Caravan to Vaccarès (1974)

Touches You

Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

So I was 8 or 9 years old when this was released and even younger when I spent three weeks on-set with my parents and siblings. On-set because my dad was a film lighting technician working as part of the production team. I'm now 52, and watching it again brings back some vivid memories of those days, for example my brother and I taking turns steering an 8-tonne generator lorry around the marshes (sitting on the drivers knee in my case), or staying up late in our rented villa near Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer listening to the tales and jokes of the film crew and sitting on benches enjoying the food provided by the mobile catering (not to mention the end of production feast - where I even tasted and liked frogs legs).Several of the scenes in the film I remember vividly, for example the VW beetle driving through the burning cabin, waiting in a building outside the bull-ring in Arles (it was a real bull-fight, so rightly I wasn't allowed in) and especially the circus bull-ring at the end where I was sat with my brother and sister on the fence watching as they were filming.To the film itself, I'd agree it's not the best Alistair Maclean film, the action stilted, the dialog disjointed and the story has gaps (no worse than a tacky Roger Moore Bond film). But, for when it was made, the camerawork is simply excellent and the acting was by and large ok for a 70's film (I have seen much worse). I also like the fact that it's unashamedly bilingual with both French and English dialogue.So all in all, I think this is an underrated film for the reasons I mention and for me personally, is forever part of my life. Unfortunately this site doesn't allow you to post photos or else I'd post some production photos as my dad took his camera on many of his jobs.

A lot of Alistair MacLean's books have made it onto the big screen. Some of them (The Guns Of Navarone, Fear Is The Key, Where Eagles Dare) have been translated rather well; some (Breakheart Pass, Ice Station Zebra, The Secret Ways) have been passable enough; a few (River Of Death, Bear Island, The Way To Dusty Death) have been pretty rotten. Caravan To Vaccares is another movie based on one of MacLean's perennially popular bestsellers, but alas this is yet another that deserves adding to the "rotten" list. Peopled by uninteresting characters who get into uninteresting situations and escapades, Caravan To Vaccares is an absolute failure, both as a thriller and an entertainment. Its only semi-redeeming qualities are: a) that it is filmed on very attractive Provence locations, and: b) Charlotte Rampling looks utterly ravishing (with fully nude scenes to boot) as the main female character.Disillusioned American drifter Neil Bowman (David Birney) is travelling aimlessly through France when he meets British photographer Lila (Charlotte Rampling). They decide to accompany each other, and during their wanderings make the acquaintance of mysterious nobleman Duc De Croyter (Michel Lonsdale). The Duc persuades the pair to aid him in protecting and escorting Hungarian scientist Zuger (Michael Bryant), who is sought by various shady parties because of some information that he is carrying in his head. Kept secret from Bowman and Lila is the fact that Zuger has discovered a secret formula for using solar power as cheap, economical energy. The Hungarian needs desperately to get his formula to New York, but hired guns have been put on his trail to capture him – presumably so that he can be taken back to some ruthless criminal lord and tortured into revealing his priceless secret, which they can then sell on to the highest bidder. Bowman and Lila find themselves and their terrified fugitive on the run in the French countryside from their deadly adversaries.The film seems terribly cheap and amateurish, almost like an ultra low-budget independent film made by a non-professional cast and crew. Yet a fair sum of money was actually thrown at the film, and all those involved have, at various points in their careers, done much better work. Therefore, one has to assume that the film is bad simply because it has been written, acted and directed with a distinct lack of care and interest. The pacing is deadly slow, and the plot points become so laborious that the viewer has to put in too much unrewarded effort to keep up with the story. Birney's performance is uninvolving, and Rampling only creates a stir due to her nude scenes – the character itself is an absolute bore, and the actress looks rightly bored by it. For those who manage to stick with the film right to the very end, there is an unusual scene featuring some deadly rodeo clowns and a fierce bull (!) which, while not particularly exciting or well executed, is at least different to the norm. Caravan To Vaccares is a very disappointing film in most respects, and once more a strong novel by the prolific author has suffered during its transition onto the screen.

It's a shame that such a lame plot should be hung on such picturesque locations, with some documentary style reportage shoved in for extra length. A shorter film may have held the tension a little more, and a more charismatic lead may not have mangled his lines so much. The female lead also, was not allowed to do enough resulting in a pretty but boring affair. It builds towards the end but the lead actor's own redemption is too little too late and should have been revealed earlier in the film. Not awful, just a pity. Unexciting but nice enough to grace TV schedules of the early hours.

Of all the adaptations of books by Alistair MacLean, I feel that this qualifies as the worst, but don´t blame MacLean!. It would appear that all that this film shares with the novel is the same title. We have no suspense, no sense of foreboding of mystery, no chance to really empathize with the main characters. We spend the entire duration (or at least I did) waiting for Charlotte Rampling to shed her clothing (for Charlotte, this appears to take a remarkably long time!). Still, a glimpse of Charlotte Rampling´s tits really can´t save this disastrous film. MacLean has once again been kicked into the gutter to endure the sniping of those bitter hacks and nit-pickers who would appear to blame him for all the ills that befall attempted filming of his books. Poor old Alistair must have crawled into a corner and whimpered when this one came out. At least "Bear Island" - which also uses the Maclean name but apparently none of his novel - was a LITTLE exciting. The excitement here is in waiting for the final credits.