On balance, murder
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | The Swiss Conspiracy / On balance murder |
| Country of production |
USA , Germany |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1976 |
| length | 89 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Jack Arnold |
| script |
Michael Stanley , Norman Klenman , Philip Saltzman |
| production | Maurice Silverstein |
| music | Klaus Doldinger |
| camera | WP Hassenstein |
| cut | Murray Jordan |
| occupation | |
| |
On balance Mord is an American - German crime film directed by Jack Arnold with David Janssen and Senta Berger from 1976.
action
A bank in Zurich is blackmailed by a stranger. The blackmailer is demanding ten million Swiss francs in the form of rough diamonds, otherwise he wants to educate the public about the fact that all sorts of money from dubious transactions is deposited in the bank's numbered accounts . In addition, five account holders should each pay an additional one million francs or their anonymity would be a thing of the past. Former US judicial officer David Christopher, who now earns his living as a detective in Geneva , is commissioned by bank director Johann Hurtil to track down the blackmailer and to protect the bank customers concerned.
Two of the account holders lost their lives shortly afterwards, including a Chicago criminal named Hayes who was by no means willing to pay the requested amount. The attractive Denise Abbott, who is also one of the blackmailed customers, meets Christopher shortly after his arrival in Zurich. She is convinced that her one-time affair with a British lord caught the attention of the blackmailer. When Denise and Christopher meet again in town, Denise asks the detective to go for a ride with her. On a winding mountain road, Christopher almost falls down a slope with his car. Denise can help him out of the car just in time. They kiss and then sleep together.
Meanwhile, the bank's vice-president, Franz Benninger, is suspected of having sent the ransom notes with the help of his lover Rita Jensen. Benninger is still ready to meet Christopher at the train station. There are also two killers who want to shoot Christopher from behind. When one of the killers fires a shot at the detective, he instead meets Benninger, who ran into his line of fire. The two killers try to escape by train, but are shot by police officers led by Captain Frey. As it turns out, Benninger had only helped Rita transfer a bank account from her late father to her name. Although she was the rightful heir, she did not have the documents necessary for an official transfer. She wants to start a new life with Benninger, who will recover from his gunshot wound.
Christopher is now supposed to take the rough diamonds to a remote location with the three remaining account holders - Denise, Dwight McGowan and Korsak - where the blackmailer wants to receive the valuable stones. The Texan McGowan apologizes on the way. He is not doing well and has to go back to his hotel. The three of Christopher, Denise and Korsak drive on following the blackmailer's instructions. On a mountain, Christopher is supposed to take the diamonds to the summit using a ski lift. Korsak agrees to take on this task. Christopher gives him the diamonds and Korsak sits down in an elevator. When a helicopter flies to the top of the mountain, Christopher pushes Denise into a lift to go up together. Captain Frey and his colleague Schwand also arrive at the scene. Christopher tells Denise that he had been in London the day before and found out from Lord James, Denise's ex-lover, that Denise had blackmailed him by publicizing their affair. Christopher then concluded that all five account holders blackmail each other in order to then split the rough diamonds among themselves.
When Korsak arrives at the summit, he is shot by McGowan. He grabs the diamonds and wants to disappear with his helicopter. Christopher shoots the helicopter, so McGowan has to land again. He tries to flee on foot, but is hit by Christopher's shots and falls into the depths. Christopher takes the diamonds lying in the snow. Denise now suggests that they do something together. When he tries to leave without accepting her offer, she pulls a gun. Christopher tosses the bag with the diamonds to Denise. She drops her gun to catch the pouch, and Christopher now draws his gun. When Frey joins them, Denise tries to convince him that Christopher is behind it all. Frey takes her with him so she can tell him everything in peace on the way. Christopher, on the other hand, remains alone on the mountain with the diamonds.
background
The shooting took place in the Bavaria Filmstudios and in Zurich . In March 1976, On balance murder was published in Switzerland , and in May 1976 in Austria as well . In Germany, the crime film was released on May 14, 1976. On September 28, 1985 it was shown for the first time on GDR television on DFF 1 .
Reviews
"Tension-free crime thriller with a lot of unbelievability, weak play and inadequate clarification," was the lexicon of international films . Cinema described Per balance murder as "[l] last, unfortunately dreary work by B-film pope Jack Arnold". The conclusion was: “The Swiss crime thriller is quite a cheese.” For TimeOut London, the film was a “monotonous, astonishingly meaningless” thriller, the plot of which was “incomprehensible”.
German version
The German synchronous editing was done by Bavaria Atelier GmbH Munich.
| role | actor | Voice actor |
|---|---|---|
| David Christopher | David Janssen | Günther Ungeheuer |
| Denise Abbott | Senta Berger | Senta Berger |
| Dwight McGowan | John Ireland | Heinz Engelmann |
| Robert Hayes | John Saxon | Reinhard Glemnitz |
| Johann Hurtil | Ray Milland | Wolf Ackva |
| Rita Jensen | Elke Sommer | Gudrun Vaupel |
| Korsak | Arthur Brauss | Arthur Brauss |
| Sando, professional killer | David Hess | Michael Brennicke |
| Sgt. Schwand | Hans-Jörg Bahl | Rudiger Bahr |
| Corinne | Sheila Ruskin | Rose-Marie Kirstein |
Web links
- On balance murder in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- On balance, murder at filmportal.de
- Pictures of the film on cinema.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ Murder on balance. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ cf. cinema.de
- ↑ "A monotonous, glossily vacuous co-production thriller that sends Janssen skidding through the scenic snow in the midst of an incomprehensible blackmail-and-murder plot." See The Swiss Conspiracy on timeout.com
- ↑ cf. synchrondatenbank.de