Narcotic Bureau

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!

Soulless, silly international co-production boasts picture postcard cinematography in Amsterdam and other locales but is too generic and clichéd otherwise to drum up much excitement. The nominal hero is as stiff and expressionless as a Ken doll, and the vaunted boat chase -- staple of the trailer and TV commercials of the time -- is technically well-executed but out of place in what was supposed to be an adaptation of MacLean's dark, complex tale of drug smuggling, murder and espionage.

This is one of those many cases where producers obtained rights to a valuable property and then jettisoned 90% of what made it memorable or effective; particularly inexplicable in this case, as MacLean is listed as one of the screenwriters! A good (or bad) example of those infamous multi-national 'tax shelter' film productions of the 60's/early 70's.

For better MacLean, look to THE GUNS OF NAVARONE, BREAKHEART PASS or WHERE EAGLES DARE.

Truly atmospheric Euro-thriller from the early seventies, boasting one of the best chase sequences ever, and a plot riddled with holes.

US Agent Paul Sherman (Taube) arrives in Amsterdam to investigate drug trafficking between Holland and the US. Together with undercover agent Maggie (Parkins) he begins to close in on the villains...

Given that Sherman and Maggie are working together, they don't seem to share much information. If they had debriefed each other a little more thoroughly, much of what eventually transpires could so easily have been avoided (e.g., how come Maggie fails to tell Paul about the dodgy nuns and the bibles she witnesses in church?). This (and the unexplained accents - a Swede playing a Dutch-American, a Brit and a Canadian playing Dutch) aside, it's action-packed, makes great use of its Dutch locations, and has a nice twisty ending.

Extra-groovy nightclub scene too!

In Amsterdam to track down a murderous heroin smuggling ring, US agent Paul Sherman faces deadly danger at every turn as he seeks to unravel the mystery of how the drug is transported to the US, and to unmask those responsible.

I was quite cautious of seeing this Alistair Maclean film adaptation because Maclean movies can be a mixed bag, some great, some not-so, however I was quite surprised. It's a not bad adaptation, of course it's not as great as the book - which is one of my favourite Maclean novels - but it captures the book's vicious underbelly of the drugs world, the seedy Amsterdam streets and its canals, and the macabre puppets on a chain fairly well. There's some gritty action, the fistfights can be quite brutal and exciting. There's plenty of judo moves! Of course, this is all overshadowed by a 9 minute rousing boat chase between the good guy and bad guy. The problem is that the plot doesn't flow well and it looks like it's joined up with glue, however it's reasonably watchable.

Sven-Bertil Taube is quite tough and determined as Sherman, though he comes off a bit as a shop floor dummy and lacks the sardonic wit of the character. The rest of the cast - Patrick Allen, the pretty Barbara Parkins, Alexander Knox, Penny Casdagli and Ania Marson - play their parts well.

Back in the early 1970's the name "Alistair MacLean" meant "bums on seats ~ ticket sales" and the cinematic release of one of his most recent novels "Puppet on a Chain" was no exception.

It is wrong to compare this action movie (as with many, many others) with the on-going JB007 franchise: this was a formulaic movie in its own field. The action scenes are great, the storyline was then bang up-to-date and the general production (if marred a little by lack of budget) of a high standard.

Contrary to other views, in my opinion, the leading actor Sven Bertil-Taube was excellent in the role (a shame the script required him to be an American agent) and he was well supported by several character (if rather stock) actors. Pehaps Barbara Perkins was not the best choice as leading lady and her character lacked realism but then this was never meant to be anything other than entertainment.

Contains a superb score by the Maestro: Piero Piccioni.

Far from perfect but still very good and worthy of a decent DVD release.