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IMDbPro

Puppet on a Chain

  • 19701970
  • PGPG
  • 1h 38m
IMDb RATING
5.9/10
1.1K
YOUR RATING
Puppet on a Chain (1970)
Following a triple professional hit a U.S. agent arrives in Amsterdam to investigate a heroin smuggling ring. He finds a city rife with drugs and a police force unable or unwilling to do much about it.
Play trailer3:03
1 Video
40 Photos
  • Action
  • Crime
  • Thriller
Following a triple professional hit a U.S. agent arrives in Amsterdam to investigate a heroin smuggling ring. He finds a city rife with drugs and a police force unable or unwilling to do muc... Read allFollowing a triple professional hit a U.S. agent arrives in Amsterdam to investigate a heroin smuggling ring. He finds a city rife with drugs and a police force unable or unwilling to do much about it. With his incognito female fellow agent the American is soon stirring things up... Read allFollowing a triple professional hit a U.S. agent arrives in Amsterdam to investigate a heroin smuggling ring. He finds a city rife with drugs and a police force unable or unwilling to do much about it. With his incognito female fellow agent the American is soon stirring things up.
IMDb RATING
5.9/10
1.1K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Geoffrey Reeve
  • Writers
    • Alistair MacLean(screenplay)
    • Paul Wheeler(additional material)
    • Don Sharp(additional material)
  • Stars
    • Sven-Bertil Taube
    • Barbara Parkins
    • Alexander Knox
Top credits
  • Director
    • Geoffrey Reeve
  • Writers
    • Alistair MacLean(screenplay)
    • Paul Wheeler(additional material)
    • Don Sharp(additional material)
  • Stars
    • Sven-Bertil Taube
    • Barbara Parkins
    • Alexander Knox
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 26User reviews
    • 22Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 3:03
    Trailer

    Photos40

    Puppet on a Chain (1970)
    Puppet on a Chain (1970)
    Puppet on a Chain (1970)
    Puppet on a Chain (1970)
    Puppet on a Chain (1970)
    Puppet on a Chain (1970)
    Puppet on a Chain (1970)
    Puppet on a Chain (1970)
    Puppet on a Chain (1970)
    Puppet on a Chain (1970)
    Puppet on a Chain (1970)
    Sven-Bertil Taube in Puppet on a Chain (1970)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Sven-Bertil Taube
    Sven-Bertil Taube
    • Paul Shermanas Paul Sherman
    Barbara Parkins
    Barbara Parkins
    • Maggieas Maggie
    Alexander Knox
    Alexander Knox
    • Colonel De Graafas Colonel De Graaf
    Patrick Allen
    Patrick Allen
    • Inspector Van Gelderas Inspector Van Gelder
    Vladek Sheybal
    Vladek Sheybal
    • Meegerenas Meegeren
    Ania Marson
    Ania Marson
    • Astrid Lemayas Astrid Lemay
    Penny Casdagli
    • Trudias Trudi
    Peter Hutchins
    • The Assassinas The Assassin
    Drewe Henley
    Drewe Henley
    • Jimmy Duclosas Jimmy Duclos
    Henny Orri
    • Hertaas Herta
    • (as Henni Orri)
    Stewart F. Lane
    Stewart F. Lane
    • George Lemayas George Lemay
    • (as Stewart Lane)
    Mark Malicz
    • Morgensternas Morgenstern
    Michael Mellinger
    Michael Mellinger
    • Hotel Manageras Hotel Manager
    Francis Batsoni
    • Bell Boyas Bell Boy
    • (uncredited)
    Peter Brace
    Peter Brace
    • Thugas Thug
    • (uncredited)
    Gerry Crampton
    Gerry Crampton
    • Thugas Thug
    • (uncredited)
    Arnold Diamond
    Arnold Diamond
    • Coroneras Coroner
    • (uncredited)
    Joe Dunne
    • Barge-hold henchmanas Barge-hold henchman
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Geoffrey Reeve
    • Writers
      • Alistair MacLean(screenplay) (based on the novel by) (novel) (screen play by)
      • Paul Wheeler(additional material)
      • Don Sharp(additional material)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      In her memoirs Suzanna Leigh mentions that she had a role in this film as a villain but, although her character is mentioned, her scenes were deleted from the final print.
    • Goofs
      At one point during the Amsterdam boat chase, the white boat hits a bridge and sustains fairly severe damage to the prow (which is acknowledged in the sound effects). In the next shot, the boat is unblemished again.
    • Quotes

      Maggie: Paul, what are you thinking?

      Paul Sherman: I was thinking about my ex-wife, as a matter of fact.

      Maggie: What was she like?

      Paul Sherman: Very affectionate... with other men. My fault - I was never there.

    • Alternate versions
      Some topless nudity and shots of a man's bloody face during a hotel fight was cut from the film for an 'AA' rating (suitable for persons of 14 and over) for the UK cinema release though this was restored in video releases and TV showings.
    • Connections
      Referenced in The Alf Garnett Saga (1972)

    User reviews26

    Review
    Top review
    Puppet on a Chain
    Looking and sounding like a cheap porno without the sex, this is the first in an impressive string of stinkers from producer (or in this case director) Geoffrey Reeve.

    And it's a doozy. Laughable on just about every level.

    Some government agents (I think) are "professionally murdered" in Amsterdam and a considerably less-than-charismatic, block-of-wood Interpol agent (who I assure you is not named Louis Salinger) is sent in to investigate by walking around a lot to ensure the tax-dodge financiers get their money's worth for the plane tickets to shoot on location.

    The wannabe-hard-hitting attitudes to drugs and depiction of prostitution must have looked laughably outdated even before the celluloid dried, but the script at least is very obliging in that it explains exactly what's happening regularly in horribly contrived direlogue ("Were you followed? Oh no of course not. No one outside Washington even knows you're here!") yet despite this the plot somehow remains confusing. By the time a sinister Vladimir Putin lookalike Priest (no less than Kronsteen from From Russia with Love) swaggers up to his pulpit to deliver a sermon your brain will have switched off, which is unfortunate because you'll miss our hero - pinned to the ground during a fight - struggling to reach for a plank of wood only to later realise he is in fact sitting on a loaded pistol, and him shouting "You bastaaaard!" at his friend's murdered corpse, and the leather-bound, moustachioed go-go boys, the morris dancing and the hilarious torture sequence - all of which provide ample laughs. Only the climactic boat chase impresses. It's an exciting, well-directed sequence that really has no place in this movie. Such a glaring anomaly is explained when the credits roll - Reeve had nothing to do with that sequence! Thankfully everything goes back to business as usual for the ridiculous, spit-out-your-drink twist and warehouse shootout.

    Unless such a wretched thing as a Geoffrey Reeve completist exists - and you're one of them - I wouldn't bother with this instantly forgettable nonsense.
    helpful•10
    10
    • I_John_Barrymore_I
    • Apr 14, 2009

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • August 2, 1970 (United Kingdom)
    • Countries of origin
      • United Kingdom
      • Netherlands
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Holandska veza
    • Filming locations
      • Kasteel Muiderslot - Herengracht 1, Muiden, Noord-Holland, Netherlands
    • Production company
      • Big City
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $769,462
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 38 minutes
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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