The Adventurers is a 1970 American adventure drama film directed, produced, and co-written by Lewis Gilbert. It is based on the 1966 novel of the same name by Harold Robbins.
The film stars Bekim Fehmiu, Candice Bergen, Charles Aznavour, Olivia de Havilland, Fernando Rey, Ernest Borgnine, Alan Badel, and Leigh Taylor-Young. The film was the American film debut of Yugoslavian actor Fehmiu and was shot in Europe and parts of South America. It is loosely based on the life of Dominican diplomat and playboy Porfirio Rubirosa.
Lewis Gilbert did the movie under a lucrative contract he had signed with Paramount following the success of Alfie. He called The Adventurers "the worst thing I ever did" and that the book was "impossible".
Plot
Dax Xenos, a ten-year old boy in the South American country of Corteguay, witnesses the rape and murder of his mother by government soldiers and runs to his father, Jaime, who is with a band of revolutionaries. Jaime's men capture the government soldiers, give Dax the privilege of personally executing his mother's murderers, and then take the boy to their hideout in the mountains where he meets Amparo, the daughter of revolutionary leader Rojo. After the rebels oust the dictator and establish Rojo as president, Dax accompanies his father to Rome, where Jaime is to serve as ambassador.
Years later, Jaime returns to Corteguay to find that Rojo has established himself as dictator; he contacts El Condor, the new revolutionary leader, but is killed by Colonel Gutierrez, Rojo's security chief. Dax, now a young man, returns to Corteguay for his father's funeral. Rojo persuades Dax, who does not know the cause of his father's death, to convince El Condor to surrender, but when El Condor surrenders, he is killed by Gutierrez.
Because his promise to El Condor was betrayed, Dax murders Gutierrez, confronts Rojo with his treachery, and returns to Rome. He becomes a gigolo and finally marries millionairess Sue Anne Daley, but they soon divorce. Dax again returns to Corteguay, this time for the unveiling of a statue of his father, and finds himself thrust into yet another revolution.
Led this time by El Lobo, the revolution succeeds when Dax murders Rojo. Meanwhile, Dax learns that Amparo has borne him a son. Delighted, he sends her back to Rome with the intention of establishing a democracy in Corteguay and returning to his new family, but he is assassinated by the vengeful son of El Condor.
Cast
Production
Embassy Pictures purchased the screen rights to Harold Robbins' next novel in 1963 for $1 million, hiring John Michael Hayes to write a screenplay. When the novel The Adventurers was released in 1966, Paramount Pictures promoted the novel with a sweepstakes asking readers to submit their choices for casting with the winners to be awarded $500.
Gilbert commissioned Robbins to write the screenplay. After getting a draft, Gilbert informed Robbins that the script was “too dirty, too violent and too long.”
Gilbert said Paramount did not want any stars and wanted unknowns, as films with stars were failing. He did say the film "had a very good cast".
Principal photography began on April 12, 1968, at Cinecittà Studios, with other locations filmed in Rome and Venice. This was followed by 12 days of location shooting in New York City, and then three months of filming in Colombia in Bogotá, Cartagena, and the Andes Mountains.
Music
The score was composed by Bossa nova songwriter Antonio Carlos Jobim. Of the 12 songs featured in this film, three of them, "Children's Games" (Chovendo na Roseira), "A Bed of Flowers For Sue Ann" (Sue Ann) and "Dax & Amparo-Love Theme" (Olha Maria), went on to become some of Jobim's signature songs. These songs were heard for the first time on this soundtrack. The soft and often tender music stands in stark contrast to the darkness of the themes of the story.
A rare track by British band Family called "Young Love" was featured as a backing track to a fashion show in the film. This track does not appear on a CD by Family or on any singles.