Based upon the true story of Jim Jones , as it traces the steps of this peculiar Reverend , a highly charismatic, but profoundly paranoid clergyman , a self-proclaimed prophet of an independent church in the South American country Guyana . In the 1960s , he began as an idealist helping minorities and working against racism . After years of evangelism and good deeds , begins his own church in the mid-western United States . Later on , he increased his power and attention , and Jim Jones became focused on his belief in nuclear holocaust . When Jim Jones (Stuart Whitman) becomes increasingly obsessed with the belief that the CIA is "a wicked enemy" who is out to get him, he emigrates with his congregation to Guyana , where he plans to create an utopia . He had a loyal following of about 1000 people, who had donated their entire life savings to him to join his commune . Being accompanied by a team of advocates (Joseph Cotten , John Ireland) and fanatic supporters (Yvonne De Carlo , Bradford Dillman , Jennifer Ashley , Robert DoQui) . But Jim Jones' utopia consists of a society where he demands his followers turn their minds , bodies and possessions over to him one that is rife with torture of children , sexual relations between kiddies and adults , and other awful happenings . When possible illegal activities came to the attention of the authorities , Congressmen (Gene Barry) and reporters (Juan Luis Galiardo , Armando Calvo ,Hugo Stiglitz , Carlos East) , they started to investigate . Rather that faces the charges , Jim Jones committed suicide , and convinced virtually all of his followers to do the same . But not all of them follow him blindly and begin to think on their own.This film titled Guyana: Crime of the Century" or "Guyana: Cult of the Damned" results to be a below average version about the real story of the Peoples Temple cult led by Rev. Jim Jones and the events involving its move to Guyana and its eventual mass suicide . It is a lack luster drama that explores the nasty activities carried out by Jim Jones , relying heavily on sensationalistic aspects , eerie images full of nudism and exploitation such as physical violence, orgies , mental torture , sexual abuse of children and many other things . Ultimately , Jim Jones' paranoia reaches a fevered pitch that culminates in him taking savage action against his own congregation . The dialogue used in the mass suicide/murder scene near the end of the film was taken almost word-for-word from an audio-cassette found in a portable tape recorder under Jim Jones' chair ; the tape recorder had weak batteries and was running at a much slower than normal speed, allowing the entire event to be recorded . The flick features many strong scenes , among them the preaching masses of Jones , a gloomy spectacle to watch when Jim Jones/Stuart Whitman is quite commanding in those last moments when the astonishing slaughter happens . Nice acting by Stuart Whitman as the priest who orders his followers to commit suicide , he gives an acceptable acting and captures the sinister evil that was Jim Jones . Support cast is pretty well , plenty of old Hollywood familiar faces such as Gene Barry , John Ireland , Joseph Cotten , Bradford Dillman , Yvonne De Carlo and Spanish actors such as Juan Luis Galiardo , Eduardo Bea , Armando Calvo , Nadiuska , among others . This horrific retelling of the Guyana tragedy was regularly directed by Rene Cardona Jr . He was a Mexican director and writer, expert on all kinds of genres with a penchant for Terror , adventure and exploitation ; being especially known for The Treasure of the Amazon (1985) , The Bermudas Triangle (1978) , ¡Tintorera! (1977) , Cycone , Fantastic Balloon Voyage , Under Siege , The Night of a Thousand Cats , Survivors of Andes , Beaks , Carlos the terrorist and this : Guayana, El Crimen del Siglo (1979) . It was followed by another American rendition titled ¨Guyana Tragedy : The Story of Jim Jones¨ (TV , 1980) by William A Graham with Powers Boothe as Rev. Jim Jones , Ned Beatty, Diane Ladd , Diane Scarwid , Ron O'Neal , Irene Cara , Veronica Cartwright , Rosalind Cash , Brad Dourif and Meg Foster .

Guyana: Cult of the Damned (1979) ** (out of 4)Reverend James Johnson (Stuart Whitman) leads his church worshipers into the jungles of Guyana in South America where his cult begins to reach the views he had in plan. The only problem is politician Congressman Leo Ryan (Gene Berry) who sees something wrong with this group but before anything can be done tragedy strikes. GUYANA: CULT OF THE DAMNED was the first attempt at telling the tragic story of Jim Jones and his church members, which led to a mass suicide in Jonestowan. This film comes from director Rene Cardona Jr. who also had his hand involved in other "true story" films like SURVIVE and THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE. This film here was released in America in a cut version, which added narration but I viewed the uncut version that clocked in at 115-minutes. I can't comment on the American version but I will say that this here appears to be a little bit better. Having read reviews of both, it's clear this film is hated by most and many violently attack it for exploiting the real people by trying to make a quick buck.I understand where people would see this as exploitation but the film itself really isn't as bad as many make it out to be and not nearly as graphic as its reputation. In fact, for a film that has the reputation of being an exploitation movie, I'd say this is incredibly tame. Yes, there are scenes of torture but none of them are graphic and in fact they're less graphic than something you'd see in a PG-13 movie of today. The mass suicide at the end really just shows people getting shot or falling to the ground. Again, nothing too graphic. The attacks about the vile nature of the movie isn't from anything we see on the screen but I think it comes from people simply protesting that a "cheap" movie was made about such a tragic event.As for the film itself, I'd be lying if I called it good. There's no question that the entire film has a very rushed feel to it. There's also no question that Cardona just wanted to get anything on the screen no matter if it was the truth, a lie or somewhere in between. The story structure is what really kills the movie because the first time we see Jones (named Johnson here) he's already a raving maniac so it's hard to believe that, by looking at him, anyone would follow him into a jungle. Had the film showed whatever character he had to talk people into following him then I think it would have paid off a lot better instead of having him be a maniac throughout. The film, in its uncut form, also runs a bit too long with too many repeat scenes of Jones just rambling.There are some good moments in the film that are often overlooked and this includes the final twenty-five or so minutes once the Congressman arrives on the scene with the media. The final moments of the story are quite entertaining, although many of the death scenes are handled so poorly that it was hard to get any real impact from them. Another good thing was the performance of Whitman. I thought he was actually quite believable in the role and it's too bad he didn't get to play this character with a better screenplay. Berry was also good in his supporting role and there's never a bad time when you get to watch Joseph Cotten and John Ireland.GUYANA: CULT OF THE DAMNED has been overshadowed by other, more graphic films from the director as well as a made-for-TV movie that followed. Still, on its own terms, the movie isn't nearly as awful as its made out to be. Who knows. Had the director actually taken his time with the material and had a better screenplay, it had the elements for something better.

Rene Cardona Jnr's attempt to re-create the, at the time, topical Jim Jones cult that resulted in the mass suicide of almost a thousand followers. Stuart Whitman plays the megalomaniacal cult leader, deviant, zealot and polygamist with an open licence and while he probably looks more like Roy Orbison than Jim Jones, it's not a bad imitation based on what I know of the Jones persona.Bradford Dillman plays Jones' doctor-in-staff who administers (reluctantly) the fatal dose, Gene Barry is the doomed American diplomat trying to disassemble the oppressive community and a host of former Hollywood heavyweights (Cotten, DeCarlo, Ireland) fill out the ranks. Good to see Cardona's preferred local talent Hugo Stiglitz on board along with beauties Jennifer Ashley and Erika Carlsson (the trio reunited from "Tintorera"). While not to trivialise the subject, you know you're watching an exploitation movie when those guys are in the cast.Fatally overlong, the long-awaited climax doesn't prove to be worth the wait (knowing the conclusion doesn't help, but there's no attempt at suspense) and while the cast is appealing, the film doesn't do the subject matter justice. Obviously this is made for a particular audience so if you want to see the more deferential treatment, then the "Guyana Tragedy" (1980) is probably your picture. I'm faithful to the Rene Cardona Jnr factory, and while this is perhaps his least-impressive 'western' work, it still contains some of his trademark excess.

A real mess coproduced by México, Spain, Panamá and the U.S., done by the Cardonas with the same sensationalism of other 1970s "films", as "El triángulo de las Bermudas", "¡Tintorera!" and a few others that father and son signed together or separatedly. Everybody spoke their lines in their native languages, many tried to speak English for the "international market"... and were indeed recorded, but finally dubbed for the American version. It is awful in any version. Little was left (I can only guess) of the real facts that made headlines on newspapers. All I can remember now is Stuart Whitman in a blood-red shirt, playing the head of the cult, and all those old familiar faces, probably making fun of what they were doing in Acapulco for a few dollars...