Richard Baseheart was once asked to compare his role on "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea." His reply was that the characters written by Shakespeare had more depth than an actor could ever portray. The challenge with his role as Admiral Nelson was in making something out of nothing. And so he did.
But even Basehart can't redeem this mess of a tv movie. For me the most jarring aspect was the music. It was truly awful, contrived and derivative of several artists, while having none of their virtues. It was almost like throwing ingredients together and expecting a cake to jump out. The score detracted from scenes instead of enhancing them.
The directing was flat and pretty much lifeless. It was almost a "Going thru the motions" effort. There were times when it was almost comical, such as the foor chase involving Leslie Neilson and Basehart. They both came across as not trying too hard. And when Neilson gets away he doubles back and punches Basehart risking capture. Really?
There are more cliches in this movie than you can throw a stick at. That somewhat characterizes the whole film, imho. They didn't bring anything new to the genre, they just threw a lot of stuff on the wall to see if anything worked. It didn't, this was a failed effort at spawning a TV series, and it didn't really deserve a second chance.
But even Basehart can't redeem this mess of a tv movie. For me the most jarring aspect was the music. It was truly awful, contrived and derivative of several artists, while having none of their virtues. It was almost like throwing ingredients together and expecting a cake to jump out. The score detracted from scenes instead of enhancing them.
The directing was flat and pretty much lifeless. It was almost a "Going thru the motions" effort. There were times when it was almost comical, such as the foor chase involving Leslie Neilson and Basehart. They both came across as not trying too hard. And when Neilson gets away he doubles back and punches Basehart risking capture. Really?
There are more cliches in this movie than you can throw a stick at. That somewhat characterizes the whole film, imho. They didn't bring anything new to the genre, they just threw a lot of stuff on the wall to see if anything worked. It didn't, this was a failed effort at spawning a TV series, and it didn't really deserve a second chance.