Adventurers' Guild

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Lore & Background

In the nightmarish last days of the Third Reich, a psychotic Nazi scientist named Wolfgang Manteuffel (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. Hamilton guides a group of explorers up the deadly Rio del Morte, facing bloodthirsty river pirates, hostile native tribes and headhunting cannibals, to the fabulous lost Inca city. The film was shot in South Africa's Port St. Johns, which director Steve Carver described as "dangerous as all hell" — "We were lucky no one got killed." Carver worked with actors Herbert Lom, Robert Vaughn and Donald Pleasence, calling them "professionals" who "would carry the equipment up the mountainside with the crew." River of Death was shot during the cultural boycott, resulting in Carver being fined by the Directors Guild of America. Carver remained unapologetic in 2020: "I had ignored the apartheid, because I am not political. I couldn't give a damn about their apartheid at that time."

In Their Own Story

The Los Angeles Times reviewed the film, saying "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." The cast includes 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, and Ian Yule as John "Long John" Silver. According to director Steve Carver, the movie was originally to be shot in Brazil, but this turned out too expensive, so South Africa's Port St. Johns was chosen as a location.

Reader's Guide

The film River of Death is an action movie set in the Amazon jungle, following adventurer John Hamilton as he leads a group of explorers up the Rio del Morte to find the cause of a mysterious incurable disease. Along the way, they must survive bloodthirsty river pirates, hostile native tribes and headhunting cannibals. The story also involves a psychotic Nazi scientist who escaped to the Amazon after World War II. The movie was directed by Steve Carver and is based on the 1981 novel by Alistair MacLean. It was shot in South Africa's Port St. Johns, a location Carver called "dangerous as all hell." The film was produced during the cultural boycott, and Carver was fined by the Directors Guild of America for ignoring the apartheid.

Did You Know?

• River of Death is based on the 1981 novel of the same name by Alistair MacLean.
• The film was originally to be shot in Brazil, but that turned out too expensive, so South Africa's Port St. Johns was chosen instead.
• Director Steve Carver said the location was 'dangerous as all hell' and 'We were lucky no one got killed.'
• River of Death was shot during the cultural boycott, and Carver was fined by the Directors Guild of America for ignoring the apartheid.
• The Los Angeles Times review stated the film's strategy was to squeeze MacLean's story through the send-up style of 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' and concluded 'It doesn't work.'