Review of Puppet on a Chain (1970) by Ola G — 13 Apr 2016

When three hippie drug-dealers are murdered by "the assassin" (Peter Hutchins) in Los Angeles, the U.S. government sends special agent Paul Sherman (Sven-Bertil Taube) to track down the European source of heroin that is causing the drug war. Sherman was born in Holland, but it is clear that Amsterdam's chief of police, Colonel De Graaf (Alexander Knox) is unhappy with having the Americans interfere in Dutch affairs. However, Sherman's direct contact, Inspector Van Gelder (Patrick Allen) is more cooperative, since his niece, Trudi (Penny Casdagli) suffered brain damage after a heroin overdose. When Sherman makes contact with a under cover agent from Washington named Maggie (Barbara Parkins), he almost immediately has a brutal encounter with "the assassin," indicating that the drug dealers have someone on the inside...

"Puppet on a chain" was made and released about two years after its source novel of the same name by Alistair MacLean (first published in 1969). It was MacLean's fourteenth novel and this movie was the seventh film adaptation of one of MacLean's stories. This movie has been on my to see list for a very long time and it was quite of my liking. The famous Swedish musical artist Sven-Bertil Taube is solid as Paul Sherman and he has both the looks and the weight to portray a special agent. I love the slightly psychedelic touch in the film, the setting of lovely Amsterdam, the stunning Barbara Parkins, the action scenes leading up to the intense boat chase along the canals of Amsterdam, the morals of what drugs do to you and the touch of James Bond´s blessing hovering over its villains and plotline. Yes, the acting is maybe a bit wobbly and the green screens emerge every now and then. But, all in all "Puppet on a chain" is definitely ok in my book.