''Caravan to Vaccarès'' is a 1974 British-French

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include l ...

directed by

Geoffrey Reeve Geoffrey Reeve (1932–2010) was a British film director and producer. After graduating at Oxford with a degree in law, he moved to Canada. There he got a job at Imperial Chemical Industries, making promotional films for the company. Credits ...

and starring

David Birney David Edwin Birney (April 23, 1939 – April 27, 2022) was an American actor and director whose career included performances in both contemporary and classical roles in theatre, film, and television. He is noted for having played the title role ...

, Charlotte Rampling and Michael Lonsdale. It was loosely based on the 1970 novel '' Caravan to Vaccarès'' by

Alistair MacLean Alistair Stuart MacLean ( gd, Alasdair MacGill-Eain; 21 April 1922 – 2 February 1987) was a 20th-century Scottish novelist who wrote popular thrillers and adventure stories. Many of his novels have been adapted to film, most notably '' The ...

Plot

In the south of France, a mysterious assassin shoots one man, then another. A wandering young American adventurer, Bowman (David Birney), meets a pretty young British photographer, Lila (Charlotte Rampling) when she hitches a ride. They run into the assassin while helping a couple who have broken down by the side of the road. When they arrive in town they meet a French duke (Michel Lonsdale) who invites them to dinner. David reveals that the duke had met him in Paris and offered him a job for $3,000 and a return ticket to New York but he doesn't know what for. He is driving a car lent by the duke. That night a man breaks into a place where they are staying but Bowman fights him off. The duke appears and hires Bowman to smuggle a Hungarian scientist (Michael Bryan) out of France to the United States. Bowman is reluctant but the duke says if he won't do it he will report the car as being stolen. The scientist escaped the Iron Curtain by hiding with a caravan of gypsies, but is being pursued by an unscrupulous gang bent on capturing him for sale to the highest bidder. A woman who helps Bowman is murdered at a bull fight. She turns out to be the Duc's daughter. Lila and the scientist are kidnapped, but Bowman rescues them. Lila and Bowman sleep together. Bowman is driving the scientist to safety in a car when a helicopter chases after them. The helicopter drives the car off the road. It seems the scientist has fallen into quicksand; a rope is dropped from the helicopter to retrieve him. However it turns out the man is Bowman in disguise. He overpowers one of the men in the helicopter then is dropped into a bull ring. Bowman defeats a bull fighter and is about to be killed by a charging bull but is rescued when the Duc shoots it dead. The Duc farewells Bowman and Lila at the airport with the scientist.

Cast

as Bowman * Charlotte Rampling as Lila * Michael Lonsdale as Duc de Croyter *

Marcel Bozzuffi Marcel Bozzuffi (28 October 19291 February 1988) was a French film actor. He appeared as a hitman in the Oscar-winning American film '' The French Connection''. In 1963, he married French actress Françoise Fabian. Selected filmography *1955: ...

as Czerda * Michael Bryant as Zuger *

Serge Marquand Serge Marquand was a French actor and film producer (12 March 1930 – 4 September 2004). He died of advanced leukemia. He was the brother of Nadine Trintignant and Christian Marquand. Filmography *1959: '' Les Liaisons dangereuses'' ...

as Ferenc * Marianne Eggerickx as Cecile *

Françoise Brion Françoise Brion (; born 29 January 1933) is a French film actress. She has appeared in 75 films since 1957. She starred in the 1963 film '' L'Immortelle'', which was entered into the 13th Berlin International Film Festival. She was married to ...

as Stella *

Vania Vilers Vania may refer to: * Vania (caste), a social group of India * ''Vania'' (foram), a genus of fossil foraminifers * ''Vania'' (plant), a genus of plants in the family Brassicaceae * Vânia, or Vania, a given name (including a list of people with t ...

as Vania *

Manitas De Plata Ricardo Baliardo (7 August 1921 – 5 November 2014), better known as Manitas de Plata, was a flamenco guitarist of Spanish Gitano descent born in southern France. Despite achieving worldwide fame, he was criticized for not following certain rh ...

as Ricardo * Jean-Pierre Cargol as Jules *

Jean-Pierre Castaldi Jean-Pierre Castaldi (born 1 October 1944) is a French actor. He is the father of French TV presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television program ...

as Pierre * Jean Michaux as Waiter *

Alan Scott Alan Scott is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, and the first character to bear the name Green Lantern. He fights evil with the aid of a magical ring which grants him a variety of powers. He was created by Ma ...

as Receptionist * Jean-Yves Gautier as Gendarme * Graham Hill as Helicopter pilot

Production

The story was originally written as a screenplay before being turned into a novel. The film was shot on location in the

Camargue Camargue (, also , , ; oc, label= Provençal, Camarga) is a region of France located south of Arles, between the Mediterranean Sea and the two arms of the Rhône delta. The eastern arm is called the ''Grand Rhône''; the western one is the '' ...

. The finale, where David Birney is dropped into a bull ring from a helicopter, was filmed last.

Reception

The film had a royal premiere at the Odeon in Leicester Square honour of the Save the Children Fund. It was attended by

Princess Anne Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of K ...

and her then-husband Mark Phillips, but not MacLean who refused to attend.

Critique

''The Guardian'' praised Rampling's beauty but said Birney "is about as expressive as a constipated owl" and that the film had "rather plastic romance and enough cinematic action to fill half a bucket with stuntmen's sweat."City of all the angles: Derek Malcolm reviews new films Malcolm, Derek. The Guardian (1959–2003) ondon (UK)9 August 1974: 8.

References

External links

*
Review at Variety.com
*
Review at New York Times
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caravan to Vaccares (film) 1974 films 1970s action thriller films 1970s spy films Films based on British novels Films based on works by Alistair MacLean Films directed by Geoffrey Reeve Films set in France British action films French action films French spy films British spy films Cold War spy films Films scored by Stanley Myers English-language French films 1970s English-language films 1970s British films 1970s French films