Caxambu!

My summary is hardly a glowing endorsement, but you could certainly do a lot worse than watching "Caxambu!". While the story is a bit familiar and the budget apparently rather low, it worked well enough that after it was over, I was glad I'd seen it--even with its shortcomings.

John Ireland plays the leader of a gang who steal a bag of diamonds in South America. They take a diamond cutter and his wife hostage and steal a plane in order to escape. However, the plane crashes and the group is stranded in the middle of a VERY hostile wilderness. The main problem are the local natives--who pick off several in the group, one-by-one. The other problem is greed, and the thieves soon start bickering with each other.

I've seen several films and TV shows that remind me of "Caxambu!" but despite being familiar and having some difficult to believe characters (particularly Ireland and his unbelievable change of heart), it kept me engaged throughout and was a decent little film. The location shoot didn't hurt.

Poor John Ireland and Keith Larsen, who must have been desperate for the cash. Both good working actors I do not understand why they needed to film this movie. Did they read the script before accepting the roles? The writing is substandard and the direction disappointing considering that the Director is the brother of Billy Wilder. Obviously shot on a shoe string budget and filmed in the Philippines rather than the actual film location setting in Brazil.I put up with the movie to the end just to see how it ended. I also find it hard to believe that the female cast member ( who I will not name as she is still alive ) was once considered to be a rival to the great Marilyn Monroe in the fifties. Spend the afternoon at the beach or shopping rather than watch this movie.

After pulling off a big diamond heist, criminal mastermind, Vince Neff (John Ireland) and his fellow thieves call in a diamond cutter and his wife (Carol Ohmart). While making their airborne escape, trouble occurs, and the plane goes down, deep in the Brazilian rain forest.

Lost and wanted by the authorities, the group soon realizes that these are minor concerns compared to what awaits them in the bush!

Grave peril and death ensue.

CAXAMBU! Is an entertaining adventure film that builds rather slowly. Thankfully, there are some indigenous people around to keep things very interesting for the intruders!

For her part, Ms. Ohmart is great as always, with her hair cut short this time out.

Highly recommended for the jungle movie fan...