Swiss Conspiracy, The

During the opening credits, an aerial shot sequence begins over the Lauterbrunnen Valley in the Bernese Oberland region, Switzerland. Flying north by helicopter, the Schynige Platte massif (2076 m) can be seen in the centre distance.

As the camera pans to east, Wengen village, already a fixture in the ski racing circus, comes into view, with Männlichen (2342 m) on the right.

The camera pans further east, so Tschuggen (2521 m) and then the Lauberhorn (2472 m), famous for the longest downhill race, come into view.

As the camera continues to pan until the best-known mountain range with Eiger (3967 m), Mönch (4110 m) and Jungfrau (4158 m) comes into view.

At the end of the opening credits the scenery changes to the Zürichsee as the helicopter approaches the lake's end. On the left, the ferry pier with the Bürkliplatz behind is visible, and, to the right, the Quaibrücke, spanning the outflow into the river Limmat, connecting Bürkliplatz with Bellevue square. Beyond the bridge the so-called Bauschänzli can be recognised.

The camera finally focuses on the Hurtil Bank. Representing the fictional bank, the only house on Lochmannstrasse bears the number 2 and also forms the corner building at Stadthausquai 1 (to the right) and Fraumünsterstrasse 2 (to the left). It was built from 1887 to 1889 in the Neo-Baroque style.

After his arrival Robert 'Bobby' Hayes has just grabbed his suitcase at the baggage claim of Zurich Airport.

John Saxon, as the slightly tense Bobby on the way to customs, passes through the concourse of Terminal B, which was officially opened on November 1, 1975. Therefore, the interior shots must have taken place sometime before.

As Hayes gets into the taxi in front of Terminal B, the shadower from the Swiss Federal Police gives a sign to his sidekick, waiting in a civilian squad car, to tail the man from Chicago.

Onto the Quaibrücke a red sports car overtakes the tram from Line 8 of type Be 4/4, built by SWS/BBC from 1941 to 1946 and nicknamed 'Pedaler'. Behind it a tram from Line 7 of type Be 4/4, built by SWS/MFO from 1947 to 1954 and nicknamed 'Kurbeli', with trailer of type B4, built by SIG from 1945 to 1953.

Looks like some kind of open type Ferrari, which has turned into the Stadthausquai immediately after the Quaibrücke.

While the driver steers the red cabriolet, indeed a Ferrari, along Stadthausquai in search of a free parking space, the corner of the bank building comes into view.

The camera pan makes it clear which (fictional) bank building is visible. Perhaps the audience may wonder how the oversized letters could have been placed.

As the driver of the red Ferrari tries to reverse into the parking space, the lady in the white suit quickly snatches the parking space away from him. At least she holds the space that's becoming available right behind her silver-gray Ferrari of the same type, because, after all, "we Ferraristi have to stick together".

It seems that Senta Berger as Denise Abbott and David Janssen as David Christopher, Private Eye and owner of the red car, have the same destination. Actually the real owner of the Ferrari 365 GTS/4 'Daytona Spyder', built in 1971, s/n 14365, was at the time René Herzog from Zurich, who lent the car to Bavaria Film.

Also the Mercedes-Benz /8 type taxi with Hayes arrives at Lochmannstrasse 2.

Two hitmen (Arthur Brauss and David Hess) from Chicago appear at the Hertz desk of Zurich Airport. They receive from the nice hostess not only the keys to the car but also a small package, a special welcome present, so to speak.

The contents of the package — two guns, two silencers and ammunition — are distributed, after which the bad guys leave the airport area at Zürich-Kloten by an BMW 1600 type rental car. The tower by Terminal A can be seen in the background.

Christopher in his apartment of the Dolder Waldhaus hotel, located at Kurhausstrasse and just next to the stop of the Dolder rack railway, which appears in 'Phenomena' by Dario Argento. While talking with his secretary Corinne in Geneva, overlooking Hottingen quarter towards Lake Zurich, the cupola of the Kreuzkirche, built from 1902 to 1905, is visible to the right.

Christopher enters the underground car park of the hotel, where he is ambushed by Bobby Hayes.

But the assault fails, and Hayes has to escape outside via the emergency stairs and hails a taxi, waiting opposite the hotel main entrance.

On the Limmatquai, the 1974 Plymouth Valiant cab carrying Hayes stops opposite the Wasserkirche. The illuminated Quaibrücke can be recognised in the far background.

As Hayes crosses the pedestrian crossing at the corner of Helmhaus on his way to the hotel, he recognises an old fellow from Chicago on the Münsterbrücke, Mafia henchman Joe Korsak, working for Luigi Vasili. Luigi, in turn, is not at all pleased that Bobby has secretly siphoned off $100,000. The canopy at the entrance to the fictional Hotel St. Gallen in the background is just a prop. Beyond the bridge the Fraumünster church can be made out in the dark, well-known for the five large stained glass windows in the abbey choir designed by Marc Chagall and installed in 1970.

Bobby immediately turns around and flees towards the Oberdorf district, part of the Zurich old town on the right Limmat embankment.

Rushing through the arcades beneath the historic Guild Halls 'Zunfthaus zur Safran' and 'Zunfthaus zur Zimmerleuten', the BMW 1600 with the two hitmen rams a flower stand.

Hayes flees up the narrow Römergasse ...

... but Korsak gets out and continues to pursue Hayes on foot.

Sidekick Sando then races on to the inner courtyard of Rüdenplatz, at the time a hotspot in the red-light district ...

... and turns sharply into Schoffelgasse, with the Maxim Striptease Club on the corner.

Where Römergasse widens, Bobby hurries to the stairs leading up to Zwingli-Platz by the Grossmünster, the largest of the four major churches in the city. The Loden Diem clothing store later moved to Seefeldstrasse.

On the steps, Hayes fires at Korsak, who is lurking beneath at the building corner to the left. The cloud of dust comes from a graze shot against the wall of the property Römergasse 8.

Coming from Oberdorfstrasse, the BMW hits a Ford Taunus, which suddenly appears from the left, thrown around by the heavy impact.

But the battered BMW continues to drive up Kirchgasse and then turns right into Neustadtgasse.

Hayes hurries along Münstergasse and passes Number 15, the traditional Bodega Española, founded in 1874 by Pedro Gorgot, just on the corner with Schoffelgasse.

Korsak also reaches the Bodega Española and has to fight his way through the group of wildly celebrating young people.

Sando in the BMW cuts off Hayes' path ...

... and then tries to run him over in a narrow alley. But the Chicago gangster manages to escape at the last moment by squeezing himself into a doorway.

Still in hot pursuit of Hayes, Korsak is sprinting up an unidentified alley.

Completely out of breath, Bobby takes a short break at the Klaus Fountain, located above the corner of Frankengasse and Neustadtgasse.

Seeking cover behind a dumpster, Hayes shoots at Korsak again as Sando's battered BMW approaches from beneath.

Hayes is cornered in a backyard and tries in vain to escape via the scaffolding of a construction site. This seals the fate of poor Bobby, who is later found in the trunk of a rental.

Meanwhile, Christopher has a rendezvous with Denise Abbott, who turns out to be a femme fatale and tries to seduce him, of course. The former Villa Wesendonck, built from 1853 to 1857 in the Italian Renaissance style, functions since 1952 as the Rietberg Museum, representing the fictional Hotel Bellevue.

But before things become intimate, the Private Eye receives a call and returns to his hotel. The Police are already waiting in the underground parking garage of the Dolder Waldhaus.

Christopher has parked his Daytona Spyder at the Mythenquai marina ...

... and meets Dwight McGowan (John Ireland) from Texas in the Sixty One restaurant, situated completely over the water, located at Mythenquai 61, of course.

In the Mythenquai parking lot, Christopher again encounters Denise Abbott in her silver-grey Ferrari, who persuades him for a joyride into the mountains.

It first heads for Bern and then continue on the N6 motorway towards Spiez ...

... where the two take the Thun Süd exit and reach Weststrasse between Thun and Allmendingen village, Canton of Bern.

Now in the Gadmen Valley the two 365 GTS/4 are shortly before the hamlet of Gadmen-Obermad (1210 m above sea level), where behind it the actual climb to the Susten Pass summit (2224 m) begins.

Racing up the Susten west ramp, no problem with 253 HP by 7500 RPM under the hood, here just before the first tunnel ...

... whereupon the pop-up headlights are switched on. Of course, these shots were only possible during the traffic-free winter closure, so shot around the ends of either May or October 1975.

Roughly the same section was used as filming location for 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service', except that 007's Aston Martin is driving in the opposite direction towards Innertkirchen, Canton of Bern.

David Janssen and Senta Berger obviously drive their 'Daytonas' mostly themselves to deliver a thrilling race for the audience.

In this very dynamic shot, Christopher's Spyder prepares to overtake on the long straight towards Steingletscher (1865 m above sea level).

In the area of the hairpin bend at the so-called Himmelrank (1946 m above sea level), in the section between Steingletscher and the pass summit, an Mercedes-Unimog 411 is blocking the road while clearing snow.

The emergency braking causes the Ferrari to skid, but Christopher is able to take the 'Daytona' under control again and comes to a stop exactly between two road boundary blocks.

But now the front half of the Ferrari protrudes dangerously far over the edge of the pass road. Far below, the Susten road can be seen at the tunnel-rich section along the Bäregg rocks (1731 m above sea level).

While trying to get out, Christopher unbalances the car, risking falling up with the 365 GTS/4, unique due to his customized Targa hard-top proposed by Ernesto Pavesi from Milan. But Denise, who rushes to his aid, saves him from his predicament and instead of ending up into the abyss, David ends up into the bed with her. Not really professional for a hard-boiled private investigator, but to be honest, who can resist Senta Berger?

Franz Benninger, managing director of Hurtil Bank and one of the main suspects in the blackmail affair, leaves his workplace at Lochmannstrasse 2, watched by David, who is already waiting nearby inside the car.

And diagonally across the street, Rita Jensen (Elke Sommer) is already waiting inside a taxi for Benninger (Anton Diffring), who hands her a briefcase with unknown contents. The corner with Fraumünsterstrasse is visible in the background.

As the rearview mirror reveals, the Private Eye is now tailing Jensen's cab, driving down the upper Bahnhofstrasse towards Paradeplatz. On the left, at the intersection with Börsenstrasse, the then headquarters of the Zürcher Kantonalbank.

Apparently, Jensen doesn't seem to notice the Ferrari behind her, which seems to be literally glued to the taxi, seen here nearby the corner of the upper Bahnhofstrasse with Tiefenhöfe street.

At Paradeplatz, one could still turn left to pass the bank palace of Schweizerische Kreditanstalt (later Credit Suisse, now defunct due to mismanagement), and reach Talacker or Bleicherweg. Today, the square, as one of the most important tram junctions in the city, is largely closed to private car traffic. The avenue trees in the background line the lower Bahnhofstrasse.

With Jensen in the back seat and the 'Daytona Spyder' in tow, the cab makes his way across the well-known square. In the background, the Juno Fountain on adjacent Züghusplatz can be seen on the far left.

Shortly after Noon, the church tower of St. Peter comes into view, along with the largest clock face in Europe (outer diameter of approximately 8.7 m).

As the camera tilts down, the Mercedes-Benz 200 type taxi turns from Schlüsselgasse into Strehlgasse. Meanwhile, not only has the Eden fur shop on the right disappeared ...

... but also the hair salon on the corner, with its even then borderline hairstyles. David Janssen, on the other hand, seems to have a hard time turning into Strehlgasse and lands with the left front wheel on the pavement. Mr Herzog, (cap15), must not have been particularly happy about this. Apparently the alley was closed to all traffic during filming.

Strictly speaking, the taxi would enter Weinplatz from the right at the end of Strehlgasse. But the cab appears from the left, coming from Storchengasse, and stops, whereupon Rita Jensen gets out. The traditional Pastorini toy store behind it has now gone.

A tense-looking Rita Jensen crosses the square, which was already used as a filming location for 'Assignment to Kill' (caps 45 to 47).

At the corner with the Rathausbrücke, popularly known as 'Gemüsebrücke' (Vegetable bridge), spanning the river Limmat, Jensen waits impatiently for her rendezvous. Upstream on the Limmatquai the Helmhaus as historical extension of the Wasserkirche can be seen by daylight.

While Jensen sits down at one of the small tables of the street café, her rendezvous partner is dropped off at the jetty of Hotel zum Storchen. In the far background to the right, beyond the Münsterbrücke, the equestrian statue of Hans Waldmann, Zurich mayor and executed in 1489, can be recognised.

David has now parked his cabriolet and is walking across Weinplatz toward Jensen. The one-way sign is placed where Strehlgasse branches off.

After Christopher sits down at her table without being asked, Jensen's enthusiasm is obviously limited, while the spontaneous tête-à-tête is suspiciously observed by the stranger in the tie.

Immediately afterwards, Jensen and Benninger meet in the first-class buffet restaurant on the upper floor of the main station and discuss the next steps. The view of the station square with Alfred Escher, who has his back to them and is looking towards the lower Bahnhofstrasse.

After a call from Benninger, David makes his way to the meeting point, seen here onto Bahnhofquai, on the east site of Zurich main station.

The two hitmen Korsak and Sando, now tailing the Ferrari in a new Ford Taunus Coupé instead of the battered BMW, turn also from Bahnhofquai onto Bahnhofplatz.

The view alongside the main station concourse, opened in 1933, in the area of platforms 3 to 11. Obviously wide-area advertising for cigarettes was still quite commonplace at the time.

David Christopher has arrived in front of platform 12 as agreed and is looking around for the managing director of the Hurtil Bank. The train on platform 13 features an SBB Re 4/4' type electric loco, one of only four engines from the 2nd series (nicknamed 'bathtub') in the Trans-Europ-Express livery to pull at the time the 'Rheingold' (Hook of Holland – Geneva) between Basel and Geneva and the 'Bavaria' (Zurich – Munich) between Zurich and Lindau on Lake Constance.

The bad guys have also arrived on the scene with orders to take out Christopher. Hidden by walking alongside a slow-moving luggage trolley, Korsak is already screwing the suppressor onto the barrel of his gun.

At the same time, from the concourse far corner by the then station mission, Benninger, accompanied by Rita, makes his way towards platform 12.

When Korsak finally pulls the trigger, Benninger walks straight into the line of fire and is shot in the back by the bullet that was meant for the Private Eye.

Swiss Federal Police detectives Captain Frey (Inigo Gallo) and Sergeant Schwand (Hansjörg Bahl), who had been shadowing Christopher the whole time, witness the failed assassination attempt.

The two henchmen take advantage of the general confusion at the concourse and storm to platform 5 for escaping on the just departing train. The rolling stock for the short express train was the same as used the following year for 'Cassandra Crossing', however including sleeping car, dining car and baggage cars (caps 5 to 9).

Christopher immediately gives chase and finally takes Sando out of the door steps from the rearmost carriage with a proper shot. Full metal jacket, I guess, but it seems special effects supervisor Richard Richtsfeld had a dum-dum bullet in mind.

Meanwhile, Captain Frey manages to jump up on the train from the opposite platform. To the right, an SBB RABDe 12/12 type electric multiple unit, notable due to its wine-red color scheme, can be seen. These trains, specially purchased for the Zurich – Meilen – Rapperswil suburban line, operated on a fixed-interval timetable from 1969 onwards and nicknamed 'Mirage' due to their exceptional acceleration capabilities.

David also manages to board the train at the last moment, watched by the interested crowd in the far background.

Followed by Christopher, Captain Frey storms down the side corridor of the 1st class compartment car and catches up with Korsak in the next carriage. Since the killer refuses to drop his weapon or otherwise surrender, Captain Frey shoots him in self-defense and then pulls the emergency brake. However, the sequence on the train was shot in the then 'R' marshalling yard, situated between main station and Sihlpost facility.

After the tragic events at Zurich main station, Johann Hurtil (Ray Milland) as the owner of the Bank decides to give in to the still unknown blackmailer and sends his chauffeur first to the Dolder Waldhaus, where Christopher receives the demanded rough diamonds worth 15 million Swiss Francs before boarding the Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman.

Finally, the Pullman stops in front of Hotel Bellevue, where Denise Abbott boards. By the way, Richard Wagner lived for a time in a outbuilding of Villa Wesendonck while working on 'Tristan and Isolde'.

The remaining blackmail victims, played by John Ireland, Curt Lowens as Andre Kosta, and Senta Berger, sit somewhat cramped in the back seat, listening to the instruction of David Janssen, who sits with his back to the camera, as the Pullman drives out of the city. But it seems geographically completely out of place, as they are traveling on Bellerivestrasse, as evidenced by the Zurich Tiefenbrunnen station visible in the background, located on the aforementioned right-shore railway line to Rapperswil, Canton of St. Gallen. Behind Lowens, a tram can be seen on the turnaround loop of VBZ lines 2 and 4.

Maybe the driver noticed something wrong, or even director Jack Arnold. In any case, they are now traveling out of the city on Allmendstrasse towards Central Switzerland ...

... as can be seen from the blue road direction sign after the camera pans.

Perhaps by advice of Unit Manager Stefan Zürcher, because "Time is Money", the decision was made to cover part of the long journey to the Bernese Oberland on the motorway. Thus, the Mercedes-Benz can be seen on the N3 towards Chur at Thalwil, situated on the left-shore lake site, with the Langentannenstrasse overpass visible in the far background.

Here, already in the heart of the Bernese Oberland, more precisely in the outskirts of Interlaken, the 6-door Pullman is traveling along Unspunnenstrasse towards Wilderswil. The Unspunnen Castle ruins can be seen in the background above.

At the hamlet on Rugenstrasse outside of Wilderswil village, a car change takes place according to the blackmailer's instructions. While the next leg to Brienz is being tackled in a Volvo 244, but without McGowan, the Hotel Schönbühl can be seen in the upper right.

The Texan decides to give up, ostensibly for health reasons, and has himself taken back to his hotel in Zurich. While the Pullman is traveling along the main street in Brienz towards Interlaken ...

... Captain Frey's identical Volvo approaches from opposite direction, with the still extant Wood-Carvings shop by Walter Stähli. Sergeant Schwand at the wheel has recognised McGowan in the back seat of the black 6-door limousine. Frey agrees and radios the Pullman's license plate number to headquarters so the car can be monitored.

The Volvo, with Kosta at the wheel, approaches the Brienz-Rothorn Railway (BRB), now the only non-electrified cog railway in Switzerland, on a narrow gravel road above Brienz, Canton of Bern. The school building can be recognised on the left background.

The special train chartered for filming, consisting of the BRB tank loco No 3 of type H 2/3 (built in 1892 by SLM) and the BRB carriage C 12 (built in 1892 by SIG), waits on the opentrack until Senta Berger, David Janssen and Curt Lowens have embarked.

The 800 mm gauge track with Abt cog system climbs the mountain toward the Brienzer Rothorn upper station (2244 m above sea level) at a maximum gradient of 25%. The train approaches the Gäldried siding (1021 m above sea level), with Lake Brienz in the background.

After taking water at the Planalp station, not seen in the film, the train comes to a halt at the Mittler Stafel stop (1545 m above sea level). The engine driver signals his passengers by hand to get off here and follow the path to the chairlift.

Meanwhile, Captain Frey's civilian squad car, with Sergeant Schwand still at the wheel, is on its way to the Brienz-Rothorn Railway engine depot. In reality, however, the Volvo is driving away from Brienz towards Meiringen, seen here on the dead-straight major road along the canalised river Aare, roughly at the level of the Meiringen military airfield.

Arriving at the chairlift lower station, Christopher receives further instructions by phone regarding the handover of the rough diamonds. They ultimately agree that Kosta should take on the risky job. Because there are neither ski lifts nor chairlifts on the Bernese side of the Brienzer Rothorn, filming took place in the Meiringen-Hasliberg ski resort, Canton of Bern.

Meanwhile in front of the engine shed, located just above the lower station Brienz BRB, Captain Frey holds his badge under the engine driver's nose of the special train, who then willingly answers all of his questions.

Kosta has barely settled on the chairlift of the MHB (Meiringen-Hasliberg-Bahnen) with the uncut gemstones when a helicopter appears in the sky and circles briefly above the lower station. Shot at the Mägisalp station (1708 m above sea level) of the Planplatten chairlift.

However David has smelled a rat and is now on his way up together with Denise. They are quite dismayed to see Kosta head back down without diamonds, but with a big hole in his forehead.

Upon arrival at the Planplatten chairlift upper station (2233 m above sea level), Kosta was summarily eliminated by McGowan, who in turn rushes now to the helicopter to take off with the gemstones.

Meanwhile, David and Denise have also reached the top. The tough Private Eye fires at the tail rotor until the helicopter spins, forcing the Texan to land again. The Bell 206A Jet Ranger, manufactured in 1970 and registrated under HB-XDH was then owned by Heliswiss, based at Bern-Belp airport.

Fleeing on foot, McGowan is finally shot in the back by Christopher, sending him tumbling over a snow-covered cliff a few hundred meters into the abyss.

After David recovers the rough diamonds, Denise wants to make a fifty-fifty deal with him, but Christopher now knows enough about the femme fatale and refuses. She then tries to make Christopher look bad to Captain Frey, but with limited success. In the end, the Private Eye is left alone with the gemstones.