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.
Plot
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.
Cast
Jean-Pierre Aumont: Chief Jean-Claude Raffin
Horst Buchholz: Dr. Chabot
James Coco: George Sauvinage
Chad Everett: Harold Columbine
José Ferrer: President Aristide Brouchard
John Houseman: Dr. Archady Clemens
Carolyn Jones: Peg
Richard Jordan: Julian Wunderlicht
Louis Jourdan: Captain Charles Girodt
Michelle Phillips: Jennie Barber
Marie-France Pisier: Lisa
Donald Pleasence: Max Dechambre
John Rubinstein: Herb Kleinfeld
Telly Savalas: Father Dunleavy
Stella Stevens: Louise Crawford
Shelley Winters: Helen Wabash
Lance LeGault: Lester Foyles
William Lucking: Don Crawford
Nehemiah Persoff: Col. Schreiner
Dane Clark: Admiral J. Elton Knox
Richard Anderson: Terrence Crown
Corinne Calvet: Madame Brouchard
Harvey Jason: Plessier
Dana Hill: Maggie Joy
Army Archerd: Stanford Whitman
M. Emmet Walsh: Harry
Arielle Dombasle: Hotel Operator
Roger Til: Devillaine
James Jeter: Al
Production
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.
Literature
Ernest Lehmann: The French Atlantic Affair Atheneum, New York 1977,
References
"something in the creative process has gone badly awry with this ungainly, pedestrian, not-very-suspense story ..." https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1755&dat=19771113&id=UUk0AAAAIBAJ&sjid=X2cEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2331,5050136
