U.S. Secret Service agent Peter Novak goes undercover with Scotland Yard officer Thompson to halt a murderous gang of counterfeiters known as the Golden Goose. Although Peter is unsure about John's loyalties, the two infiltrate the gang and win the trust of thug Nick "The Owl" Harrison before enduring a series of double-crosses.
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The movie itself is a pedestrian crime movie that takes a tiny premise and extends it over the length of a movie. Not a good thing.So the movie basically stinks. But if you want a hoot, watch it to see Yul Brynner's horrifying attempt to sound like a New York "wiseguy" while swimming through his natural Russian accent. It's not so much the accent being silly, as the dialog being something from the "Dead End Kids".If people paid to see this in the theater, maybe it was a good escape since cable TV and the internet hadn't been invented yet. Or maybe they asked for their money back.Really dreadful.
While File of the Golden Goose is not a particularly well made film, it does have it's charms.This is one of those films one reaches for when you don't really want to watch a movie.Yul Brynner plays Secret Service Agent Peter Novak, who, after his girlfriend is caught and killed in the crossfire of bullets meant him, vows revenge on the counterfeiting ring responsible for the hit. In London, Novak and married policeman Arthur Thompson go undercover as surviving members of the infamous Golden Goose gang in order to infiltrate the counterfeiting ring.I've always enjoyed this movie because Yul Brynner appears to be having such fun as he digs deeper and deeper within the gang, intent on getting to the unknown Head Man.Charles Gray is suitably over the top in his performance as 'The Owl.' The homosexual distribution manager for the gang's counterfeit money.All in all, it's pretty entertaining. Brynner's terse dialog and intimidation factor work very well.Production quality is very good, from the opening of a boy and his dog at play on the beach to the finale at the mansion home of the gang's mastermindMy only complaints is the over the top sleaze in some places and the need for perhaps more fluid camera work during action scenes. It's almost like no one knew how to choreograph a film fight. Finally, the resolution of the identity of the 'Head Man' still falls flat, even after 40 years.Still, this is a fondly remembered film still enjoyed.But...if the gang had tried to kill Novak at the beginning of the movie, how could he expect to infiltrate them?
"The file of the golden goose" is entertaining stuff,if you are not asking too much.There are counterfeiters in those trouble times and their ambitions know no bounds ,they are spreading all over Europe ,including the United Kingdom,which is a shame.Fortunately ,Yul Brynner is at hand ,and with his colleague, he infiltrates the gang,pretending he is a specialist too.He meets Peter Van Eyck who is very fond of Turkish baths but ,against all expectations,is not the big boss.Best scene: Brynner's colleague,meeting his wife in a shopping arcade and pretending he's never met her.Nice cruise on the Thames.
If you are a big fan of Yul Brynner who plays the role of a U.S. Secret Service agent named Peter Novak, you will enjoy his great performance dealing with Scotland Yard policemen and a very dangerous counterfeiting ring of thugs. Novak joins up with his partner, Edward Woodward,(Arthur Thompson) who works for Scotland Yard and the two of them decide to work their way into this counterfeiting gang who are very clever and will kill you at the drop of a dime. Peter Novak runs into all kinds of situations and even a brothel and message parlors. This film runs rather long and it seemed to me they could have cut a great deal of this film on the cutting room floor, and the ending was very disappointing. However, all the actors in this film gave an outstanding performance and it was great to see this Classic 1969 film.