Race for the Yankee Zephyr (1981) on Netflix
PG19811h 50mActionAdventureDrama
Gibbie Gibson finds a World War II plane wreck in a New Zealand lake. His daughter Sally and Barney Whitaker are caught up when Theo Brown comes for the Yankee Zephyr's cargo.
- Netflix3.1/5
- IMDb5.6/101,336 votes
- Rotten TomatoesNot available
Trailer
Plot summary
High in the Southern Alps of New Zealand, a hunter named Gibbie Gibson finds a plane wreck from the Second World War lying in a lake. Word of the find travels, and Theo Brown, a gangster, arrives with a crew of treasure hunters. Brown believes the Yankee Zephyr went down carrying money and he means to have it. Gibson's daughter Sally, a receptionist, and his lodger Barney Whitaker, who owns and flies a helicopter, are drawn into the dispute over the wreck. Brown and his men threaten Gibson and Sally over the fortune they believe is still aboard the plane.
Cast
- Tony Sparksas Brown's Henchman
- Clark Walkingtonas Brown's Henchman
- Frank Tauruaas Brown's Henchman
- Steve Nicolleas Brown's Henchman
- Dennis Huntas Brown's Henchman
Show all 14 cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Race for the Yankee Zephyr (1981)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- A credit dedication to three people who died operating jetboats led to the mistaken belief that a triple fatality boating accident happened while filming on New Zealand's Kawarau River; in fact only one jetboat driver drowned in a practice run, and the passenger who survived that capsize died six months later in a second crash on the same river.
- Writer Everett De Roche's script was set in Queensland, but when Actors Equity objected to producers importing four overseas actors he rewrote it to be set in New Zealand; Richard Franklin then dropped out, unhappy with the location change, and Antony I. Ginnane was so annoyed with Equity that he made his next four films in New Zealand.
- Writer Everett De Roche said he got the idea from a neighbor in Mount Isa; the film is based on a true incident in which an American DC3 military aircraft carrying the payroll for the Pacific fleet disappeared in wartime and was later discovered off Cape York.
- A closing dedication to three people who died in connection with the film was long misread as a triple jetboat fatality, but only boat driver Bill Clarke drowned in a practice-run capsize; passenger Colin Robinson survived, then died in another jetboat crash on the same river six months later.
- Actors Equity objected when the producers wanted to import four overseas actors, so writer Everett De Roche moved the story from Queensland to New Zealand. Director Richard Franklin quit over the change, producer David Hemmings took over, and producer Antony I. Ginnane retaliated by making his next four films in New Zealand.
- The story was based on a real wartime incident: an American DC3 military aircraft carrying the payroll for the Pacific fleet disappeared and was later found off Cape York. Writer Everett De Roche said he got the idea from a neighbor in Mount Isa.
