Caravans

(US - Iran)

Ibex/FIDCI. Director James Fargo; Producer Elmo Williams; Screenplay Nancy Voyles Crawford, Thomas A. McMahon, Lorraine Williams; Camera Douglas Slocombe; Editor Richard Marden; Music Mike Batt;; Art Director Ted Tester, Peter Williams, Peter James

Anthony Quinn
Michael Sarrazin
Jennifer O'Neill
Christopher Lee
Joseph Cotten
Behrooz Vosoughi

The main trouble with this tale of 1948 Persia isn't the Iranians, it's Hollywood. Almost every fake moment in the film, and there are lots of them, has the touch of Hollywood laid on with a heavy coating. Fortunately for the average viewer, the scenic scope of the film, based on James Michener's epic story, and shot entirely on locations in Iran, is so sweeping that the tale that is told is almost palatable. But barely.

Briefly, the film deals with the search of a minor American consular employee (Michael Sarrazin) for an American woman (Jennifer O'Neill) who has married an Iranian colonel (Behrooz Vosoughi) but deserted him for a Kochi chieftain (Anthony Quinn) and has disappeared. Sarrazin finds her in short order. That's when the real trouble begins. She won't go back and he won't go back without her and off everyone goes into the desert.

Sarrazin, Quinn and O'Neill carry most of the story. The other non-Persians - Christopher Lee, Barry Sullivan, Jeremy Kemp and Joseph Cotten - are seen so briefly they may have done their roles over a long weekend. Histrionically, only Quinn is believable, followed closely by Vosoughi.

1978: Nomination: Best Costume Design

(Color) Widescreen. Available on VHS. Extract of a review from 1978. Running time: 127 MIN.

Variety is striving to present the most thorough review database. To report inaccuracies in review credits, please click here. We do not currently list below-the-line credits, although we hope to include them in the future. Please note we may not respond to every suggestion. Your assistance is appreciated.