Golden Rendezvous
| Golden Rendezvous | |
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DVD cover
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| Directed by | Ashley Lazarus |
| Produced by |
Murray Frank Andre Pieterse Robert Porter |
| Written by |
Alistair MacLean (novel) Allan Scott Chris Bryant John Gay Stanley Price |
| Starring |
Richard Harris Ann Turkel Gordon Jackson |
| Music by | Jeff Wayne |
| Cinematography | Kenneth Higgins |
| Edited by | Ralph Kemplin |
| Distributed by | United Artists (USA) Rank Film Distributors (UK) |
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Release date
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Running time
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109 minutes (theatrical release) |
| Language | English |
Golden Rendezvous is a 1977 South African action thriller film directed by Ashley Lazarus and starring Richard Harris, Ann Turkel and Gordon Jackson. It was based on the 1962 novel The Golden Rendezvous by Alistair MacLean.
The Caribbean Star, a combination cargo ship and floating casino is hijacked by terrorists led by Luis Carreras (John Vernon), who installs an atomic bomb, holding both the passengers and the bomb hostage, hoping to exchange them for the gold bullion on an U.S. Treasury ship. However, First Officer John Carter (Richard Harris), Susan Beresford (Ann Turkel), and Dr. Marston (Gordon Jackson) join forces to foil the plan. David Janssen and Burgess Meredith also appear in supporting roles.
The novel was originally published in 1962. Film rights were bought almost immediately; Laurence Harvey announced he would star and produce along with Daniel Angel. "I think it's easily as exciting as Guns of Navarone," said Harvey.
However the film was not made until 1977. It starred Richard Harris and Ann Turkel, who were then married, and who had just appeared in The Cassandra Crossing together. Harris praised Turkel for encouraging him to cut down on his drinking. "Now my creativity is flowing again," he said. "Now in the middle of the night I must suddenly get up and write. I'm not going to end up like [Dylan] Thomas, lonely and misunderstood."
The basic film plot follows that of the book for almost the entire story with only a few differences; for example, in the book Captain Bullen is wounded by gunfire during the taking of the 'Campari'(Caribbean Star) whilst in the film, Bullen is shot dead. As the book character spent the remainder of the story incapacitated, the plot continued in much the same way without him. Similarly Dr. Taubman's character possessed a wife who was absent from the novel, as were David Janssen's character of Charles Conway, and Burgess Meredith's character Van Heurden. However a different ending was scripted for the film in order to increase plot tension and create something far more dramatic and spectacular. The final fifteen minutes of the screenplay led to a conclusion that bore little resemblance to the book plot.
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Wikipedia