The Hindenburg (1975)

Director:

Robert Wise

Writers:

Nelson Gidding (writer)
Richard Levinson (story)

Release Date:

25 December 1975 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History | Thriller

Tagline:

The truth at last? What really happened to The Hindenburg?

Plot:

A film that chronicles the events of the Hindenburg disaster in which a zeppelin burst into flames.

Plot Keywords:

Disaster | Sabotage | Zeppelin | Bomb | Gestapo

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

George C. Scott	...	Col. Franz Ritter
Anne Bancroft	...	Ursula, The Countess
William Atherton	...	Boerth
Roy Thinnes	...	Martin Vogel
Gig Young	...	Edward Douglas
Burgess Meredith	...	Emilio Pajetta
Charles Durning	...	Capt. Pruss
Richard Dysart	...	Capt. Lehman
Robert Clary	...	Joe Spahn
Rene Auberjonois	...	Maj. Napier
Peter Donat	...	Reed Channing
Alan Oppenheimer	...	Albert Breslau
Katherine Helmond	...	Mrs. Mildred Breslau
Joanna Moore	...	Mrs. Channing
Stephen Elliott	...	Capt. Fellows

Runtime:

125 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Mono (Westrex Recording System) (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (1987) | USA:PG (certificate #24257) | Netherlands:12

Filming Locations:

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

Company:

The Filmakers Group

Trivia:

Some, though not all, of the characters in the film have different names from their historical counterparts. For example, Colonel Franz Ritter (George C. Scott) was Colonel Fritz Erdmann in real life; the Countess (Anne Bancroft) was actually Margaret Mather; Martin Vogel (Roy Thinnes) represents Karl Otto Clemens; Captain Fellows (Stephen Elliott) is based on U.S. Navy airship commander Charles Rosendahl; Karl Borth (William Atherton) was named Eric Spehl in real life; his mistress, Freda Halle (Lisa Pera) was Beatrice Friedrich; Mr. and Mrs. Reed Channing (Peter Donat and Joanna Moore) were Leonhard and Gertrud Adelt; the Breslau family (Alan Oppenheimer, Katherine Helmond, Jean Rasey, Johnny Lee and Stephen Manley) was actually the Doehnerr family; Dimmler (Rex Holman), while there was an engineering officer by that name, is shown stationed in the main control gondola and likely represents either Captain Albert Sammt or Captain Anton Wittemann. Captain Ernst Lehmann, Captain Max Pruss, Joseph Spah, Edward Douglas, Ludwig Knorr, Hugo Eckener and Joseph Goebbels are among those who were called by their real historical names in the film.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: At the beginning of the film during the fake newsreel, the name of the airship Graf Zeppelin is shown painted on its side. But it is painted in a different font, a dead giveaway that the airship shown is actually the Graf Zeppelin II, which was not built until the year after the Hindenburg crashed, and therefore a 1937 newsreel would not show it.

Quotes:

Karl Boerth: Excuse me, I'm just a poor gypsy.

Movie Connections:

Edited into Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Soundtrack:

There's A Lot to be Said for the Fuhrer

The Hindenburg Flies

The director, Robert Wise, made a very good movie on the Zeppelin disaster, the Hinderburg. The movie's only flaw is that almost everyone has an American accent. The language familiarity looses authenticity. You can't tell the difference from the Americans to the Germans. The American actors should have used German accents.

The superb cast is headed by George C. Scott,Anne Bancroft, and Charles Durning. It is fun to see many television actors get their chance to be in a good movie. Rene Auberjonois, Robert Clary, Roy Thinnes, and Joanne Cook Moore shine. Only William Atherton was able to make several good movies as a supporting actor.

After all these years, nobody knows the truth on the Hindenburg disaster. However, the movie tells an interesting story. The movie's version sounds compelling. They claim the Hinderburg was blown up by a saboteur.