Ah, the 1970s, back when craggy, paunchy middle-aged men could still function as sexy action stars! In that vein, we go to 1976’s The Swiss Conspiracy.

Some investors use Swiss bank accounts due to their vaunted reputation for security and secrecy. This collapses when someone cracks the anonymity of five accounts and blackmails their owners as well as the financial institution itself.

The bank hires former US Treasury official David Christopher (David Janssen) to investigate. This takes him in danger’s way as he contends with a plot behind this scheme.

During the post-Watergate era in which Swiss saw its release, plenty of cynical conspiracy-related movies hit screens. This one comes from an unlikely director: Jack Arnold.

Film buffs will probably primarily associate Arnold as the man behind 1954’s Creature From the Black Lagoon. He also helmed sci-fi classics like 1952’s It Came From Outer Space and 1957’s The Incredible Shrinking Man.

Through the 1960s and 1970s, though, Arnold found himself largely stuck in sitcoms like Gilligan’s Island and The Love Boat. All of this made Arnold feel like an odd choice for a thriller such as Swiss.

I won’t judge Arnold’s overall skills as a filmmaker based on Swiss, but I can’t help but think the story needed someone else. Despite a perfectly serviceable plot at its core, the movie ambles and never builds a head of steam.

Oh, Swiss comes with attempts at the requisite action and intrigue. It just follows its main plot in such a loose manner than nothing ever connects.

As such, we follow uncompelling characters through dull scenarios that lack the bite they need. The movie feels like it should boast a punch but it fails to commit to the material as it should.

Maybe Arnold’s long stint in TV rubbed off on him the wrong way. Arnold directed three features in 1974 but prior to that, he’d not made a big-screen flick in seven years, and Swiss ended up as his final theatrical film.

Given the slew of TV work Arnold did in the interim, it feels like he couldn’t shake that format’s parameters when given a shot at a feature again. Swiss lacks the scope one expects of a theatrical effort.

Swiss tends to come across as oddly “small scale” and without the dimensionality a tale like this needs. The movie comes with stiff photography, clumsy editing and zero sense of urgency.

The film does provide a pretty decent cast, at least. In addition to Janssen, we find folks like John Saxon, Ray Milland, Elke Sommer and John Ireland.

None of them do much with their roles, though I blame the script more than the actors. Poor Janssen – the craggy, paunchy middle-aged man alluded to at the start – winds up with clunky dialogue and a completely tacked-on romance that couldn’t feel more gratuitous if it tried.

I hoped to find a forgotten 1970s gem from Swiss Conspiracy, but the end product fails to find a groove. Though it comes with decent potential, the movie just drags.

The Swiss Conspiracy appears in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. While it didn’t excel, the image held up fairly well.

Overall delineation seemed positive. The movie didn’t often come across as razor sharp, but only minor signs of softness materialized, and the film usually exhibited more than reasonable accuracy.

No issues with jagged edges or moiré effects occurred, and I saw no edge haloes. Grain felt natural and I detected no print flaws.

Colors leaned a little toward a rusty brown, but the elements generally seemed fine. Although the hues never stood out as impactful, they felt more than acceptable.

Shadows brought fairly solid clarity, though blacks could feel somewhat crushed. This became a more than respectable image but not one that dazzled.

One also shouldn’t expect much from the ordinary DTS-HD MA monaural soundtrack of Swiss. Speech tended to seem a bit thick and dense, but the lines remained intelligible and without much edginess.

Neither effects nor music showed much range, and they could seem a bit shrill or rough at times. Nonetheless, they remained adequate given the age of the mix, so this ended up as a perfectly acceptable mix for a movie from the mid-1970s.

A few extras fill out the disc and we get an audio commentary from film historian Robert Kelly and podcaster Daniel Budnik. cast and crew, story/characters, the novelization, the film's reception, and their thoughts about it.

That last topic dominates, as we largely get the participants' take on the movie. It doesn't become MST3K treatment, as the guys seem to like the film, but they goof on it some.

Would I prefer more actual facts about the production? Sure, but this still becomes a pretty lively and fun chat, so I don't mind the semi-lack of actual filmmaking insights.

The Lost Years goes for 14 minutes, 37 seconds. It brings notes from film historian Ted Newsom and biographer Dana M. Reemes.

“Years” covers the career of director Jack Arnold, with an emphasis on his work after his stint at Universal. We get a good little overview.

A visual essay called A Three Dimensional Filmmaker spans 28 minutes, 26 seconds. It involves film historians Michael Shuman and Kristopher Woofter.

They deliver a broader take on Arnold’s work across his time in movies, with more of an emphasis on his style as a filmmaker. Expect another informative reel.

Two trailers appear, though we really get the same clip twice. We see the promo in faded form as well as a restored version.

Finally, we wrap with a booklet that provides art, photos and an essay from film historian Lee Pfeiffer. This completes the set in a positive manner.

A cynical thriller from arguably that genre’s golden age, The Swiss Conspiracy fails to live up to its peers. The movie lacks drama or real intrigue. The Blu-ray comes with fairly good picture, acceptable audio and a small mix of bonus materials. Chalk up Swiss as a forgettable flick.