Caboblanco (1980)

Director:

J. Lee Thompson

Writers:

Víctor Andrés Catena (story)
Jaime Comas Gil (story)
(more)

Release Date:

1980 (USA)

Genre:

Action

Tagline:

An epic adventure that explodes at the edge of the world.

Plot:

Offshore near Caboblanco, Peru, an explorer of sea wrecks is murdered. However, local authorities decide...

Plot Keywords:

Sunken Treasure | Expatriate | Nazi | Caboblanco Peru | Peru

Cast

Charles Bronson	...	Gifford Hoyt
Jason Robards	...	Gunther Beckdorff
Dominique Sanda	...	Marie Claire Allesandri
Fernando Rey	...	Police Captain Terredo
Simon MacCorkindale	...	Lewis Clarkson
Camilla Sparv	...	Hera
Gilbert Roland	...	Dr. Rudolfo Ramirez
Denny Miller	...	Horst
James Booth	...	John Baker
Jorge Russek	...	Provincial Minister
Clifton James	...	Lorrimer
Ernest Esparza III	...	Pepe (as Ernest Esparza)
José Chávez	...	Bustamante
Carlos Romano	...	Miguel
Martin LaSalle	...	Aparicio
Conrad Hool	...	British Crewman #1 (as Alan Conrad)
Stephen Peck	...	British Crewman #2
Manuel Martín	...	Inquest Clerk
Aldo Sambrell	...	Policeman
Carlos Bravo y Fernández	...	Sánchez (as Carlos Bravo)
José Carlos Ruiz	...	Hernandez (as Jose Carlos Ruiz)
Ana De Sade	...	Rosa
Pedro Damián	...	Eduardo (as Pedro Damian)
Gerardo Zepeda	...	Canero
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Daniel Ades	...	Lupo (uncredited)
Ian Zimmerman	...	German Sailor (uncredited)

Directed by
J. Lee Thompson

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Víctor Andrés Catena		story
Jaime Comas Gil		story (as Jaime Comas)
Morton S. Fine		screenplay (as Mort Fine)
Milton S. Gelman		screen story
Milton S. Gelman		screenplay
James Granby Hunter		screen story

Produced by
Conrad Hool	....	associate producer (as Alan Conrad-Hool)
Lance Hool	....	producer
Paul Joseph	....	producer (as Joseph A. Paul)
Martin V. Smith	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Jerry Goldsmith

Cinematography by
Álex Phillips Jr.

Film Editing by
Michael F. Anderson

Art Direction by
José Rodríguez Granada

Set Decoration by
Jaime Pérez Cubero

Costume Design by
Travilla

Makeup Department
Joe DiBella	....	makeup artist
Christine George	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Joseph C. Cavalier	....	production manager (as Joe Cavalier)
Francisco Day	....	production manager (as Chico Day)
Aurelio Ortiz	....	assistant unit production manager
Alfonso Sánchez Tello	....	unit production manager (as Alfonso Sanchez Tello)
Federico Serrano	....	assistant unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Terence D. Buchinsky	....	second assistant director (as Terence Buchinsky)
Jesús Marín	....	first assistant director (as Jesus Marin)

Art Department
Ricardo Arana	....	assistant set dresser
Jorge De La Borbolla	....	set dresser
Antonio Mata	....	property master
Jorge Morales	....	assistant set dresser

Sound Department
Efren Flores	....	cable person
Jorge Gómez	....	boom operator (as Jorge Gomez)
Gregg Landaker	....	sound mixer
Robert J. Litt	....	sound re-recordist (as Robert Litt)
Howard Neiman	....	sound editor
Jack K. Tillar	....	sound editor
Manuel Topete	....	sound mixer

Special Effects by
Laurencio Cordero	....	special effects
Jesús 'Chuco' Durán	....	special effects (as Jesus Duran)
Gastón Hurtado	....	underwater effects

Stunts
Bennie E. Dobbins	....	stunt coordinator (as Bennie Dobbins)
Tony Epper	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Jose Campos	....	grip
Luis Garcia Paredes	....	gaffer
Mario Hernandez Luna	....	grip
Genaro Hurtado	....	underwater photographer
Manuel Jiménez	....	second assistant camera
Adolfo Lara	....	head electrician
Carlos Montaño	....	camera operator
Manuel Paredes	....	first assistant camera (as Manuel Paredes Luna)
Graciano Perez	....	grip
Antonio Ramírez 'Puma'	....	grip (as Antonio Ramirez)
Alfredo Ruvalcaba	....	still photographer (as Alfredo Rubalcaba)
Salvador 'Apache' Serrano	....	grip (as Salvador Serrano)
Steve Shapiro	....	special still photographer
Pascual Villa	....	grip (as Pasqual Villa)
Norm Walke	....	crane operator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Alfonso Govea	....	wardrobe
Juanita Oliver	....	assistant wardrobe
Enrique Villavicencio	....	assistant wardrobe

Editorial Department
Carol Ann DiGiuseppe	....	assistant film editor
Peter Lee-Thompson	....	assistant film editor (as Peter Lee Thompson)
Sergio Ortega	....	assistant film editor

Music Department
Leonard A. Engel	....	music editor (as Len Engel)
Jerry Goldsmith	....	conductor
Arthur Morton	....	orchestrator

Transportation Department
Dalibos Raos	....	driver: cinemobile

Other crew
Kiku Cavalier	....	assistant production secretary
Marion De Lagos	....	press coordinator: Mexico
Sonia Fritz	....	production secretary
David Glazer	....	production assistant
David L. Glazer	....	production assistant
Arlene Harris	....	secretary to the director
Mischa Hausserman	....	aerial sequences by
Mischa Hausserman	....	pilot
Saryl Horwitz	....	accountant
Joy Kane	....	dialogue coach
Darlene McReynolds	....	assistant location auditor
Herbert S. McReynolds	....	location auditor
Guillermo Navarro	....	production assistant
José Luis Ortega	....	script supervisor (as Jose Luis Ortega)
Karyn Posner	....	production assistant
B.J. Rack	....	production coordinator
Lucinda Smith	....	assistant to producers
Ira Teller	....	publicity coordinator
Manny Zwaaf	....	special promotional services

Production Companies

• Arco Films
• Cabo Blanco Production Inc.
• MVS Televisión

Distributors

• AVCO Embassy Pictures (1980) (USA) (theatrical)
• Tivoli (1983) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Laserlight Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Media Cooperation One (MC-One) (2005) (Germany) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Cabo blanco (UK) (DVD box title)
Caboblanco... Where Legends Are Born (International: English title) (long title)
Cabo Blanco (Spain) [es]
Cabo Blanco (Finland) [fi]
Der Schatz von Caboblanco (West Germany) [de]
Højt spil i Cabo Blanco (Denmark) [da]
O skliros tou Cavo Blanco (Greece) [el]
Verinen rannikko (Finland) [fi]

Runtime:

USA:87 min | Argentina:102 min

Country:

Mexico | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Argentina:18 | Australia:M | West Germany:16 (f) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | USA:R | UK:18

Filming Locations:

Mexico

Company:

Arco Films

Movie Connections:

References Casablanca (1942)

Soundtrack:

The Very Thought Of You

Well, at least the music's good...

There are so many bad reasons to see films that seeing CaboBlanco simply because it has (along with The Salamander) one of Jerry Goldsmith's most obscure scores doesn't seem quite such a stupid one, especially since the score is pretty good. Although it never matches its magnificent Ravelesque opening, let alone the extraordinary work Goldsmith was doing at the same period (Star Trek, The Boys From Brazil, The First Great Train Robbery, Magic, The Swarm, Masada, Poltergeist), it's another case of a composer being inspired by a bad film to turn out a good score that's still head and shoulders over 99% of film scoring today.

The film itself is certainly an oddity, an attempt to do a Casablanca in post-war Peru, but Charles Bronson, Dominique Sanda, Simon MacCorkindale, Fernando Rey and Jason Robards were never likely to offer much competition to Bogie, Bergman, Heinreid, Rains and Veidt even had the script been better. (There's no Dooley Wilson or As Time Goes By, but Nat King Cole does turn up on the jukebox singing The Very Thought of You.) Sanda in particular, as usual in her English language work, is so staggeringly awful you half-expect her to bump into the furniture, although she gets strong competition from MacCorkindale in the who-can-give-the-worse-performance stakes, but an easygoing Bronson at least is good value. Feeling more like one of RKO's mid 50s SuperScope South of the Border treasure hunt movies than anything from Warners' golden age, the film at times feels like its suffered some last-minute editing, jumping into some scenes apparently midway while some characters are never introduced properly (prominently billed Clifton James never appears at all), and the ending – involving a parrot, a secret code, a stuck record on a jukebox and a cyanide pill – is one of the most absurd endings in screen history. Still, there's some fluid and impressively composed Scope camera-work and the scenery's nice.

It's an odd candidate for restoration, but the German DVD does at least boast a good 2.35:1 transfer, though the soundtrack doesn't fare so well.