The Scorpion label has brought the 1972 film version of Alistair MacLean's best-selling spy novel Puppet on a Chain to DVD. The oft-requested title had only been available in certain parts of Europe. Cinema Retro Editor-in-Chief Lee Pfeiffer is joined by columnist Todd Garbarini and contributor Paul Scrabo on the commentary track, which not only discusses this film, but the spy movie genre in general. The film was not successful financially or critically at the time, but its merits have been re-evaluated over the years. In particular, the spectacular boat chase in the canals of Amsterdam was very obviously the inspiration for a similar sequence set in the bayous of Louisiana in the James Bond flick Live and Let Die. Scorpion has also included some other bonus extras on this DVD release. Since it would a conflict of interest to review the merits of the DVD, we'll link to critic Paul Mavis's review on DVD Talk.
(For Dean Brierly's coverage of the making of Puppet on a Chain, see Cinema Retro issue #14)
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