Race for the Yankee Zephyr (1981)

Director:

David Hemmings

Writer:

Everett De Roche (written by)

Release Date:

April 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Adventure

Tagline:

Finding it after four decades is quite a challenge . . . but holding onto it is really an adventure! [USA Theatrical]

Plot:

In a lake high in the mountains of New Zealand hunter Gibbie Gibson discovers a plane wreck from ww-ii...

Plot Keywords:

Wreck | Hunter | Mountain | Inheritance | Agent

Cast

Ken Wahl	...	Barney
Lesley Ann Warren	...	Sally
Donald Pleasence	...	Gilbert Carson
George Peppard	...	Theo Brown
Bruno Lawrence	...	Baker
Grant Tilly	...	Collector
Harry Rutherford-Jones	...	Harry
Robert Bruce	...	The Bartender
Tony Sparks	...	Brown's henchman
Clark Walkington	...	Brown's henchman
Frank Taurua	...	Brown's henchman
Steve Nicolle	...	Brown's henchman
Dick Jones	...	Brown's Henchman
Dennis Hunt	...	Brown's henchman

Also Known As:

Gold Hunt (Philippines: English title)
Race to the Yankee Zephyr (Australia) (working title)
Treasure of the Yankee Zephyr (USA)

Runtime:

Australia:108 min | USA:91 min

Country:

Australia | New Zealand | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (video premiere) | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

New Zealand

Company:

Drake Films Ltd.

Trivia:

The film is dedicated to John Rillstone, Bill Clarke, Colin Robinson who were killed during the filming of the jet boat sequences.

Goofs:

Continuity: There were apparently two different chopper/tractor hybrids made. The one used for most of filming had exposed drive wheels between the tank-type tread and the hull of the vehicle. However, the vehicle that Brown stops on the road has narrow treads with no inner wheels, and the wheel rims inside of the tread are totally different from those on the vehicle in other scenes. The cockpit plexiglas on the vehicles differs between the scene where Brown stops them and every other scene involving the hybrid vehicle.

Quotes:

Barney: It's all right. Air's gettin' a little thin.
Sally: Can we go where it's thick?

Movie Connections:

Featured in Dead-End Drive In (1986)

Great Movie

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.