The Swiss Conspiracy

Right off the bat, this (mostly) entertaining, glamour/glossy, visually appealing 70s Euro-thriller has a wealth of awesome Euro-cult credentials! Ably directed by B-Scion, Jack Arnold, and thrillingly framed against the alpine splendour of Switzerland, The Swiss Conspiracy is additionally bejewelled by some hefty thesping talent. Aggrieved clients of a highfalutin Swiss bank are being blackmailed, and sleepy/gruff alpha dude David Janssen is tasked to sleepily unmask these shady perpetrators. Like its somnolent star, the plot isn't exceptionally rigorous, yet the dazzling exterior locations are sublime, and the charismatic supporting cast provides a welcome distraction from the frequently undernourished text. My only gripe, and it is only a gripe-let, I feel that David Hess was greatly underused as a disposable rent-a-thug. That being said, scintillating siren, Senta Berger is distractingly luminous, and German music maestro Klaus Doldinger's inhumanly funky score is a real banger!

Good cast delivers in this interesting blackmail plot involving Swiss bank accounts. Started somewhat slow but built nicely into a satisfying conclusion. Anton Diffring always adds a nice sinister element to a movie. Ray Milland is perfectly cast as the bank president. Janssen seemed to have a hard time getting into the proceedings but got better as the movie progressed. The other characters were reasonably well developed which gave the movie more depth. Great location shooting, vintage Ferraris, and Senta and Elke were definite pluses. Overall an enjoyable viewing especially if you enjoy Euro-based thrillers.

Swiss Conspiracy opens with a screen of text, explaining that Switzerland has always been the perfect place for people to stash their money, acquired legally or not. How ironic it is that as I am watching this in July 2008, the State Department in Washington DC is formally requesting that the larger Swiss banks provide banking records to the IRS and to the Dept of Homeland Security here in the US. Swiss Conspiracy stars David Janssen, probably best known as the "Fugitive" and "Harry O" and Ray Milland ( Lost Weekend, and all those black & white movies from the 1930s and 1940s). Costars John Ireland, Elke Sommer, John Saxon, and a whole mess of bit parts. Janssen, as David Christopher, must figure out to keep the bank's clients from having their names and secrets exposed by a blackmailer. Has some cussing and violence, including a shoot- em- up right from the beginning scenes. No real big surprises in this one, but its an interesting What-If ... especially now that the U.S. is cracking down on its citizens moving money overseas. An hour and a half well spent. and some interesting photography of Switzerland to boot. Could have done without the silly "Sloop John B" euro re-make, which plays while Christopher is waiting for Denise to get dressed.

David Janssen is an ex-U.S. treasury agent who finds himself involved in "The Swiss Conspiracy," a 1976 film that boasts a large array of old stars and actors: John Ireland, Ray Milland, Elke Sommer, John Saxon and Curt Lowens, plus the beautiful Senta Berger and a European cast. Janssen is David Christopher, who is asked to help a Swiss bank whose clients are being blackmailed with exposure of their numbered accounts. The stakes get higher when two of the victims are killed.

Words fail me but I'll go on anyway. First of all, this movie looks like it was transferred to DVD illegally - it even skips at one point with Janssen mouthing non-existent dialogue. The quality of the film is very grainy, and it looks like the movie was cut, too.

The film was made 5 years before David Janssen died, and he looks like he's going to succumb either during the film or the day after it wraps. If there was ever a tired, worn out actor, he's it. Ray Milland also looks to be at death's door. Did Bela Lugosi's makeup man do the makeup for this, or did they just go straight to a mortician? John Saxon turns in one of the worst performances I've ever seen, and that's saying something - I've seen Sonny Tufts in movies. An embarrassment of a New York accent to go with an awful performance.

The story isn't bad but by the time the movie is over, you're past caring. The scenery is gorgeous, however. There is one hilarious moment. One of the characters falls off of a huge cliff. Well, obviously, they used a dummy. When it hit the ground it bounced into the air - WAY into the air before landing someplace else. What I like best is that they left it in the movie. It made it almost worth watching.

Possibly this was made for television though for what country, I don't know. Maybe they dubbed it and it was shown in Europe. It really looks made on the cheap and like these actors worked for lunch and a cot.

On the surface, "The Swiss Conspiracy" seems to have a lot going for it. It has a good cast (including David Janssen, John Saxon, John Ireland, and Ray Milland.) It was also completely filmed in Switzerland, a country you don't often see in a movie. Also, the plot, concerning the secretive world of Swiss bank, seems fresher than usual. Unfortunately, the end results simply don't work. The movie is extremely talky, with precious little action to enliven things up. What little action there is is also not that well constructed, coming across as humdrum as those talky parts. And while the cast may be made of professionals, the performances aren't that interesting - maybe the actors sensed they were in a bomb and decided not to make any effort. About all the movie has going for it are some scenic Swiss locations.