Die Spur führt nach Soho

Quite routine as can be for a crime feature, but there's somewhat a dreary and hardened underbelly. The investigation that transpires is predictably weary as you feel like your watching something out of a old- school crime TV episode… but what it has going for it is that the grimy locations help with the moody ambiance and the main performances up it a notch. Yul Brynner is in the lead and along side are Edward Woodward and Charles Gray as a shady, if eccentric villain "The Owl". So there are some real solid acting chops on show.

An American secret service agent working with Scotland Yard goes about trying to infiltrate a dangerous counterfeit ring looking to upscale their business. Brynner plays it tough as nails (but there's something a little more to his psyche that be shows minor cracks), while Woodward is the chatty local partner who's assigned to Brynner's American agent. I thought it was going to play out like some buddy feature (as the two shared a fitting combination with some British humour), but it soon moves away from that angle midway through when the thick script brings in the villains and the scheming begins (also slowing things down) as our protagonist (Brynner) sets his plans in motion by snooping and trying to uncover the mastermind behind this counterfeit ring. In between this are some intense exchanges, beat-downs, nasty encounters and sauna visiting amongst the London views.

There's clichés aplenty amongst the smokescreen of genre staples and throw in that racy big band score typical of the era. The plot is rather thin, as you can feel it being stretched out with the amount of repetitive actions occurring and its revelation feels abrupt making little headway, but I always found Brynner to be a very watchable actor despite that detached-persona and it does possess a dangerous edge never making the character feel too safe. The earnest direction is tranquil in manner and the handling rather practical in style, as the pace is leisured throughout making a little sluggish. Although its does come to a crushing end in the final stages with a downbeat final shot.

"He's rather a tough nut".

This movie was better than I had expected. The script is not exactly Oscar-caliber, but "Golden Goose" has good actors and an interesting story. The various location shots of London were impressive. Yul Brynner plays a U.S. Secret Service agent trying to bust up a counterfeiting ring.

THE FILE OF THE GOLDEN GOOSE is a British/American spy production that seems to have been made as an answer to the popularity of the James Bond franchise. Thus there are the requisite fisticuffs and characters being kidnapped and held hostage by bad guys and the like. At the same time, the milieu and plotting feel slightly more realistic, with a John Le Carre influence working behind the scenes. The skullduggery works quite well and Yul Brynner is a likeable presence who bounces off supporting actors like Edward Woodward. I'm not sure anyone could take Graham Crowden's villain seriously, but generally this is watchable, if flawed, stuff.

U.S. secret service agent YUL BRYNNER is enlisted by Scotland Yard to infiltrate a forgery ring distributing phony U.S. currency in London. He joins a Scotland Yard man EDWARD WOODWARD in this story that appears to be a remake of T-MEN, a thriller from the '40s that starred Dennis O'Keefe in the Brynner role. This version starts in the same terse documentary style as the American film.

It's Brynner who decides the best way to capture the mob is to infiltrate them, with Woodward as his back-up, a man with a wife and two children. Brynner is motivated by revenge. His sweetheart was killed in America by men who meant to kill him. Brynner has his misgivings about Woodward. "A married man should be sitting behind a desk shoving papers." He's afraid Woodward won't be a good back-up for him since he refuses to carry a gun.

The London backgrounds add flavor to the story, but the script is a cumbersome one, lacking the tension of T-MEN. Dull stretches toward the middle of the story take away from interest for the overall story to have the desired effect. Sam Wanamaker's direction is much too sluggish for this kind of yarn. CHARLES GRAY does a nice job as "The Owl".

The storyline is so similar in detail to T-MEN that it's an example of how a 1940s film noir filmed in shadowy B&W can be so superior to this Technicolor remake shifted to London locales but otherwise much the same story, except for some minor changes toward the conclusion.

Summing up: Should have generated more suspense. A better editing job would have helped the sluggish pace of a film that is not without a certain amount of intrigue and danger.

A routine,uninspired secret agent thriller.What is not generally acknowledged is that this film is a remake of Anthony Mann's first-class 'B' Film Noir T-MEN(1947).The original had far more resonance and atmosphere(mainly because of Mann's effective direction and John Alton's moody monochrome photography).THE FILE OF THE GOLDEN GOOSE has touristy views of London,flat colour imagery,and unremarkable direction by Sam Wanamaker.Wanamaker,a fine actor,never really made it as a film director,and despite some reputable performers here,like Yul Brynner(in the old Dennis O'Keefe role),and Edward Woodward(in the doomed Alfred Ryder part),the result is a just passable time-waster.