The Hindenburg (1975)

Director: Robert Wise                                Writers: Richard Levinson & William Link
Film Score: David Shire                             Cinematography: Robert Surtees
Starring: George C. Scott, Anne Bancroft, Charles Durning and William Atherton

In the 70s tradition of Airport, Towering Inferno, and The Poseidon Adventure is the 1975 classic The Hindenburg. Classic in the sense that, like all 70s disaster films, it manages to adhere to conventions while still able to put its own historic spin on the formula. At the helm is veteran director Robert Wise, who began his career in RKOs horror unit under Val Lewton in the 1940s. It’s a high quality production of the time and has some prominent character actors portraying the Gilligan’s Island-like representatives of society associated with these films.

The picture begins in Germany where Luftwaffe Colonel George C. Scott is sent along on a trans-Atlantic flight of the Zeppelin Hindenburg in order to prevent sabotage warned about in a letter from a psychic in the States. Of course, this is pure fiction. There was no concrete evidence as to what exactly happened. Hitler, denied that there was any sabotage and declared it an act of God. Toward the end of the film, at the point of the explosion, the film goes black and white in order to fit with the documentary footage of the disaster.

George C. Scott is his usual stalwart self as the Colonel assigned to the ship by Goering. The heavy is played by William Atherton in an early role long before Die Hard. As will all of these films, there is a parade of character actors including Gig Young, Burgess Meredith who does very little, Charles Durning as the captain of the ship, Richard Dysart, Robert Clary particularly annoying as a circus performer, Rene Auberjonois and Katherine Helmond. Anne Bancroft is the other big star as a rich baroness who has no love for Hitler.

The exteriors are quite nice. At the time they probably seemed a bit garish but after seeing much of the color footage coming out of Germany from World War Two, it’s looks pretty realistic. The plot is fairly interesting and provides some suspense, as Scott has no dearth of suspects to choose from. It’s the historical aspect that really raises it above the pack, because even seen today it’s a historical drama and as such still holds up rather well. Don’t go in expecting great cinema, but taking into account the limitations of the period and the genre, The Hindenburg is enjoyable and comes recommended.