By Erin Free
In this regular column, we drag forgotten made-for-TV movies out of the vault and into the light. This week: the 1976 historical political thriller 21 Hours At Munich, starring William Holden, Franco Nero, Shirley Knight, Richard Basehart and Anthony Quayle.
Mass shootings and acts of political and religious terrorism are disturbingly commonplace today, with one horrific incident barely drifting from the centre of the hard-spinning news cycle before another is there to take its place. The 1970s certainly had their share of death and destruction, but the many ugly events of that decade (Kent State, The Jonestown Massacre, the raid on Entebbe) had greater time to gain hook-like traction in the international consciousness, and are often still referenced today.
One of the most appalling acts of public violence committed in the 1970s was the murder and kidnapping of Israeli athletes during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany by eight members of the Palestinian militant organisation Black September. By the terrorist act’s bloody end, eleven Israeli athletes and five of the terrorists were dead. Highly publicised, the terrifying massacre at Munich captured the attention of the world, and has lingered like an ominous black cloud over every Olympic Games since.
The 1972 events at Munich have inspired a number of film and television projects. George Jonas’s 1984 book Vengeance inspired 1986’s TV mini-series Sword Of Gideon and Steven Spielberg’s 2005 drama Munich, with both tracking the aftermath of the massacre and Israel’s covert military response to it. Kevin Macdonlad’s sublime 1999 documentary One Day In September tracks the event in its entirety, while 2024’s gripping September 5 follows a sports media team suddenly dealing with a terrorist incident.
The first non-documentary project to cover the events, however, was the classy telemovie 21 Hours At Munich, which was first broadcast on major US network ABC on November 7, 1976 before releasing theatrically in a number of international territories. Directed by Unsung Auteur William A. Graham, and adapted from Serge Groussard’s book The Blood Of Israel by noted scribes Howard Fast (Spartacus) and Edward Hume (The Day After), 21 Hours At Munich is an utterly gripping piece of television, and also offers a finely calibrated and well-balanced depiction of a divisive event.
The telemovie begins explosively with Black September leader Lutif “Issa” Afif (Franco Nero in a supremely edgy and charismatic performance) and his crew storming the Israeli quarters in Munich, leading to both immediate bloodshed and extraordinary acts of bravery, particularly from Israeli wrestling coach Moshe Weinberger (Martin Gilet), who courageously battles the terrorists with whatever he has at hand. Director William A. Graham captures the events here with a surprising lack of compromise, as unarmed athletes are cruelly and unflinchingly shot and beaten as the terrorists tear their way through the Israeli quarters.
Soon locked down with their hostages (who they claim will be released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners), Issa and his men quickly find themselves in the sights of Munich Chief of Police Manfred Schreiber (Hollywood legend William Holden doesn’t pretend to be anything but American, though he still brings an appropriate intensity and sense of authority to the role), German chancellor Willy Brandt (the stentorian Richard Basehart), and Israeli General Zvi Zamir (Anthony Quayle simmers with resolute skill). Mediating between the two groups is empathetic German detective Anneliese Graes (the ever-underrated Shirley Knight is typically excellent), who desperately tries to avert further bloodshed by lowering the temperature at every turn.
Shot in locations where the events actually happened, and expertly paced, there’s something profoundly gripping about 21 Hours At Munich. Its close proximity timewise to the events is certainly part of that, but the manner in which director Graham ratchets up the tension is truly impressive. The narrative grinds inexorably forward as Schreiber, Graes and co attempt to broker deals with both Issa and his men, and their political counterparts. In one memorable scene, legendary Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir (Else Quecke) resolutely refuses to deal with the terrorists in any way, shape or form.
Graham and his writing team also know that balance is important in a project like this, and while Issa and his men are certainly not intended as figures of sympathy, they are not depicted as mere violent goons either. Franco Nero’s Issa is quiet and respectful in his exchanges with Shirley Knight’s empathetic Anneliese Graes, and his political motivations are clearly and cleanly framed. The self-serving, isolationist slant of many of the political figures caught up in the crisis is also expertly depicted.
Right up to its tragic, infuriatingly preventable climax, 21 Hours At Munich is a stunning exercise in small screen tension which sees everyone playing at the top of their respective games.
Availability: 21 Hours At Munich is streaming now on Prime in utterly perfect audio and visual form.
If you enjoyed this review, check out our other vintage telemovies Because He’s My Friend, Rodeo Girl, Citizen X, Relentless, The Connection, Zuma Beach, The Third Girl From The Left, Snowbeast, Stagecoach, Terror On The Beach, Strange Homecoming, The Possessed, Memorial Day, That Certain Summer, Elvis And The Beauty Queen, Scandal In A Small Town, Victims For Victims: The Theresa Saldana Story, The Seduction Of Gina, Blue Murder, The Brotherhood Of Justice, The Wave, The California Kid, The Cracker Factory, Night Terror, Inmates: A Love Story, The Shadow Riders, CHiPs: Roller Disco, Dawn: Portrait Of A Teenage Runaway, Young Love, First Love, Escape From Bogen County, The Death Squad, Hit Lady, Brian’s Song, The Defiant Ones, A Cry For Help, Trilogy Of Terror, Policewoman Centerfold, Smash-Up On Interstate 5, Something Evil, Savage, A Step Out Of Line, The Boy In The Plastic Bubble, The Dirty Dozen: Next Mission, A Very Brady Christmas, The Gladiator, Elvis, The Rat Pack, Silent Victory: The Kitty O’Neil Story, Terror Among Us, The Hanged Man, Hardcase, Charlie’s Angels: Angels In Vegas, Vanishing Point, To Heal A Nation, Fugitive Among Us, To Kill A Cop, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, Police Story: A Chance To Live, Murder On Flight 502, Moon Of The Wolf, The Secret Night Caller, Cotton Candy, And The Band Played On, Gargoyles, Death Car On The Freeway, Short Walk To Daylight, Trapped, Hotline, Killdozer, The Jericho Mile, Mongo’s Back In Town and Tribes.
