Golden Boy (Altun Cocuk)
1966, reissued 2009
Onar Films
B&W
Turkish
with English or Greek subtitles
`What
do these Turkish spy films of the 60s have over, say, James Bond? Well, more
women for a start. More gunfights. Lots more action. On the negative side they
have uglier cars, dreadful theme songs and background music that sounds like
the world’s worst jazz band. The sound synchronization is almost as bad. The
plots are about as believable as a Bond story, as are the villains.
Golden
Boy is actually a pretty good film for its day even allowing for the black and
white film, and Onar has done a magnificent job of restoring it. Goksel Arsoy,
who plays agent Golden Boy, is as handsome in B&W as in colour. Somehow the
B&W makes the villains look even more villainous. The formula worked and
the Golden Boy series ran to three more films in quick succession.
The
plot is conventional. The baddies are going to blow up Turkey’s “nuclear
facility” using radio waves beamed from their secret headquarters in an old
lighthouse. It is Golden Boy’s job to stop them, in between seducing beautiful
but willing women, fighting off the evil henchmen and the occasional killing.
It is all done in good fun and although it is obviously in the style of James
Bond it has a Turkish style of its own – fewer gimmicks and more women.
As
befits a more historic film like this there is a host of relevant extras
including interviews, filmographies, biographies and an article on the
Turkish spy film genre.
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