Martha (1967)

The good old steamship Martha is a rusty old tub with no comforts, in a very dilapidated state and not at all up to the usual regulations, but its crew loves it. The Martha sails around the Mediterranean under capacity, carrying little cargo, and has almost been forgotten by its Danish shipping company. The crew takes advantage of this time to enjoy a very comfortable and luxurious life on board. To keep living this way and save the ship from being scrapped, they have to put part of their wages toward its upkeep. Meanwhile, their shipowner in Denmark is trying to negotiate an important contract with an oil sheikh so he can make a major entry into the oil trade. But his greatest archenemy, the Norwegian shipowner Tore Amundsen, is trying to snatch the oil contract from him. Soon afterward, the owner of the Martha makes a surprise visit to the ship. As events unfold, the crew has to prove what it is really made of. On their onward voyage, the Martha encounters the Harald, the Norwegian competitor’s ship. It is brand-new, much larger, and obviously a finer vessel than their own. The two ships and their crews compete in a contest whose outcome is meant to decide who gets the lucrative oil contract as well as what will become of the Martha. Mutual provocations between the crews, such as playing the Norwegian national anthem and a provocative striptease, are naturally part of it. The Martha’s crew has to improvise extensively just to stand a chance against the brand-new fast steamer Harald, and tries to get its nearly wrecked ship back into shape with resourceful, eccentric ideas. After several surprising events and turbulent adventures, they ultimately manage to win the contract for their shipping company and save their beloved Martha from impending scrapping.