre Aumount: Chief Jean-Claude Raffin
- James CocoJames CocoJames Coco was an American character actor.- Early life and career :Born James Emil Coco in New York City, son of Feliche Coco, a shoemaker and Ida Detestes Coco, James began acting straight out of high school. As an overweight and prematurely balding adult, he found himself relegated to character...
: George Sauvinage - Chad EverettChad EverettChad Everett is an American actor who has appeared in over 40 films and television series but is probably best known for his role as Dr. Joe Gannon in the 1970s television drama Medical Center.-Early life:...
: Harold Columbine - José FerrerJosé FerrerJosé Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón , best known as José Ferrer, was a Puerto Rican actor, as well as a theater and film director...
: President Aristide Brouchard - John HousemanJohn HousemanJohn Houseman was a Romanian-born British-American actor and film producer who became known for his highly publicized collaboration with director Orson Welles from their days in the Federal Theatre Project through to the production of Citizen Kane...
: Dr. Archady Clemens - Carolyn JonesCarolyn JonesCarolyn Sue Jones was an American actress.Jones began her film career in the early 1950s, and by the end of the decade had achieved recognition with a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for The Bachelor Party and a Golden Globe Award as one of the most promising actresses...
: Peg - Richard JordanRichard JordanRichard Jordan was an American stage, screen and film actor. A long-time member of the New York Shakespeare Festival, he performed in many Off Broadway and Broadway plays...
: Julian Wunderlicht - Louis Jourdan: Captain Charles Girodt
- Michelle PhillipsMichelle PhillipsMichelle Phillips is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She gained fame as a member of the 1960s group The Mamas & the Papas, and is the last surviving original member of the group.-Early life:...
: Jennie Barber - Marie-France PisierMarie-France PisierMarie-France Pisier was a French actress. She appeared in numerous films of the French New Wave and twice earned the national César Award for Best Supporting Actress.-Life and career:...
: Lisa - Donald PleasenceDonald PleasenceSir Donald Henry Pleasence, OBE, was a British actor who gained more than 200 screen credits during a career which spanned over four decades...
: Max Dechambre - John RubinsteinJohn RubinsteinJohn Arthur Rubinstein is an American film, Broadway, and television actor, a composer of film and theatre music, and a director in theatre and television.-Early life:...
: Herb Kleinfeld - Stella StevensStella StevensStella Stevens Stella Stevens Stella Stevens (born October 1, 1938 is an American film, television and stage actress, who began her acting career in 1959 and starred in such popular films as The Nutty Professor, The Courtship of Eddie's Father, The Silencers, The Ballad of Cable Hogue and The...
: Louise Crawford - Shelley WintersShelley WintersShelley Winters was an American actress who appeared in dozens of films, as well as on stage and television; her career spanned over 50 years until her death in 2006...
: Helen Wabash
Production
The ocean liner Festivale of Carnival Cruise Lines (built 1977) was used as the scene. The movie uses the Festivale name instead of the French Marseille which is the ocean liner's name in the novel.Literature
- Ernest Lehmann: The French Atlantic Affair Atheneum, New York 1977, ISBN 0-689-10803-6