10 Things You Didn’t Know About River of Death
Throughout the 1980’s, Cannon Films made several attempts at creating their own version of the Indiana Jones box office blockbusters. First there was King Solomon’s Mines and Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold starring Richard Chamberlain and Sharon Stone. Then they tried again with the dynamic duo of Chuck Norris and Louis Gossett Jr. in Firewalker. They even cast John Rhys-Davies in 2 out of the 3 films I just mentioned to give their films the Sallah rub.
Cannon’s final attempt at recreating the Indiana Jones magic was a movie based on a novel by Alistair MacLean, River of Death.
The star of River of Death, Michael Dudikoff and director Steve Carver, provided their behind the scene insights on the film on the commentary track on the Kino Lorber Blu-ray release of River of Death. Like previous Kino Lorber releases, the commentary track on River of Death added another level of enjoyment to the film and I will now share some of the more interesting facts that I learned as I present…
10 Things You Didn’t Know About River of Death
- River of Death was only the second movie in history to be shot in Port St. Johns, South Africa. The first movie to be filmed there was Shout at the Devil starring Lee Marvin and Roger Moore.
- The voice overs done by Michael Dudikoff’s character John Hamilton were not a part of the original script. It was an element that was suggested by Cannon executive Menahem Golan after viewing a rough cut of the completed film.
- Director Steve Carver originally wanted R.G. Armstrong for the role of Eddie Hiller. Armstrong was unavailable when filming was scheduled and the role ultimately went to L.Q. Jones.
- Between takes Robert Vaughn (who played the evil Dr. Wolfgang Manteuffel) would be reading books. Vaughn loved to read and had a PhD in English Literature. Vaughn was also the only actor in the movie who was able to leave South Africa during the middle of the shoot as his scenes were limited and was not needed on set for the entire 7 weeks.
- The South African natives had a superstition in regards to little people. During the scene at the bar where some “midget boxing” is taking place, many of the native South Africans fled the scene as they believe little people are messengers from the devil.
- Sarah Maur Thorp, who plays Anna Blakesley, was a last minute replacement. The role of Anna was originally intended for an American actress, but due to passport issues the unnamed American actress was unable to make it to Port St. Johns.
- This was a rough shoot for Michael Dudikoff. Not only was he working in waters that were later learned to be a breeding ground for sharks, he also got tiny needles in his eye when he was crawling around in the jungle. The needles, which are almost transparent, are found on the tips of leaves on a plant indigenous to that part of the world. After his eye swelled shut one evening after shooting, Dudikoff had to be taken to a medical facility in Johannesburg to remove the tiny needles from his eyes. He was back to work the next day… Dudi is a trooper!
- Michael Dudikoff’s kids have never seen River of Death or ANY of his movies. Unbelievable!
- Director Steve Carver was not a fan of the music that was used in the film. The music in question was composed by Sasha Matson, who also did the music for the Don “The Dragon” Wilson and Billy Blanks film, Bloodfist.
- Donald Pleasence wanted his character Heinrich Spaatz to be more perverse. In particular, in a scene with Spaatz and his girlfriend Maria, Pleasence wanted Spaatz to suck on Maria’s toes. This request was denied to keep in line with Alistair MacLean’s vision.
