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Puppet on a Chain (1971)

PG | | Action, Thriller | 5 November 1971 (Ireland)
Puppet on a Chain Poster
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 ... See full summary »

Director:

Geoffrey Reeve

Writers:

Alistair MacLean (screenplay) (as Alistair Maclean), Paul Wheeler (additional material) | 3 more credits »

Stars:

Sven-Bertil Taube, Barbara Parkins, Alexander Knox | See full cast & crew »
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Photos

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Cast

Complete credited cast:
Sven-Bertil Taube ... Paul Sherman
Barbara Parkins ... Maggie
Alexander Knox ... Colonel De Graaf
Patrick Allen ... Inspector Van Gelder
Vladek Sheybal ... Meegeren
Ania Marson ... Astrid Lemay
Penny Casdagli Penny Casdagli ... Trudi
Peter Hutchins Peter Hutchins ... The Assassin
Drewe Henley ... Jimmy Duclos
Henny Orri Henny Orri ... Herta (as Henni Orri)
Stewart F. Lane ... George Lemay (as Stewart Lane)
Mark Malicz Mark Malicz ... Morgenstern
Michael Mellinger ... Hotel Manager
See full cast »
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Storyline

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. With his incognito female fellow agent the American is soon stirring things up. Written by Jeremy Perkins {J-26}

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

professional hit | drugs | police | heroin | subjective camera | See All (133) »

Taglines:

It will keep you hanging on the edge of your seat! See more »

Genres:

Action | Thriller

Certificate:

PG | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

View content advisory »
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Did You Know?

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. See more »

Goofs

The co-ordinates in the notebook are written as 52° . 35' . 16".1 N / -0.5° . 27' . 19".5 E. This is badly formatted, even allowing for the European use of period and comma being the opposite way round to UK and US convention (ie they use a comma as a decimal point and a period as a field separator). Also the minus sign in conjunction with "E" is redundant: a negative coordinate implies west (longitude) or south (latitude) of Greenwich, in which case compass directions such as N (north) and E (east) are not used. However if these errors are ignored and the coordinates are interpreted as 52º 35' 16.1" N, 0.5º 27' 19.5" E, they point to a location in the Markermeer, east of Amsterdam and north of Lelystad - roughly where Paul Sherman draws a cross on the map. See more »

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.
See more »

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. See more »

Connections

Referenced in 42nd Street Memories: The Rise and Fall of America's Most Notorious Street (2015) See more »

User Reviews

 
Va..va..vrooom!
26 December 2001 | by tobyindia – See all my reviews

I've grown up reading Alistair McLean's books and I have watched a couple of movies based on his books. There are some pretty good ones made. But this one is probably the best. Mainly because the characters are pretty interesting and the story line is one of the most original ones you will come across (considering the fact that this is as old as 1972!). Movies on drugs/drug trafficking etc. have been inspired from this slick pic! The hero (Sven Bertil-Taube) is cool as a cucumber (just the way McLean sketched it) .. and he suits his role to the hilt. The plot is usual McLean and the concept is WOW! No review of this film is complete without a mention of the Speed Boat chase in the canals of Amsterdam. My Gawd' ! The "French Connection" road chase, the "Ronin" road chase, the "Tomorrow Never Dies" speed boat chase around the Millennium Dome are all inspired by this superbly crafted sequence which is interspersed with aerial shots, close-ups, action shots and more. Even without a background score, this sequence is great! This movie is a MUST WATCH! :-)Enjoy!
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Frequently Asked Questions

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 November 1971 (Ireland) See more »

Also Known As:

Alistair Maclean's Puppet on a Chain See more »

Filming Locations:

Kasteel Muiderslot - Herengracht 1, Muiden, Noord-Holland, Netherlands See more »
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Box Office

Gross USA:

$769,462
See more on IMDbPro »

Company Credits

Production Co:

Big City See more »
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Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1
See full technical specs »
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