Tintin and the Golden Fleece (Consortium Pathé, 1961)
- Image © Hergé/Moulinsart.
- Casting details:
- Tintin – Jean-Pierre Talbot, Captain Haddock – Georges Wilson
- Production details:
- Music – André Popp
- Writers:
- André Barret and Rémo Forlani
- Colour, 94 mins.
- Plot:
Haddock receives a letter at Marlinspike informing him that one of his old shipmates – Paparanic - is dead, and has left him a ship, the Golden Fleece. Tintin and the Captain travel to Istanbul to collect the vessel from the port. The ship is in terrible condition, and to their shock, a man immediately appears offering to buy the ship for a very high price. The Captain wisely refuses, but the man offers him his card, with a red crocodile pictured on the front, and "Karexport" written in large print. He also threatens the Captain. Several mishaps occur, but eventually the Golden Fleece sails to Athens with a mysterious crew. As soon as the ship has docked, one of the crew enters an office marked "Karexport".
Tintin and Haddock seek out Midas Papos, another former shipmate of the Captain's old friend. He is shocked when he learns of the death of his friend, and is about to make a comment about him, when a shot is fired from a gun in the window and tossed into the room, landing in the Captain's arms just in time for Midas Papos' staff to rush in and see the Captain with the gun. Tintin and Haddock are arrested but set free when the Thompsons produce the appropriate papers.
Meanwhile, Tintin has drawn five silhouettes on the cell wall – using the handle on a spoon – representing the figures (Paparanic, Papos, Anton Karabine … and the other two are unknown) from a photograph given to them by Midas Papos. Tintin spots a runaway prisoner from the Golden Fleece, and fetches the Captain. When he reappears from a building, he is being driven away. The group follow in a taxi, careering out of Athens, and onto hazardous country lanes. They eventually lose several precious minutes due to the Thompsons’ antics. They discover the car parked in a village, sadly the prisoner is nowhere to be seen. An inn proprietor welcomes them enthusiastically, and invites them to a wedding! A long dancing sequence then takes place. No one notices the escaped prisoner slipping across behind the musicians. The Captain has obviously forgotten the purpose of the journey. Tintin realises that a musician is one of the men in the photograph, and guesses that the prisoner must have arrived to find this man. They discover him (Scoubidouvitch, as they later discover) being pushed into a car. Snowy discovers a motorbike, and a chase ensues.
After a lengthy scene, a bus appears. The prisoner (Angorapoulos) wrenches the wheel to avoid a crash, and the car bounces over a ravine, then bursts into flames. Angorapoulos and his thugs hurl themselves clear and run. Tintin and Haddock scramble down the hillside. Scobidouvitch is half dead as they pull him out of the car ; seconds later the petrol tank blows up. Scobidouvitch explains that some treasure was taken by Paparanic in Tetaragua. He also tells of the fifth man, Alexander Timochenko, who has now become a monk.
Tintin and Haddock leave Scobidouvitch and set off for the monastery. Tintin wonders whether ‘Father Alexander’ will be able to solve the mystery. They discover that the path to the monastery is very steep, and must be climbed. Father Alexander is a dignified old man. The one-time adventurer now spends his days in prayer and meditation. He tells Tintin and Haddock what happened in Tetaragua. He reveals that the treasure was gold from the National Bank, and he never knew what happened to it. They leave the monastery, and in the process of returning to the Golden Fleece, discover a treasure map of the island of Thassika, and believe that that is where Paparanic hid the gold. When they arrive at the Golden Fleece, Calculus has arrived. He announces that he has invented a new fuel: Cuthburtoleum. They set to work on the charts. An alarm bell rings, Tintin runs downstairs, and discovers Yefim (yet another mysterious sailor) emptying the fuel tanks. Tintin throws him overboard and they watch him swim away.
Calculus shows the disappointed Haddock a small box of red tablets. He explains that these tablets will improve the effectiveness of a low fuel supply. The Captain empties the entire box into the tanks. The Golden Fleece shoots out into the sea like a torpedo. They reach Thassika in record time. Suddenly, they hear the noise of a helicopter above. Tintin decides to dive for the treasure anyway. He finds a chest, and when opened, discovers that it is filled with bars. Haddock wipes away some of the slime, and has no doubt that the bar is gold. They are so busy with the chest, that they don’t notice a rubber dinghy creeping under the stern of the Golden Fleece. The Captain spots them, but it’s too late – Angorapoulos has a gun pointed at him. He hasn’t a chance. The Captain is soon floundering helplessly in a net.
Karabine mocks Haddock, telling him that he’d warned him to be sensible, and sell him the ship in the first place. Tintin rises for the second time – face to face with Karabine. He fires into the water three times at point-blank range. With the gold aboard, Karabine holds all the cards. Angorapoulos lights a short fuse to a charge of dynamite. At this point, a launch appears, carrying the Thompsons and the Greek police. Karabine fights back. The crew load the chest into the helicopter. On the Golden Fleece, the fuse burns. With a sudden roar, the helicopter rises from the ground. Karabine shouts at the pilot for not obeying his orders to just start the engines. “Good afternoon Mr. Karabine”, says Tintin, with a smile. With a backward flick of the arm, Tintin knocks the gun from his hand. Karabine tells Tintin that he may not get the gold, but neither will they, and opens a trapdoor, out of which the gold plummets into the sea. The gold is lost, but at least the Golden Fleece is safe, thanks to Snowy. He had bitten through his bonds and rolled onto the burning fuse. Luckily, there was a barrel of water on deck, and Snowy ended up none the worse for his adventure. Haddock doesn’t seem to mind that the gold is lost. However, Calculus announces that the gold is still here: in the guard-rails!
Paparanic had hidden the treasure where no one would dream of looking. Some weeks later, at Marlinspike Hall, a celebration is held. With the gold safely back in the National Bank, the Tetaraguan government have conferred on Haddock their highest honour, the Order of the Scarlet Cheetah.
- Review:
This was the first Tintin movie using actors to play the characters. The personalities of the characters are perfect and the adventure is just like a classic Tintin tale, although it was not written by Hergé, instead it was created by André Barret and Rémo Forlani. Jean-Pierre Talbot fits the role of Tintin very well indeed ; in fact, all the actors look very similar to their fictional counterparts. There are many good scenes in this movie, such as the motorbike chase and Calculus' superfuel. This film has aged well and is very enjoyable and exciting.
- Movie book:
- Tintin and the Mystery of the Golden Fleece, Editions Casterman, Tournai, 1962.