Der Schatz von Caboblanco

Judging solely from the cool poster art (featuring a mean looking Bronson with a .357 magnum in hand) I expected a gritty 70s/80s style crime flick with the main twist being that it's set in a tropical Latin American location instead of the typical NYC or LA. Instead what we get is a 1940s era neo-noir with shades of 'Casablanca'. I guess I would have been fine with that as it would have been an interesting change of pace for a Bronson flick (so long as it were accompanied by plenty of hard-hitting action). However whatever potential this film had quickly deteriorates as the plot becomes nothing more than a lame, slow paced, sunken treasure movie.

Highlights include a few creative(though underwhelming) action scenes, topless Latina chicks, and appearances by Fernando Rey and Jason Robards (who isn't very convincing as a German expatriate). Even a cameo by a talking parrot can't save it. Avoid.

A big fan of j lee thompson and charles bronson i found this movie worth a watch. its very layed back and old school like a visit to your folks.its south American local and tropic feel was a real plus and Charley was in in good form.but thompson was slumming it a bit,maybe enjoying the sun to much.the pace was slow even for this sort of film.

i think i could of enjoyed it more if the copy i had was any good, but it is poor with only the widescreen formate save it from being unwatchable. it is such a rare movie that i was happy enough to see it at all.

if you enjoy 70's style movies and gumshoe movies give it a go its good late night fodder.

It seems like almost all Hollywood stars have to have their own version of Casablanca.

Even Shakespeare plays must not have attracted so many varied 'interpretations'.

Even Charles Bronson ?!

But surprisingly the movie is still a typical Bronson movie. Factor in the nudity, the fights, the thrills, and the 'he-men' that populate your regular Bronson movie.

I personally found the ending a bit'weak and maybe obscure'; but it helps to differentiate the movie from being a direct Casablanca copy.

Overall, it stands up OK for die-hard Bronson fans.

Cabo Blanco (1980)

** (out of 4)

Peru, 1948 is the setting for this adventure film about a group of criminals living in Cabo Blanco. A bar owner (Charles Bronson) finds himself caught up in a mystery dealing with missing gold, which includes a beautiful woman (Dominique Sanda) searching for her husband, a Nazi war criminal (Jason Robards) and a crooked police chief (Fernando Rey).

CABO BLANCO is often laughed at because it's considered a rip-off of CASABLANCA. While this film does borrow heavily from that classic picture, the overall movie isn't nearly as bad as its reputation. At the same time, I really have to scratch my head as to why the producers would call the film CABO BLANCO because with that title you just know people were going to compare it to a much better film. It didn't really matter how this movie turned out, the odds of it being better than that Humphrey Bogart classic was very slim so why put your film in a bad position from the word go?

As for the film itself, it's slight entertainment, although there's no question that there are plenty of flaws throughout. I think the biggest problem is the actual screenplay, which has way too much story and at times it gets rather bogged down in dialogue. The story itself could have been more interesting had there simply not be so many characters talking about so many different things. I know the film had some production issues so perhaps this might explain some of this but at just 87 minutes it seems like there's way too much story here than is needed.

The film has some terrific visuals and especially if you view the film in its original 2.35:1 ratio. The locations are certainly beautiful and adds a lot to the story. The performances really aren't that bad either. Robards is entertaining as always and I thought Rey was extremely good in the role of the police chief. I thought Sanda made for a good femme fetale as well. As for Bronson, this isn't his typical tough guy role. This character is a lot more of a "normal" person so to speak and I thought the actor did a fine job with it.

CABO BLANCO also suffers from some weird issues in regards to content. There's really no profanity and the violence is never too graphic or brutal. These elements are certain PG worthy yet there is all sorts of nudity that pushes it pass the family friendly rating. I'm not sure why they added on the nudity but nothing else but oh well. In the end CABO BLANCO is neither good nor bad but just pointless.

The third teaming of film star Charles Bronson and filmmaker J. Lee Thompson casts Bronson as "Gifford Hoyt", a hotel & bar owner in an exotic locale off the coast of Peru. It's the year 1948, and an ex-Nazi named Gunther Beckdorff (Jason Robards) pretty much runs the show in the area. Newly arrived is a Frenchwoman named Marie Claire Alessandri (Dominique Sanda), who's looking for her old lover. The plot centres around the search for a supposed fortune in gold located in a shipwreck somewhere in those waters.

The story (admittedly, heavily inspired by "Casablanca") is nothing special, but it does entertain reasonably well. It's never truly exciting, or suspenseful (and the ending does leave characters and viewers alike with a dissatisfied feeling), but it holds ones' attention. The real value lies in this exotic setting ("Cabo Blanco" was actually filmed in Mexico), and its sights and sounds. As photographed in widescreen by Alex Phillips, Jr., it looks positively great. And it's supplemented by a majestic Jerry Goldsmith soundtrack.

Bronson does quite nicely in the lead role, showing off a natural charisma that we didn't see all that often; a lot of the time, he was required to play fairly grim characters. He's extremely well supported by an amusingly slimy Robards, and an excellent Fernando Rey (in the films' standout performance) as a morally compromised police chief who's in Beckdorffs' pocket. Sanda is lovely, but comes off as somewhat awkward, having to act in English. There's also a pleasing variety of familiar faces in other roles: Simon MacCorkindale, Camilla Sparv, Gilbert Roland, Denny Miller, James Booth, Jorge Russek, Clifton James, and Aldo Sambrell.

"Cabo Blanco" benefits from a fairly sordid atmosphere, and is violent without ever dwelling too long on unpleasantness.

All in all, it's worth a look for fans of the actors.

Six out of 10.