Homeland Insecurity, 1937 Style

Robert Wise's "The Hindenburg" (1975) came and went with a flurry of all-star disaster movies - that was the hot trend of the '70s, much like comic-book adaptations nowadays. I rediscovered this airborne Titanic story on AMC while stuck in a cheap motel in Williams, AZ. This film held my attention partly because it's set in 1937, the same period I've been writing screenplays in lately. For those fascinated with the '30s, "The Hindenburg" contains a few unexpected parallels with our present era that could not have been anticipated 28 years ago.

One thing to bear in mind: this film's script, loosely based on Michael Mooney's novel, written by Richard Levinson & William Link (of "Columbo" fame) and finally by Nelson Gidding, is a work of fiction set in a historical context. Many characters were entirely invented or only vaguely resemble actual passengers on the ill-fated flight. While I didn't know this at the time I watched the movie, my learning it later did not alter my opinion of the film as entertainment.

"The Hindenburg" varies from the typical '70s disaster movie in that unlike a capsized ocean liner, a burning skyscraper, or an airliner in jeopardy, the Zeppelin's explosion must wait until the very end of the film because it's over so quickly. Therefore the plot had to be more like a suspense thriller or detective yarn, written with a "Grand Hotel" formula wherein several colorful characters cross paths, and you wonder who might be a saboteur.

The saboteur explanation is more interesting dramatically than a mere accident - in the latter case, relationships between the passengers would've been the only real hook, as in James Cameron's "Titanic". However, recent research by Professor William Van Vorst of UCLA and Addison Bain of NASA strongly suggests that an accident was highly likely, and surprisingly NOT because of the hydrogen, but because of the Zeppelin's outer skin.

The doping that coated the fabric to make it taut and more durable was an extremely flammable mixture of iron oxide, cellulose acetate, and aluminum powder. It is entirely likely that the electrostatic charge built up in the skin as the Hindenburg flew arced to the metal frame and ignited the skin. The massive flames in the famous newsreel footage are not from burning hydrogen (which burns invisibly) but the doped cotton skin. Changes made to the Hindenburg's sister ship Graf Zeppelin II greatly reduced its electrostatic fire hazard.

Still, the movie is an engaging story in its own right, with George C. Scott as Colonel Franz Ritter, a Luftwaffe intelligence officer suffering from deep ambivalence about the direction his country's going in. He has just returned from serving with the Condor Legion in Spain and confides to his wife Eleanore (Joyce Davis) his guilt over the bombing of Guernica just two weeks earlier. But when Eleanore suggests they split for Switzerland, he cannot endure the thought of being a deserter. And when he's ordered to investigate a possible saboteur aboard the Hindenburg, he obeys.

The unexpected irony begins when passengers check in for their transatlantic flight. Many of them, particularly Ursula (Anne Bancroft), a pot-smoking Countess, object to the Gestapo poking through their luggage and asking personal questions. Of course, it's for their protection against terrorists. Good Germans comply with all security regulations.

But on this flight there seem to be an unusually high number of rebellious Germans and suspicious foreigners: Reed Channing (Peter Donat), an anti-fascist concert pianist; Joe Spahn (Robert Clary), an irreverent comedian-acrobat; Emilio Pajetta (Burgess Meredith), a gambler who could be a spy; Edward Douglas (Gig Young), an ad executive who might also be a spy. Let's not forget the Countess; she has a grudge against the Third Reich for appropriating her estate on Peenemünde for heaven knows what sort of research. Then there's the crew - no one is above suspicion, except perhaps the Captains Pruss (Charles Durning) and Lehman (Richard Dysart).

Ritter has his hands full, not only having to play detective while not alarming the passengers, but also contending with Martin Vogel (Roy Thinnes), a Gestapo agent sharing his cabin. Ritter's true character emerges as a patriot who loves his country and hates his government - while Vogel is the classic Nazi incapable of making such a distinction. Ritter subtly expresses sympathy with the anti-fascist passengers who are, he realizes, his true allies. And yet there IS a saboteur who must be stopped before it's too late.

The luxurious airship is an ideal setting for this "who'll-do-it" - you almost expect Ritter to prowl the ship pensively smoking a pipe like Holmes, except that smoking is restricted to one fireproof room (where the Countess is usually getting high). There is a bit of jeopardy in mid-ocean, when a rip in the Zeppelin's skin must be repaired in flight. The pre-CGI effects hold up amazingly well by today's standards; it's no wonder this film won Special Achievement Oscars for its visual and sound effects.

Of course we know what must happen to the Hindenburg, and the climactic fire on May 6, 1937 at Lakehurst, NJ is appropriately tragic and hair-raising, intercut in black-&-white with actual newsreel film. The fact that 62 of the 97 passengers survived is miraculous but often overlooked - compare that with typical survival rates for airliner crashes, and one might think dirigibles were unfairly maligned by this incident.

Despite the liberties that Wise's film takes with history, it does make for a detailed and believable snapshot of the period. Picture yourself living under a dictatorship, in Ritter's predicament - what would you do? Robert Wise has made better films ("The Day the Earth Stood Still," "Run Silent, Run Deep," and "The Andromeda Strain") but I would hardly call this one a disaster.