Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		4.0

The File of the Golden Goose Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 8, 2023

Sam Wanamaker's "The File of the Golden Goose" (1969) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The only bonus feature on the release is a vintage trailer for the film. In English, without optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The man from New York

As a director, Sam Wanamaker focused primarily on TV projects. For example, Wanamaker directed a couple of episodes for the 1960s TV series Hawk with Burt Reynolds, which were very good, a single episode for the 1970s TV series Return of the Saint, which did not meet expectations, and a couple of episodes for the classic TV series Columbo. However, Wanamaker’s best work was in the spy thriller The Executioner, which teamed up George Peppard and Joan Collins, though this film is difficult to group with the big hits the famous actors made. Today, The Executioner is good primarily for late-night viewing only, especially when one feels nostalgic about the 1970s.

The File of the Golden Goose has a very similar retro appeal. Wanamaker directed it a year before The Executioner and the story it tells is about a complex conspiracy involving several sleek international players as well. All but two of these players are counterfeiters who have created an international distribution system that is slowly but steadily flooding several big cities with fake American dollars. When the fake dollars are detected by authorities in New York City and London, American Secret Service agent Peter Novak (Yul Brynner) and Scotland Yard agent Arthur Thompson (Edward Woodward) are summoned and ordered to identify the counterfeiters and then destroy their business.

Novak and Thompson begin working as a team in Liverpool because there is enough evidence that somewhere in the city someone operates the printing machines that are making the fake dollars. Soon after, while pretending to be counterfeiters that have acquired brilliant printing plates that can produce fake dollars that are as good as the ones the U.S. government prints, Novak and Thompson connect with The Owl (Charles Gray), a very sleazy but well-connected criminal, who agrees to introduce them to other criminals with deep pockets that might be interested in forming a business partnership. However, several unexpected developments force Novak and Thompson to begin improvising in some quite dangerous ways and eventually the latter’s true identity is revealed. Novak chooses to continue the operation but reaching the mastermind behind the counterfeiting business proves a far more complicated task than initially anticipated.

The File of the Golden Goose is based on an original story by John Higgins, which is the same story that inspired Anthony Mann to direct the excellent film noir T-Men two decades earlier. However, excluding some key plot elements The File of the Golden Goose and T-Men are very difficult to view as similar films. Why? Because The File of the Golden Goose moves the drama and action to the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, in England, where it introduces completely different relationships. So, picking the better film is very much a pointless exercise.

Despite a pretty good supporting cast, The File of the Golden Goose relies exclusively on Brynner to make it appear attractive. Brynner easily succeeds in doing so, but it is difficult not to admit that this is a flaw that could have been avoided. Indeed, once Brynner and Woodward earn the trust of the counterfeiters and the latter is removed the quality of the suspense decreases rather dramatically because it is obvious that the former must continue the mission alone and stay alive until the end of it. Also, the change in tone that occurs around the same time moves The File of the Golden Goose quite close to genre films like Deadlier Than the Male, but Brynner is not right for that kind of a colorful European spoof. Brynner plays an American macho guy whose sense of humor is never as effective as his fists.

The abundance of footage from several popular areas in London unintentionally transforms The File of the Golden Goose into a curious time capsule. Wanamaker shot the film with cinematographer Ken Hodges (A Weekend with Lulu).

The File of the Golden Goose Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The File of the Golden Goose arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from a very nice remaster. While there are a few areas where minor density fluctuations are noticeable, the entire film has a very solid, very attractive organic appearance. I assume that the remaster was struck from an interpositive, but even if I am wrong you should expect the visuals to reveal that type of quality. In some darker areas, shadow nuances could be better, while during daylight footage highlights could be balance a bit better, but there are no distracting anomalies to report. Color balance is stable and convincing. Saturation levels could have been a bit more convincing, and if they were they would have helped the dynamic range of the visuals appear more satisfying, but I liked how the film looked on my system a lot. Image stability is good. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. I saw a few nicks and blemishes, but there are no large distracting cuts, debris, stains, warped or torn frames to report. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The File of the Golden Goose Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are not provided for the main feature.

The audio is clear and easy to follow. It does have a few uneven areas, but it is easy to tell that the fluctuations are inherited. Dynamic intensity is unimpressive. However, the lossless track reproduces the native qualities of the original soundtrack. There are no audio dropouts or distortions to report in our review.

The File of the Golden Goose Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - a vintage trailer for The File of the Golden Goose. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

The File of the Golden Goose Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you have acquired Shout Factory's recent 4K Blu-ray release of The Magnificent Seven and now feel inspired to pick up lesser-known films with Yul Brynner for your collection, you may consider The File of the Golden Goose while it is still available on Blu-ray. In it, Brynner plays an American Secret Service agent that travels to London to take down a large and very well-connected gang of counterfeiters that are flooding some of the biggest cities around the world with fake dollars. The File of the Golden Goose is impossible to rank among Brynner's best films but despite some obvious flaws offers good late-night entertainment. Kino Lorber's release is sourced from a solid organic master but its only bonus feature is a vintage trailer. RECOMMENDED.