The French Atlantic Affair | |
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![]() First edition (publ. Atheneum Books) | |
Based on | The French Atlantic Affair by Ernest Lehman |
Written by | Douglas Heyes |
Directed by | Douglas Heyes |
Starring | Telly Savalas Chad Everett Michelle Phillips Shelley Winters Horst Buchholz |
Music by | John Addison |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Cinematography | Ralph Woolsey |
Editors | Tom Stevens Jamie Caylor |
Running time | 278 minutes |
Production companies | Aaron Spelling Productions MGM Television |
Original release | |
Release | November 15 – November 18, 1979 |
The French Atlantic Affair was a 3-part TV miniseries produced and broadcast in 1979, based on is the 1977 novel of the same title by Ernest Lehman.
A luxury ocean liner, the SS Marseilles of the French Atlantic Line, is hijacked by Father Dunleavy, a messianic priest, and his cult followers for a $70 million ransom in gold. Harold Columbine, a novelist, and Charles Girodt, the ship's captain, attempt to save the lives of the passengers, some of whom are also members of the group.
Two young amateur 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 amateur radio operators were a passenger (not a member of the terrorist group), and his on-shore friend, both of whom were physicians.
Exteriors and scenes on deck in the miniseries were shot in the Caribbean aboard Carnival Cruise Lines's SS Festivale. The liner retained its name and markings in the series, though it was said to be owned by the fictional French Atlantic Line. The vessel in the novel is called the SS Marseilles and is based upon the French Line's SS France. Interiors were shot on soundstages and in Long Beach, California aboard the RMS Queen Mary. The film also shot on location in Paris and surrounding areas.
Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse was a German transatlantic ocean liner in service from 1897 to 1914, when she was scuttled in battle. She was the largest ship in the world for a time, and held the Blue Riband until Cunard Line’s RMS Lusitania entered service in 1907. The vessel’s career was relatively uneventful, despite a refit in 1913.
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