Race for the Yankee Zephyr

1981
PG
1h 48m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

A drunken deer hunter, his pilot colleague and his daughter compete with a treasure hunter to reach a lake in New Zealand and uncover a WWII-era plane wreck carrying a fortune in gold.A drunken deer hunter, his pilot colleague and his daughter compete with a treasure hunter to reach a lake in New Zealand and uncover a WWII-era plane wreck carrying a fortune in gold.A drunken deer hunter, his pilot colleague and his daughter compete with a treasure hunter to reach a lake in New Zealand and uncover a WWII-era plane wreck carrying a fortune in gold.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

5.5/10

1.2K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

User reviews22

Featured review

Well shot Actioner

A solid film with exceptional production values a few flaws. What really surprises me about this film is just how well acted it is by the supporting cast and the three protagonists. Combine that with some very good cinematography and you have a respectable film.

Toss in a very sumptuous looking New Zealand background and you have a an exceptional production.

The only downside to this production is perhaps the casting of George Peppard as the mercenary antagonist. His accent and overall performance are very misplaced and almost serve as comic relief for a film that needed a good solid villain to anchor it. Peppard nearly derails this film with a horrible effete British accent, but the action and the three leads.

The character driven moments are finely staged, and the action sequences are old fashioned classic pre-CGI film making. Aeriel sequences and boat chases, and even a few fire fights are all in this film combined with the elements I already mentioned.

It's just a few notes shy of being an outstanding film. As it is now it's just a good action film with good drama, some comedy, and one mis-cast villain. It's worth seeing once.

Enjoy.

Blueghost
Oct 23, 2016
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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
This movie is based on a true to life incident about the disappearance during World War II of an American DC-3 military airplane which was carrying the payroll for the American Pacific Fleet and crashed but was later found off Cape York in North Queensland, Australia. Screenwriter Everett De Roche has said he conceived the film from this story, which had been told to him by one of his neighbors in Mount Isa in Queensland, Australia.

Goofs
During the jet boat sequence, Barney (Ken Wahl) is shown in close-up sitting upright in the back of the boat leaning back with arms up on the seat backs beside him, but in the distance shots showing the boat racing around, everyone is hunched over supposedly ducking the shots being fired at them, but also conveniently hiding their faces and disguising the fact that they are all stunt doubles.

Quotes
Gilbert Carson: Yessir, big bucks. And nobody knows about it, but me.
Barney: Good for you. You know, you're eatin' the cat food.
Gilbert Carson: D'you know how much war medals is worth, to avid collectors?
Barney: Big bucks?
Gilbert Carson: Too darn right! You couldn't find 'em in a fit- cat food?

Crazy credits
After the first unit credits, Theo Brown pops up in the lake, wearing an inflatable life vest and bellowing for help. He continues to call for assistance as the second unit credits roll.