Caravans (1978)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

James Fargo

Writers:

James Michener (novel)
Nancy Voyles Crawford (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

2 November 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure

Plot Keywords:

Beautiful Woman | Remake | Based On Novel

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Anthony Quinn	...	Zulffiqar
Michael Sarrazin	...	Mark Miller
Christopher Lee	...	Sardar Khan
Jennifer O'Neill	...	Ellen Jasper
Joseph Cotten	...	Crandall
Behrouz Vossoughi	...	Nazrullah
Barry Sullivan	...	Richardson
Jeremy Kemp	...	Dr. Smythe
Duncan Quinn	...	Moheb
Behrouz Gramian	...	Peasant Boy (as Behrooz Gueramian)
Mohamad Ali Keshavarz	...	Shakkur
Parviz Gharib-Afshar	...	Nur Mohammad
Fahimeh Amouzandeh	...	Mira
Mohammad Kahnemout	...	Maftoon (as Mohammad Taghi Kahnemout)
Khosrow Tabatabai	...	Dancing Boy

Runtime:

127 min

Country:

USA | Iran

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Argentina:18 | Finland:K-16 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Baluchistan, Iran

Company:

FIDCI

Trivia:

Christopher Lee has said in interviews that most of his role hit the cutting role floor.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Lionpower from MGM (1967)

I was there, for the filming

I had the exceptional opportunity to be one of two Americans in-country to witness the filming of Caravans. It was filmed outside Isfahan, Iran and I was then the American Vice-Consul in Isfahan (read: second banana, of two). Our Consul, my lovable, affable boss, was David McGaffey and he and our wives enjoyed several opportunities to visit the set and to dine with the cast. The real setting of the story, I believe, was in Afghanistan. My tiny claim to fame is that my desk was the one used by Joseph Cotton, who played the American Ambassador. I had inherited the ambassadorial-size desk as a result of the closing of a consulate in Khoramshar many years earlier -- it filled my tiny office such that I had to squeeze to get by and sit at it. The crew borrowed several other props from our consulate, including, most notably, our official metal seal, which they masked over to say Embassy instead of Consulate, as best I recall.

The actors were superb, as was the costuming. It is hard to imagine, for example, that only one or two actors had "real" guns and the rest of the army had cleverly-painted sticks. Alas, the direction sank the movie, to my everlasting disappointment. Caravans is a great Michener read, but the movie died and my "6" is, I think, charitable and a salute to the fine folks who graced Isfahan with their presence back then, for several fun-filled weeks.