Golden Rendezvous (1977)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Ashley Lazarus

Writers:

Chris Bryant (writer)
John Gay (story)

Release Date:

1977 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

The action of "The Guns of Navarone." The suspense of "Ice Station Zebra." The drama of "Where Eagles Dare."

Plot Keywords:

Casino | Stockings | Ransom | Nuclear Bomb | Yacht

Cast

Richard Harris	...	John Carter
Ann Turkel	...	Susan Beresford
Gordon Jackson	...	Dr. Marston
John Vernon	...	Luis Carreras
David Janssen	...	Charles Conway
Burgess Meredith	...	Van Heurden
Leigh Lawson	...	Tony Cerdan
Robert Flemyng	...	Capt. Bullen
Keith Baxter	...	Preston
Robert Beatty	...	Dr. Taubman
Dorothy Malone	...	Mrs. Skinner
John Carradine	...	Fairweather
Chris Chittell	...	Rogers (as Chris Chittel)
Richard Cox	...	Browning
Michael Howard	...	Benson

Also Known As:

Nuclear Terror (USA) (TV title)

Runtime:

UK:109 min (cut) | USA:101 min

Country:

South Africa

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Norway:16 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (cut) | USA:PG | UK:A (original rating)

Company:

Film Trust S.A.

Trivia:

Freddie Francis directed the opening minutes of the film.

What if...

Terrorists kidnap a nuclear scientist. Later a strange passenger and strange cargo are loaded aboard a tramp steamer which will pass within a few miles of a ship loaded with gold bullion. Coincidence?

THE GOLDEN RENDEZVOUS is one of those films which evokes "what ifs..." What if the producers had attached the prelude filmed when the show was broadcast on network TV? What if they had hired someone other than the thoroughly soused Richard Harris? What if Ann Turkel had been costumed in sexier outfits? And what if the producers hadn't hired a very overweight (and, at that time, very well known) Dorothy Malone for a throwaway role?

The prelude, added for TV does wonders for the films exposition. The film sans the prelude is much truer to the Alistair MacLean novel, but what is clever in novels is sometimes simply baffling on the screen. The ending is actually better than the novel; and, it would have been great if Harris hadn't resorted to some silly derring-do with dual submachine guns; and even better if he hadn't forgotten his lines in the denouement?

The best thing about this movie is the terrific (and I mean TERRIFIC) score by Jeff Wayne. The music adds a sense of urgency one never feels from what is up on the screen.