Tintin and the Golden Fleece
Encyclopedia
Tintin and the Golden Fleece (in the original French, Tintin et le mystère de la Toison d'or, meaning Tintin and the Mystery of the Golden Fleece) is a film first released in France
on December 6, 1961. Featuring characters from the The Adventures of Tintin
comic book series written and drawn by the Belgian
writer-artist Hergé
, it was a live-action film with actors made-up to look like the characters and featured an original storyline not based on any of the books.
The film is set in Turkey
and Greece
with the main characters of Tintin and Captain Haddock
searching for treasure after inheriting a ship called the Golden Fleece. The film was followed by a less successful sequel, Tintin and the Blue Oranges
.
(Georges Wilson
) learns that an old shipmate, Paparanic, has died and left him a ship, the Golden Fleece. Tintin
(Jean-Pierre Talbot
), Snowy
and the Captain travel to Istanbul
only to find that it is an old cargo ship
in a really dilapidated state. A businessman named Anton Karabine (Demetrios Yra) claims to be an old friend of Paparanic and offers to buy the boat for "sentimental" reasons, but the huge amounts that he offers makes Tintin suspicious and on his advice Haddock turns the offer down.
During their stay in Istanbul, a stranger offers to take Tintin and Haddock on a guided tour during which there are two attempts on their lives. This makes them all the more determined to find out what is going on. One of the clauses of Paparanic's will was that Haddock, on accepting the ship, should also fulfil his current obligations and thus they set off for Athens
to deliver some carpets. During the journey Tintin catches a member of the crew, Angorapoulos (Marcel Bozzuffi
), searching through Paparanic's papers. He is subdued and locked in the hold but escapes.
In Athens
, Tintin and Haddock go to the carpet seller Midas Papos (Darío Moreno
) who turns out to be another of Paparanic's old shipmates. He is grief-stricken to learn of his friend's death and is about to make a comment about him when he is shot by a man from the window and the gun tossed into the room. Caught holding the gun, Tintin and Haddock are arrested but released thanks to the influence of their friends Thomson and Thompson
and Papos, who has recovered in hospital.
An old newspaper article shows that in their youth Paparanic, Papos and Karabine were adventurers who were involved in a coup in the Central America
n republic of Tetaragua. The article includes a photo of the three of them, plus two strangers, who formed a short-lived government.
Tintin later spots Angorapoulos in a barber's shop and follows him to the local offices of Karexport, which Tintin knows is run by Karabine. When Angorapoulos leaves by car Tintin and his friends follow him to a village out in the countryside where he and some accomplices kidnap a musician at a wedding. Tintin and the captain give chase on a motorbike. The crooks' car is forced off the road when it almost colides with a coach and the villains flee on foot. The kidnap victim, Scoubidou
vitch (Dimos Starenios), was the fourth man in the photo. He suffers from "memory loss" but reveals that a large amount of gold is involved and suggests that Tintin and Haddock consult a Father Alexandre (Charles Vanel
) who lives in a mountain-top monastery
.
Father Alexandre, the fifth man in the photo, is himself a former adventurer who has repented and now spends his days in prayer and meditation. He reveals that when forced out of government in Tetaragua, he and his four comrades took a large quantity of gold from the central bank. Paparanic took the lion's share of the loot while the rest was spread among the others. It's now clear that Karabine wants Paparanic's gold. Before Tintin and Haddock leave, Father Alexandre gives them a bottle of red wine which Paparanic gave him while visiting him last Christmas and told him to drink after his death. Since the priest now abstains from alcohol he entrusts it to his visitors. On the way down from the mountain, Haddock accidentally breaks the bottle, the label of which turns out to be a map, obviously showing the location of Paparanic's gold.
Tintin and Haddock return to the Golden Fleece where they have been joined by their friend Professor Cuthbert Calculus. Another crew member drains the oil out of the engines in order to prevent the ship from leaving port but Calculus has invented a special tablet called Super-Cuthbertoleum which, mixed with the remaining fuel, is more than enough to get the boat started and enables them to reach their destination, the island of Thassika.
The map includes an X just off the island's coast and, using his pendulum
, Calculus locates the gold's location. Swimming underwater, Tintin discovers a chest filled with strange dark bars but which he guesses is the gold which has been painted over. No sooner have the members of the Golden Fleece got the chest out of the water that they are held at gunpoint by Karabine, Angorapoulos and their men who got discreetly aboard. Tintin is shot at and falls back into the water while his friends are locked into a cabin and a fuse is set to blow the ship up with dynamite
.
Karabine and his men take the chest back to their helicopter
only to come under attack by the police, including Thomson and Thompson. Karabine gets aboard the helicopter which suddenly takes off. It turns out that Tintin has replaced the pilot! Karabine tries to force him to land, but Tintin disarms him. Beaten, the crook announces that no-one will get the gold, opens a hatch and lets the chest fall into the ocean.
Tintin's dog Snowy manages to put out the fuse that was about to blow up the ship. Unfortunately the chest is in a deep part of the sea and beyond recovery. However, using his pendulum, Calculus insists that they are still right above the gold. Cutting away at the paint on the ship's railings Tintin realises that they are in fact the camouflaged gold. The chest contained the real railings and was just a red herring.
Back home at Marlinspike Hall
, another letter arrives for Captain Haddock, this time from the Government in Tetaragua, thanking him for the return of their gold. Furthermore, it reports that the main square in the capital has been renamed Paparanic Square, and Haddock awarded Tetaragua's highest decoration, the Order of the Scarlet Cheetah
- a large medal is enclosed with the letter. Then he and Tintin are treated to a visit by the local band to help celebrate.
The actors playing Thomson and Thompson are listed as "incognito" in the end credits.
Snowy the dog is credited as Milou, which is his original French name.
Marcel Bozzuffi
, who plays the thug Angorapoulos, is best known as the hitman pursued in the famous car chase and shot by Gene Hackman
in The French Connection
.
, it is not in comic strip form, but is made up of written text with stills from the film, some in colour, others in black and white. Today, the English translation is highly sought after by collectors.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
on December 6, 1961. Featuring characters from the The Adventures of Tintin
The Adventures of Tintin
The Adventures of Tintin is a series of classic comic books created by Belgian artist , who wrote under the pen name of Hergé...
comic book series written and drawn by the Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
writer-artist Hergé
Hergé
Georges Prosper Remi , better known by the pen name Hergé, was a Belgian comics writer and artist. His best known and most substantial work is the 23 completed comic books in The Adventures of Tintin series, which he wrote and illustrated from 1929 until his death in 1983, although he was also...
, it was a live-action film with actors made-up to look like the characters and featured an original storyline not based on any of the books.
The film is set in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
with the main characters of Tintin and Captain Haddock
Captain Haddock
Captain Archibald Haddock is a fictional character in The Adventures of Tintin, the series of classic Belgian comic books written and illustrated by Hergé...
searching for treasure after inheriting a ship called the Golden Fleece. The film was followed by a less successful sequel, Tintin and the Blue Oranges
Tintin and the Blue Oranges
Tintin and the Blue Oranges is a 1964 French film directed by Philippe Condroyer and starring Jean-Pierre Talbot as Tintin. It was the second live-action movie, with an original story based on characters from the comic book series The Adventures of Tintin, written and drawn by the Belgian artist...
.
Plot
Captain HaddockCaptain Haddock
Captain Archibald Haddock is a fictional character in The Adventures of Tintin, the series of classic Belgian comic books written and illustrated by Hergé...
(Georges Wilson
Georges Wilson
Georges Wilson was a French film and television actor. He is the father of French actor Lambert Wilson.Wilson was born in Champigny-sur-Marne, Seine , to a French father and an Irish mother...
) learns that an old shipmate, Paparanic, has died and left him a ship, the Golden Fleece. Tintin
Tintin (character)
Tintin is a fictional character in The Adventures of Tintin, the series of classic Belgian comic books written and illustrated by Hergé. Tintin is the protagonist of the series, a reporter and adventurer who travels around the world with his dog Snowy....
(Jean-Pierre Talbot
Jean-Pierre Talbot
Jean-Pierre Talbot is a former Belgian actor.A teacher by profession, Talbot was first noted for his physical resemblance to that of Tintin while sports instructor on a beach in Ostend. He was introduced to Hergé who sympathized with him immediately...
), Snowy
Snowy (character)
Snowy is a fictional character in The Adventures of Tintin, the series of classic Belgian comic books written and illustrated by Hergé. He is a white Wire Fox Terrier and Tintin's four-legged companion who travels everywhere with him...
and the Captain travel to Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
only to find that it is an old cargo ship
Cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
in a really dilapidated state. A businessman named Anton Karabine (Demetrios Yra) claims to be an old friend of Paparanic and offers to buy the boat for "sentimental" reasons, but the huge amounts that he offers makes Tintin suspicious and on his advice Haddock turns the offer down.
During their stay in Istanbul, a stranger offers to take Tintin and Haddock on a guided tour during which there are two attempts on their lives. This makes them all the more determined to find out what is going on. One of the clauses of Paparanic's will was that Haddock, on accepting the ship, should also fulfil his current obligations and thus they set off for Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
to deliver some carpets. During the journey Tintin catches a member of the crew, Angorapoulos (Marcel Bozzuffi
Marcel Bozzuffi
Marcel Bozzuffi was a French film actor, perhaps best remembered for his role as a brutal hitman in the Oscar-winning US film The French Connection...
), searching through Paparanic's papers. He is subdued and locked in the hold but escapes.
In Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, Tintin and Haddock go to the carpet seller Midas Papos (Darío Moreno
Darío Moreno
Darío Moreno was a Turkish polyglot singer of Jewish origin, as well as an accomplished composer, lyricist and guitarist, who was born in Aydın, Turkey, in 1921, and who attained fame and made a remarkable career centered in France which also included films, during the fifties and the...
) who turns out to be another of Paparanic's old shipmates. He is grief-stricken to learn of his friend's death and is about to make a comment about him when he is shot by a man from the window and the gun tossed into the room. Caught holding the gun, Tintin and Haddock are arrested but released thanks to the influence of their friends Thomson and Thompson
Thomson and Thompson
Thomson and Thompson are fictional characters in The Adventures of Tintin, the series of classic Belgian comic books written and illustrated by Hergé. Thomson and Thompson are detectives of Scotland Yard, and are as incompetent as they are necessary comic relief...
and Papos, who has recovered in hospital.
An old newspaper article shows that in their youth Paparanic, Papos and Karabine were adventurers who were involved in a coup in the Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
n republic of Tetaragua. The article includes a photo of the three of them, plus two strangers, who formed a short-lived government.
Tintin later spots Angorapoulos in a barber's shop and follows him to the local offices of Karexport, which Tintin knows is run by Karabine. When Angorapoulos leaves by car Tintin and his friends follow him to a village out in the countryside where he and some accomplices kidnap a musician at a wedding. Tintin and the captain give chase on a motorbike. The crooks' car is forced off the road when it almost colides with a coach and the villains flee on foot. The kidnap victim, Scoubidou
Scoubidou
Scoubidou is a plaiting and knotting craft, originally aimed at children. It originated in France, where it became a fad in the late 1950s and has remained popular...
vitch (Dimos Starenios), was the fourth man in the photo. He suffers from "memory loss" but reveals that a large amount of gold is involved and suggests that Tintin and Haddock consult a Father Alexandre (Charles Vanel
Charles Vanel
Charles-Marie Vanel, known as Charles Vanel was a French director and actor. He made his screen debut in 1912, in Robert Péguy's Jim Crow...
) who lives in a mountain-top monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
.
Father Alexandre, the fifth man in the photo, is himself a former adventurer who has repented and now spends his days in prayer and meditation. He reveals that when forced out of government in Tetaragua, he and his four comrades took a large quantity of gold from the central bank. Paparanic took the lion's share of the loot while the rest was spread among the others. It's now clear that Karabine wants Paparanic's gold. Before Tintin and Haddock leave, Father Alexandre gives them a bottle of red wine which Paparanic gave him while visiting him last Christmas and told him to drink after his death. Since the priest now abstains from alcohol he entrusts it to his visitors. On the way down from the mountain, Haddock accidentally breaks the bottle, the label of which turns out to be a map, obviously showing the location of Paparanic's gold.
Tintin and Haddock return to the Golden Fleece where they have been joined by their friend Professor Cuthbert Calculus. Another crew member drains the oil out of the engines in order to prevent the ship from leaving port but Calculus has invented a special tablet called Super-Cuthbertoleum which, mixed with the remaining fuel, is more than enough to get the boat started and enables them to reach their destination, the island of Thassika.
The map includes an X just off the island's coast and, using his pendulum
Pendulum
A pendulum is a weight suspended from a pivot so that it can swing freely. When a pendulum is displaced from its resting equilibrium position, it is subject to a restoring force due to gravity that will accelerate it back toward the equilibrium position...
, Calculus locates the gold's location. Swimming underwater, Tintin discovers a chest filled with strange dark bars but which he guesses is the gold which has been painted over. No sooner have the members of the Golden Fleece got the chest out of the water that they are held at gunpoint by Karabine, Angorapoulos and their men who got discreetly aboard. Tintin is shot at and falls back into the water while his friends are locked into a cabin and a fuse is set to blow the ship up with dynamite
Dynamite
Dynamite is an explosive material based on nitroglycerin, initially using diatomaceous earth , or another absorbent substance such as powdered shells, clay, sawdust, or wood pulp. Dynamites using organic materials such as sawdust are less stable and such use has been generally discontinued...
.
Karabine and his men take the chest back to their helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
only to come under attack by the police, including Thomson and Thompson. Karabine gets aboard the helicopter which suddenly takes off. It turns out that Tintin has replaced the pilot! Karabine tries to force him to land, but Tintin disarms him. Beaten, the crook announces that no-one will get the gold, opens a hatch and lets the chest fall into the ocean.
Tintin's dog Snowy manages to put out the fuse that was about to blow up the ship. Unfortunately the chest is in a deep part of the sea and beyond recovery. However, using his pendulum, Calculus insists that they are still right above the gold. Cutting away at the paint on the ship's railings Tintin realises that they are in fact the camouflaged gold. The chest contained the real railings and was just a red herring.
Back home at Marlinspike Hall
Marlinspike Hall
Marlinspike Hall is Captain Haddock's country house in Hergé's comic book series The Adventures of Tintin.The hall is modeled after the central section of the Château de Cheverny...
, another letter arrives for Captain Haddock, this time from the Government in Tetaragua, thanking him for the return of their gold. Furthermore, it reports that the main square in the capital has been renamed Paparanic Square, and Haddock awarded Tetaragua's highest decoration, the Order of the Scarlet Cheetah
Cheetah
The cheetah is a large-sized feline inhabiting most of Africa and parts of the Middle East. The cheetah is the only extant member of the genus Acinonyx, most notable for modifications in the species' paws...
- a large medal is enclosed with the letter. Then he and Tintin are treated to a visit by the local band to help celebrate.
Cast
- Jean-Pierre TalbotJean-Pierre TalbotJean-Pierre Talbot is a former Belgian actor.A teacher by profession, Talbot was first noted for his physical resemblance to that of Tintin while sports instructor on a beach in Ostend. He was introduced to Hergé who sympathized with him immediately...
as Tintin - Georges WilsonGeorges WilsonGeorges Wilson was a French film and television actor. He is the father of French actor Lambert Wilson.Wilson was born in Champigny-sur-Marne, Seine , to a French father and an Irish mother...
as Captain Haddock - Georges Loriot as Professor Calculus
- Charles VanelCharles VanelCharles-Marie Vanel, known as Charles Vanel was a French director and actor. He made his screen debut in 1912, in Robert Péguy's Jim Crow...
as Father Alexandre - Darío MorenoDarío MorenoDarío Moreno was a Turkish polyglot singer of Jewish origin, as well as an accomplished composer, lyricist and guitarist, who was born in Aydın, Turkey, in 1921, and who attained fame and made a remarkable career centered in France which also included films, during the fifties and the...
as Midas Papos - Dimos Starenios as Scoubidouvitch
- Ulvi UrazUlvi UrazUlvi Uraz was a Turkish theater and film actor and director.-External links:*...
as Malik - Marcel BozzuffiMarcel BozzuffiMarcel Bozzuffi was a French film actor, perhaps best remembered for his role as a brutal hitman in the Oscar-winning US film The French Connection...
as Angorapoulos - Demetrios Myrat as Karabine
- Henri Soya as Clodion
- Max ElloyMax ElloyMax Elloy was a French film actor. He appeared in 50 films between 1942 and 1967.-Selected filmography:* Return to Life * Moineaux de Paris * Certains l'aiment froide...
as Nestor - Serge MarquandSerge MarquandSerge Marquand was a French actor and film producer of advanced leukemia.He was the brother of Nadine Trintignant and Christian Marquand.- Filmography :* 1959 : Les Liaisons dangereuses by Roger Vadim : un skieur...
as Farmer - Michel Thomass as Yéfime
- Dora StratouDora StratouDora Stratou was a significant contributor to Greek Folk Dancing and Greek Folk Music. She issued one of the largest series of folk music in the world with 50 records and is the founder of the Greek Dances-Dora Stratou Society....
as Panegyrist
The actors playing Thomson and Thompson are listed as "incognito" in the end credits.
Snowy the dog is credited as Milou, which is his original French name.
Marcel Bozzuffi
Marcel Bozzuffi
Marcel Bozzuffi was a French film actor, perhaps best remembered for his role as a brutal hitman in the Oscar-winning US film The French Connection...
, who plays the thug Angorapoulos, is best known as the hitman pursued in the famous car chase and shot by Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman
Eugene Allen "Gene" Hackman is an American actor and novelist.Nominated for five Academy Awards, winning two, Hackman has also won three Golden Globes and two BAFTAs in a career that spanned five decades. He first came to fame in 1967 with his performance as Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde...
in The French Connection
The French Connection (film)
This article is about the 1971 film. For the British fashion label, see French Connection .The French Connection is a 1971 American crime film directed by William Friedkin. The film was adapted and fictionalized by Ernest Tidyman from the non-fiction book by Robin Moore...
.
Book version
The film was made into a book, in French, English and Spanish. Unlike most of the Tintin books, including that of the animated film Tintin and the Lake of SharksTintin and the Lake of Sharks
Tintin and the Lake of Sharks is a Tintin animated film, directed by Raymond Leblanc . It was not written by Hergé, who supervised, but by the Belgian comics creator Greg , a friend of Hergé...
, it is not in comic strip form, but is made up of written text with stills from the film, some in colour, others in black and white. Today, the English translation is highly sought after by collectors.