A former U.S. Justice Department official is hired as a security consultant for a Zurich-based Swiss bank when five of its clients are blackmailed.
Director Jack Arnold’s last feature film before he died, “The Swiss Conspiracy,” is reminiscent of other comparable thrillers from the ’70s, titles like “Russian Roulette,” “Delta Fox,” and “Black Eye.” While the film is a passable thriller, the fact that it was shot entirely on location in Zürich, Switzerland, is very impressive. The story itself is serviceable, but Film Masters have enlisted colorist and restoration expert Marc Wielage to painstakingly bring back vibrant and original colors that have not been seen since this film debuted in 1976. And it shows. The colors are glorious, and the Swiss backdrop is always beautiful to behold. I wish more movies today would shoot on location instead of utilizing cringeworthy greenscreen backdrops that look inauthentic.
David Janssen plays David Christopher, a former U.S. Treasury official who now resides in Geneva. He is hired by Johann Hurtil (Ray Milland), the president of a Swiss bank who learns that several of his clients, who own anonymous numbered accounts, are being blackmailed by an unknown source who threatens to go public with their names and occupations, some of whom are not very reputable, if they are not paid 10,000,000 Swiss Francs. Christopher sets out to resolve the issue, but as the clients start mysteriously dying one by one, he must solve the case before it’s too late.
“The Swiss Conspiracy” is a great-looking film, especially now that it has been restored, but the story is predictable. Even with first-rate actors like David Janssen, John Ireland, Ray Milland, Elke Sommer, and the always-entertaining John Saxon, the narrative never rises above mediocrity. The film’s three writers, Norman Klenman, Horward Merrill, and Philip Saltzman, try to stay ahead of the audience, adding twist after twist, but they are easily ascertained long before they are realized onscreen. That’s not to say it’s not enjoyable; on the contrary, “The Swiss Conspiracy” is great fun and reminds you of a time when movies weren’t filled with CGI, focusing instead on telling its story, something I crave in this digital day and age.
Director Jack Arnold was best known for his B-movies of the 1950s, including “It Came from Outer Space,” “Creature from the Black Lagoon,” “Tarantula,” and “The Incredible Shrinking Man.” Over the years, he tried to segue into more serious filmmaking but never fully realized that dream. “The Swiss Conspiracy” was the last feature film he made before returning to direct episodes of well-known TV shows like “The Bionic Woman,” “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century,” “The Fall Guy,” and “The Love Boat,” before passing away from arteriosclerosis in 1992. The Blu-ray™ includes a very informative feature on Arnold titled “Jack Arnold: The Lost Years,” which focuses on the late career years of the filmmaker and what could have been.
Available on Blu-ray™ and DVD February 20th
