Zeppelin [1971]

The plot centres around what appears to be a "simple" task for one Lt. Geoffrey Richter-Douglas, a man with German roots yet serving in a minor role in the British Army: get back to Germany and find out all the technical details of a new Navy Zeppelin called the LZ36, the latest in a series of airships used for the strategic bombing of British cities in 1915 in order to terrify the civilian population.

Having been deliberately shot in the arm (literally) in order to convince the Germans that he was genuinely turning his back on the British, Richter-Douglas finds that the purpose of the new airship's sole mission is much more sinister than that - no bombs are on board, for a start. This mission outrages the airship's designer, Professor Altschul (Marius Goring) and worries his wife, Erika (Elke Sommer). Erika keeps her feelings for Richter-Douglas carefully neutral, and her contention that he is actually still working for the British to herself.

The Scotsman is nearly discovered, but he despatches one crewmember in a particularly brutal fight and dumps him over the side while the Zeppelin is still in flight; fortunately for him, the ruse that he was trying to save him fooled the commander of the ship (Andrew Keir) and the army colonel (Anton Diffring) leading the mission.

The mission (which I won't reveal here) ultimately fails, but without his help, though Erika's presence appears to add little to the plot except provide a distraction to the otherwise male-dominated scenario, as military missions in those days tended to be. The most exciting part is perhaps the aerial battle where British fighters try and put as many bullet holes into the airship as possible before the ship climbs out of reach when many things (including the bodies of killed crewmembers) are themselves dumped over the side.

Nonetheless, the ship is heading for a "Hindenburg"-style fiery death as (for some reason never explained) the ship loses height and crashes into the North Sea by the Dutch coast. Perhaps predictably, both Richter-Douglas and Erika are the only survivors of what was a doomed mission (from the British point of view, it could only be doomed).

As espionage stories go, this one would have been better had the action not been so plodding at times: one might even say that the mid-North Sea fuel stop was a rest-stop for the movie itself. It is really only from when the enemy airship reaches its destination that the action really does get going. For fans of airships past and present, it is memorable for the fact that the set used for the inside of the ship was remarkably detailed and that the genuine airship sheds at Cardington, which still exist, were used as a backdrop.

Overall, however, it is a good film to watch because, unlike others, it focuses mostly on the troubled psyche of the man, who is clearly being made a pawn by both sides to get what they want, and does not attempt to glorify war. The subtle anti-war message comes when Erika asks him to comment on the failure of the mission, and he says bluntly that he "didn't want any of it". For him, survival was his top priority - what anyone else wanted did not matter to him, even if he never had to take a stand against either side.


Fun movie needs DVD release, but there is a VCD out there   April 26, 2006
Darren Harrison (Washington D.C.)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

This is a fun WWI movie from the 1970s that I enjoyed while growing up and while there is no DVD yet available there is a VCD out there that regularly appears on auction sites that will allow you to enjoy it on your DVD player.
Whereas movies centering around WWII are numerous, the same is not true about the "Great War." This movie therefore offers a fascinating (and exciting) glimpse at a conflict in which aerial warfare was still in its infancy.
It should hardly be surprising that I like this movie, its an espionage drama revolving around an airship and one of my favorite of the James Bond movies is A VIEW TO A KILL which was an espionage drama with a climactic battle around an airship. But most of all the movie is also directed by Belgian-born director Etienne Perier who also directed my all-time favorite spy movie "When Eight Bells Toll," based around the Alistair MacLean novel of the same name (check out my review of that movie here on Amazon.)
Starring in this movie as the unlikely hero Geoffrey von Richter-Douglas is Michael York. His character is a British soldier with German roots who is sent by British intelligence to get information on a new German super-weapon the LZ36, and ends up aboard one bound for an attack on a Scottish castle and the destruction of the Magna Carta. Co-starring alongside York is the incredibly beautiful Elke Sommer who plays Frau Dr. Ericka Altschul, the wife of the airship's designer who is less than convinced by Richter-Douglas' defection to the German side. Hoping to gather the information needed Richter-Douglas talks his way on board the zeppelin for it's "trial run" only to learn that instead of it being a "trial run" it is actually a secret attack on the aforementioned castle. The Germans believe that the destruction of the "British constitution" will have a demoralizing effect on the British people. It's up to Richter-Douglas to thwart the plan from within.
While The story does not fully develop the theme of divided loyalty completely the Richter-Douglas character is an interesting one and the viewer is made to wonder where his ultimate loyalties will eventually lie. Ultimately the movie starts a little slow and picks up in the second act as the zeppelin sets off for the raid, the battle at the castle and the final escape across the channel.
It's entertaining hokum and the battle as English biplanes attempt to bring the blimp down in the closing minutes is exciting, but don't expect it to be the most accurate of movies.
Examples of problems include the fact that it wasn't until the 1920s that The technique of mooring an airship to a tower was developed. The film is set in 1915 but it features the SE5a fighter plane which didn't enter service until two years later and. the British also didn't have the machinery for firing a machine gun through a spinning propeller until 1916.
Still, even given these technical problems the movie is one of those perfectly designed for those rainy Saturday afternoons when all you want to do is curl up on the coach with a hot chocolate while watching an entertaining movie.


Surprisingly good British war movie.   July 30, 2008
FAMOUS NAME (UNITED KINGDOM)

Not a lover of this genre, but a surprisingly good and exciting British war movie to come from the early seventies.

An unusual cast in this, starring Michael York (Barbra Striesand lookalike - looking painfully emaciated) a rather nice-looking Marius Goring as Dr. Christian, and a handsome Michael Robbins ('On The Buses') Also stars; Frazer Hines, Elke Sommer and Anton Diffring.

Some tense and exciting moments in this when Michael York's spy character is almost discovered, and some quick thinking gets him out of some tight spots!

Plenty of action for those that like it.

Never yet released on DVD.