source: Treasure of the Yankee Zephyr

Moviecut—Treasure of the Yankee Zephyr

You can goggle it and watch for free, but its pretty bad. Good idea, acting not so good, plot terrible. I was really expecting more looking at the rating and almost wonder if some people were watching a different movie.

Scruffy rough'n'tumble helicopter pilot Barney (a likable turn by Ken Wahl), his boozy and crotchety hunter buddy Gibbie (delightfully played with deliciously hammy gusto by Donald Pleasence), and Gibbie's feisty daughter Sally (a fine Lesley Ann Warren) venture into the scenic New Zealand wilderness in search of the Yankee Zephyr, a downed American World War II Navy cargo plane containing valuable medals and $50 million dollars worth of gold bullion. Meanwhile, snooty, yet ruthless businessman Theo Brown (nicely essayed to the suavely slimy hilt by George Peppard) and his pernicious flunkies also try to get their wicked hands on the booty. Director David Hemmings, working from a witty, eventful and blithely silly script by Everett De Roche, relates the lively story at a constant snappy pace, maintains an engagingly breezy and lighthearted tone throughout, and stages the exciting action set pieces with a substantial amount of skill and flair (a thrilling boat chase rates as the definite heart-racing highlight). Moreover, the enthusiastic cast have a field day with their colorful roles: Wahl, Warren and Pleasence make for appealing protagonists, Peppard has a ball as the fey villain, and Bruno Lawrence does well as Brown's equally no-count partner Baker. Brian May's spirited score hits the stirring spot. Vincent Monton's sumptuous widescreen cinematography offers plenty of lovely shots of the exquisitely lush and verdant New Zealand countryside. The movie's overall amiable sensibility and infectiously giddy sense of good-natured goofy humor add considerably to the film's cheerfully inane charm. A neat little flick.

I was really surprised to see all of the negative comments, for even though all we have left is a very lousy copy, it is still watched occasionally and all of the family and friends that have seen it have had nothing but good to say of it. We must just be movie hillbillies as we can have a good time knowing that the movie is just there to entertain. Yes there are a couple of scenes that may not tie together very good but so what? There are similar dis-jointed scenes in Romancing the Stone and the Indiana Jones movies also. In my book this movie is as good as or even better than them because it is even more realistic. The drunk is always drunk, the bad guys are bad and the action is exciting. If anyone gets killed it's not dwelt on, there is no drugs (except booze), the sex is only hinted at and family (and civil) morals are left intact. (Could not sell it today) I am amazed at the number of Tape and DVD jacket covers that do not really relate to the film but the correct one does. Where the bogus covers came from, I don't know, but if you've seen the movie you know which ones are bogus. (The ones with the plane in the water are real) The only thing I would like of this is a good copy, like the first rental one we had that we should have stolen. No good copies seem to be available.

First and foremost I just have to state that nobody – and I do mean NOBODY – could depict a jolly old drunk like Donald Pleasance could! I already worshiped his alcoholic character in "Wake in Fright" (also an Aussie movie and quite possibly the most underrated film of all time), but that was a serious motion picture whereas "The Race for Yankee Zephyr" is more of a light-headed and comical treasure hunting adventure. Either way, Pleasance effortlessly steals every scene he's appearing in as the unintelligibly mumbling and heavily drinking poacher Gilbert Carson. His delicious and infectious laughter alone is enough reason to seek out this sadly forgotten early 80's flick as far as I'm concerned! Along with his "business" partner Barney, Carson is out in the beautiful New Zealand Mountains when a deer hunt goes awry and he falls from the shoddy helicopter into a lake. When he recovers, he actually notices that he stumbled upon the remains of an old American WWII aircraft named Yankee Zephyr. Now, during the brilliantly nostalgic opening sequences, we learned that this aircraft carried on board the Christmas gifts for all overseas fighting soldiers, including many cases of Whiskey, army decorations and a damn big load of gold bars! Carson hardly has the time to convince Barney and his estranged daughter Sally to help him bring back all this richness, as suddenly the obnoxious British millionaire Theo Brown arrives in town to claim the gold. Carson alone knows the exact location, but he definitely doesn't intend to share the gold – let alone the whiskey – with Brown, thus the race for Yankee Zephyr begins. I've read quite a number of negative and complaining reviews about this movie, but I seriously can't figure out why that is. Sure the production values aren't on the same level as other contemporary adventure movies (like "Raiders of the Lost Ark" or "Time Bandits") but it's nevertheless an exhilarating and enthusiastic effort that put a vicious grin on my face from start to finish. What's not to like in fact? There are numerous chase sequences on the land, in the air and on the water! There are Aussie bar fights and astounding landscapes to admire. And apart from Pleasance delightful over-the-top performance, there's also George Peppard who clearly enjoyed portraying an exaggeratedly stereotypical British villain. Heck, the film even shamelessly copies the legendary theme music from "The Great Escape"! Especially since I've seen the downright genius documentary "Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation!" (if you consider yourself to be a cult-movie fanatic and you haven't yet seen this documentary, first of all shame on you and, secondly, hurry up) I've been moderately obsessed with Australian exploitation cinema and this one is a stellar entry. Quite the "dream team" was involved in this, notably writer Everett De Roche ("Razorback", "Long Weekend", "Roadgames"…) and David Hemmings in the director's chair. The latter is mainly known as a great actor ("Deep Red", "Blow-Up") but he also directed a couple of remarkable titles, like "The Survivor" and of course this little gem. Search for it! Unless you're a sourpuss, I guarantee you will not regret it!

I thought that the boat chase was exceptional, all of the scenery and locations were terrific. i believe that their should have been a sequel to this movie, or a lead in. This movie is a great tribute to the adventure writers of our time. The story is a bit slow at first but picks up in the typical movie manner. I believe that it could have been brightened by a deeper subject matter. i enjoyed all of the movie from start to finish and would like to see more of these brought to the screen for everyone's enjoyment. I truly was pleased with the action that takes place in this movie and would like to know more about the vehicles that were used, such as: i would like to know what type of boats were being used.

Unbelievably bad. That's all I would say if IMDb didn't insist on at least ten lines, so I will oblige them. * The story sounds all right but is discarded from the outset. * It was written by putting scraps of paper with individual words on them into a hat and then plucking them out at random. * If there was a director he must have been drunk under a table, or perhaps away on holiday. That's what I would claim if I was listed as the director of this film. * The production values were around the level of a school play. Perhaps they wasted their entire budget playing with helicopters. And it's obvious that they were just playing, because none of it has the least thing to do with the story. * There is no acting in this film. All you'll find are cardboard cutouts taped to sticks, and the whole lot waved around in front of the camera while someone off to the side yells gibberish in strange voices. * The scenery is pretty, but it's not anywhere near enough to salvage this. Not even close to being enough! Not even on the same planet, in fact. Recently a Kiwi friend has forced me to watch a pile of New Zealand films with her, and all I can say is that I now no longer have any desire to ever visit New Zealand. It may seem odd to you that a few bad films could ever change my view of an entire nation or willingness to visit it, but if you had to sit through the same incredibly appalling rubbish, I would be willing to bet that you'd feel likewise. ( Watch The Price of Milk and then try and tell me I'm wrong! )

First off, the initial concept of a lost fortune in gold bars discovered in a New Zealand lake, inside a downed World War 2 plane is a great opening. What follows is nothing but cartoon like drivel. Men chasing men, cars chasing men , helicopters chasing men, helicopters chasing boats, boats chasing boats, for the better part of an hour, the most boring nonsense, with absolutely no advancement to the story. Special mention must be made of the chop shop editing, as many scenes seem to have been spliced together in random order. The acting by all concerned is an embarrassment. One last thing, the picture quality and sound quality is so bad on this DVD that you will be appalled. - MERK

At the opposite end of the spectrum from RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK is David Hemmings' utterly inferior adventure regarding the salvage of a World War II-era plane with a valuable cargo. Assets include beautiful New Zealand settings, Brian May's energetic music score and some dandy helicopter flying and jet boat chases. The bad, however, far outweighs the good. Donald Pleasence hams as perhaps never before; half of his dialog is almost unintelligible. George Peppard attempts an Australian (I think) accent, then gives it up halfway through. Lesley Ann Warren is at her most irritating. Ken Wahl is, well, Ken Wahl. The dialog is painful to hear and Hemmings' direction is largely inept. The script is not only obvious but terrible. Jokes fall flat, scenes carry no punch and continuity is virtually non-existent. According to the end credits, two men were killed piloting jet boats during the making of the film. What a waste.