Talk about incredible hulks. This one is a World War II Nazi prison ship that's been sailing for 35 years—with no crew—looking for people to molest. Then who should show up but Richard Crenna, Sally Ann Howes, Kate Reid and a few lesser lights. They're cast adrift when George Kennedy's ocean liner is rammed by the Nazi juggernaut. Then, while everyone is floating around, the death ship sneaks up on them and what else can they do but climb aboard? They learn the ship can steer itself, open and shut doors, show Hitler movies and make people run in slow motion. It can also talk to Kennedy in German and convince him to take over its captain's chair. (One thing the ship can't do is provide subtitles, so non-German speakers in the audience never know what it's saying.) The violence is tedious and ugly. The only highlight is the debut of a 50-year-old Canadian coast guard icebreaker, the N.B. McLean. In the title role, it stirs more emotion with one turn of its crankshaft than the Love Boat can manage in a season. (R)
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