River of Death (film)
River of Death is a 1989 American action film written and directed by Steve Carver and starring Michael Dudikoff. It is based on the novel of the same name by Alistair MacLean.[1][2]
| River of Death | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Steve Carver |
| Produced by | Avi Lerner Harry Alan Towers |
| Written by | Andrew Deutsch Edward Simpson |
| Starring | Michael Dudikoff |
| Music by | Sasha Matson |
| Cinematography | Avraham Karpick |
Release date |
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| Language | English German |
Plot
In the nightmarish last days of the Third Reich, a psychotic Nazi scientist (Robert Vaughn) escapes to the impenetrable jungles of the Amazon. Years later, a mysterious incurable disease breaks out among the natives and adventurer John Hamilton (Michael Dudikoff) is hired to lead investigators on a search for the cause. Braving bloodthirsty river pirates, hostile native tribes and headhunting cannibals, Hamilton, guides a group of explorers up the deadly Rio del Morte to the fabulous lost Inca city.
Cast
- Michael Dudikoff as John Hamilton
- Robert Vaughn as Wolfgang Manteuffel
- Donald Pleasence as Heinrich Spaatz
- Herbert Lom as Colonel Ricardo Diaz
- L. Q. Jones as Hiller
- Sarah Maur Thorp as Anna Blakesley
- Cynthia Erland as Maria
- Gordon Mulholland as Fanjul
- Ian Yule as Long John Silver
Reception
The Los Angeles Times said "this hapless movie's strategy seems to be to squeeze Alistair MacLean's story lugubriously through the send-up style of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and hope the jungle scenery and desultory hamminess of Pleasence and Herbert Lom (as another villain) will distract the audience from everything else. It doesn't work."[3]
References
- Leonard Maltin. Leonard Maltin's Movie and Video Guide. Penguin Group, 1997.
- David Johnson (May 21, 2015). "River of Death (1989) : Review". DVD Verdict. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
- Movie Reviews Cast, Plot Sink in `River of Death': [Home Edition] Wilmington, Michael. Los Angeles Times 4 Oct 1989: 11.