This "lost" Charles Bronson film finally surfaces on video in a widescreen special edition presentation from Delta/Laserlight Entertainment. You don’t think it’s a "lost" film? Try searching the web for any info on CABO BLANCO. You won’t find anything except for a barren IMDB entry. Anyway, I wouldn’t exactly classify this DVD as a "Special Edition", but it makes for an interesting package. Basically what we have here is the aforementioned lost film, with a supporting feature consisting of an episode of the early sixties TV show UNITED STATES MARSHALL starring a young Charles Bronson as the bad guy of the episode.

Throw in an AMC-style wraparound from actor Tony Curtis, and you’ve got your special edition. Beware, the packaging artwork make it look like the DVD is double feature, but what you are getting is a full length feature with a half hour black and white TV show tacked on. I would have preferred extras for CABO BLANCO, but if you consider the TV episode an extra feature like I do then you are all set. I must say, I’m all for extra DVD content of any kind (as long as it not advertising); if there’s room left, throw something on, that’s my DVD motto. Still, I wouldn’t advertise it as a double feature or a special edition.

Anyway getting on the to the main event, the reason I rented this DVD was to see this widescreen Charles Bronson film. It’s hard to provide details of why I’ve never heard of this film considering I’m a Bronson fan circa the seventies and eighties and a film fan is general. I don’t think the film made much of an impact upon its release in 1980 and I can tell you why: Fans at the time were used to seeing him in kick-ass roles in films like DEATH WISH and westerns like FROM NOON TIL THREE. In CABO BLANCO we see a much different Bronson, although he still gets to kick some butt. He actually gets a chance at acting and has much more to do here than in those popular films. Also fans are used to seeing him in the old west or the streets of New York, but in this film the locale is super gorgeous island of Cabo Blanco in the Caribbean ocean; hence the vibe is totally different from the other films. One other element that may have contributed to this film not making a big impact is that it is set in 1949 and J. Lee Thompson and the writing team of Morton Fine, Milton Gelman and Jaime Comas go out of the way to recapture the time period on film and in that they succeed. However, during the eighties this was a very uncommercial approach for a modern film, if you know what I mean.

There is some decent casting here. Beside Chuck we have the shapely Dominique Sanda as Chuck’s love interest, Marie. Fernando Rey as Terredo, an on-the-take official of Cabo Blanco. Simon MacCorkindale (of FALCON’s GOLD TV series fame) as a British agent Lewis Clarkson, and Jason Robards does a nice turn as ex-Nazi leader Gunther Beckdorff. Chuck plays Giff Hoyt, a man trying to escape his past who runs a hotel/nightclub on the beautiful remote island of Cabo Blanco. Gunther Beckdorff also is on the run from his war crimes and holes up at a luxurious villa in the Cabo Blanco hills and is protected by a massive hit squad, and also has the local authorities on his payroll including town official Terredo.

There is one other element that creates the intrigue. A nazi ship carrying treasure was sunk in the Cabo Blanco bay, thus a race is on between various factions to retrieve it. As the film opens, a ship commandeered by Lewis Clarkson is searching ship wrecks in the harbor when the diving bell is assaulted by mysterious frogmen who plant a bomb on it. After the incident, Marie arrives looking for her ex-lover who was actually an undercover agent looking for the nazi treasure. She stays at Giff’s place and becomes an object of desire from the fast living Terredo. Terredo also refuses to make a case of the mysterious deaths surrounding the search for the treasures.

Giff and Marie have a tryst, and she enlightens Giff to the whole nazi treasure situation. She wants her and Giff to strike a deal with Gunther Beckdorff to retrieve and split the treasure. When Giff turns her down for his own reasons, behind his back she attempts to strike a deal with Beckdorff, who has the resources but not the location of the ship. When Giff confronts Beckdorff, it sets of a chain of events that include treachery, deceit, and murder. Soon, not only are the Nazi’s goons after Giff, but so are the local authorities. Giff and Marie must find a way to draw Beckdorff down from his guarded villa and bring the local authorities (led by Terredo) to their senses to deal with Beckdorff.

The movie is big on intrigue and small on big action pieces or a high body count. In this way, the film is purposely played out like similar films of the actual 1949 time period. The filmmakers do a good job recreating this nostalgic flavor and purposely downplay the action; although there is some because after all this is a Bronson film, just don’t expect DEATH WISH. Bronson doesn’t even carry a gun here, but he proves what he’s made of using his steely composure and patented Bronson presence. Jason Robards and Fernando Rey also do their share of scene stealing, and both put in great performances. But the real star of the film is the lush Caribbean cinematography done justice by the widescreen transfer. Also it helps that there is no shortage of nudity from the local tanned girls. I felt like I took a vacation just watching it.

The other feature on the DVD is an episode of UNITED STATES MARSHALL starring John Bromfeld as the title character. Here, a young Bronson plays a convict who kills the cop watching over him and escapes from the chain gang. He abducts a pretty young woman, and crosses the desert with her hostage. The U.S. Marshall is called in and the hunt begins. Nothing real original here, but it is a hoot to see young Bronson in such an early role. The acting from the other cast members is poor, but Bronson is genuinely desperate as the US Marshall’s target. Remember we are talking early ‘60’s black and white TV here, so don’t expect much. But it does come off more exciting than a Dragnet episode.

SIGHT

CABO BLANCO is presented in the original 2:35.1 aspect. However, the transfer is very inconsistent. At times the tropical island imagery looks stunning—other times nics, scratches, and grain appear. The good news is that it appears the anomalies are directly from the source print; it’s not the case of poor mastering or authoring. Also, these anomalies only appear occasionally, probably near where the film reels need to be changed. So it’s not like the whole film is ruined by this. But when it does pop up, it looks ugly. The other good news is that the image is mostly sharp and well defined, with minor film grain normally associated with a twenty year old film. Color reproduction is vivid and without bleeding, or chroma noise. The blacks and shadow details are deep and true. Flesh tones looked natural in all lighting. The dusk scenes of the characters walking along the beach are striking as is most exterior shots; kudos go to cinematographers Alex Philips and Raul Cabero. The night scenes and dark interiors have good black and shadow tones. One other negative comment I have to make about the transfer. The video company Delta Entertainment branded the image with their logo! That practice is not acceptable on DVD. Thankfully, the logo is displayed only 10 seconds and redisplays again about every twenty minutes. So it does not ruin the film for you as if was displayed throughout.

The transfer for the UNITED STATES MARSHALL episode is full frame (1:33:1) and is in black and white. It’s pretty good actually but no where near striking as some of the remastered black and white classics that have surfaced on DVD lately. The blacks are not as true, and appear slightly grayish. The image is good for a TV program from that era.

SOUND

The audio is two channel mono. The film would not have benefited much from a surround sound remix because the film is mainly dialog driven and there are no big action scenes that require huge amounts of bass. So considering the two channel mix as it is, it’s not bad. The mix is clear of hiss, pops, and clutter (unlike the video problem). The actors and locals use a lot of dialects and accents and they all come out crisp and clear. The real star of the soundtrack is Jerry Goldsmith’s scoring. It is excellent, even though it lacks that surround sound fidelity. But it is a rousing score that imbues the spirit of the 1940’s time period that the film is set in. The symphonic compositions perfectly captures that era and enhances the vibe and tone that the filmmakers were trying to capture. The UNITED STATES MARSHALL soundtrack is mono and as you would expect clear yet flat. The music (I can’t really call it a score) is stock sixties TV theme and is unspectacular.

FEATURES

There is no trailer for CABO BLANCO on the DVD. There is a brief introduction by Tony Curtis before CABO BLANCO and between the features. Tony jealously discusses Bronson’s rise to fame to the point where Bronson could call his own shots. There is an excellent theatrical trailer for one of Bronson’s greatest films, THE GREAT ESCAPE; the trailer runs 2 mins 20 seconds.

CONCLUSION

CABO BLANCO is a forgotten film that has a new luster thanks to DVD. While the transfer is not perfect, the widescreen ratio and two-channel mono get the job done (they could have released this as a full-frame DVD only). Charles Bronson fans will definitely want to check this one out, as its one of the few films where he gets to put down the guns and put on the acting chops. It is a well shot and well scored film at the very least. Not only Bronson, but Jason Robards gives a fine performance as well. The video rating below (3 of 5) is the lowest I’ve yet rated a widescreen film. Again, the video is not bad, just spotty at certain places. That plus the Delta logo caused me to drop the video rating a bit. But, you may want to experience the intrigue of CABO BLANCO for yourself.

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