The Day of the Jackal Page #2

Synopsis: It is the early 60s in France. The remaining survivors of the aborted French Foreign Legion have made repeated attempts to kill DeGaulle. The result is that he is the most closely guarded man in the world. As a desperate act, they hire The Jackal, the code name for a hired killer who agrees to kill French President De Gaulle for half a million dollars. We watch his preparations which are so thorough we wonder how he could possibly fail even as we watch the French police attempt to pick up his trail. The situation is historically accurate. There were many such attempts and the film closely follows the plot of the book.
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Director(s): Fred Zinnemann
Production: Universal Pictures
  Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 10 nominations.
 
IMDB:
7.8
Metacritic:
80
Rotten Tomatoes:
90%
PG
Year:
1973
143 min
2,883 Views


Now boarding at Gate 5.

The Hotel Garibaldi is owned

by a Frenchman with OAS sympathies.

Extra Action Service staff have

been sent from Paris to Rome...

...to keep watching them around the clock.

Rodin, Montclair and Casson

live at the top floor alone.

On the next floor down are the bodyguards:

ex-paratroopers or foreign legionnaires.

How many?

- Eight.

They're afraid of being kidnapped.

I know Rodin.

He's not a man to be afraid.

The lift doors on the top floor

are welded together...

...and everything has to go

through the bodyguards.

Not one of them has set a foot

outside the hotel for five weeks.

The only contact

with the outside world is one man:

Adjutant Wolenski.

- Tell me about him.

Bersie, run the film, please.

This is Wolenski.

He goes to the post office

every morning and afternoon.

See that? You'll have to cut his

hand off to get the mail from him.

He always waits until

the collection van arrives...

...before he posts any letters.

Then he picks up the mail.

All their mail comes to general delivery...

...and is addressed in the name of Partrier.

Wolenski, of course,

can identify himself as such.

Colonel Rolland here.

I want everything you've got

on a foreign legionnaire.

His name is Viktor Wolenski.

- If the OAS is planning something...

...then their agents

must be working on it now.

You must find out who they are

and where they make contact.

I let myself in.

I'll make us some coffee.

Denise.

I ask you to get rid of these

for your own safety.

I'll do it tonight.

Maybe I should do it for you now.

They know all about your fiance.

I have an assignment for you

that sounds very important.

It's not very pleasant.

Go on.

They want you to get involved

with an Elysee Palace official...

...someone fairly close to de Gaulle.

It might be dangerous.

It's certainly distasteful.

Who is this official?

- I'll show him to you in a week.

Good afternoon.

- Yes, please come in.

You think you can do it?

- Certainly.

I can take an existing gun,

make the modifications.

It must be very light in weight,

and it must have a short barrel.

A short barrel.

That's a pity.

Lastly, there must be a silencer

and a telescopic sight.

Over what range will you fire?

I'm not sure yet, but probably

not more than 400 feet.

Will the gentleman be moving?

- Stationary.

Will you go for a head shot or a chest shot?

Probably head.

What about the chances of a second shot?

I might get the chance,

but I doubt it.

I'll need a silencer to escape.

Then you'd better have explosive bullets.

I can prepare a handful for you.

- Glycerin or mercury?

Mercury, I think.

It's much cleaner.

More Campari?

- No, thank you.

It seems then, the gun must be

carried past Customs...

...without arousing suspicion.

Recognize that?

The whole thing should

be composed of a series...

...of hollow aluminium tubes

which screw together.

The top one holds the rifle strut.

The one below, the bolt

with the breech inside it.

The shoulder rest of the rifle

doubles for both purposes...

...without changing in any way.

- That's excellent.

The last two sections house

the telescopic sight and silencer.

Here.

It's very remarkable.

It's so simple.

I shall need the gun in about two weeks.

If you could meet me here August 13...

...then you could try out the gun

and discuss last minute details.

Very well. August 13.

Now the question of your fee.

I have to ask a fee of 1,000$

for this kind of a job, you see...

...and, say...

...another 1 00$ or 200$

for the raw materials.

Done.

I'll pay you half the fee now

and the rest on delivery.

What do you think?

Marvelous, eh?

I knew you didn't come to Genova

for a driver's license.

Anyone in London could've done that.

The problem is I won't have time

to play around with makeup.

I'm not much good at it anyway.

- Forget about makeup.

The important thing is the skin.

It must look gray and tired.

We used a trick in the army to

fake illness and get out of duty.

Can you get some cordite?

- I suppose so.

You swallow a couple

of small pieces of cordite.

It'll make you feel sick

and turn the skin a gray color.

After about an hour,

you'll feel all right again.

Your skin'll look gray longer.

- I'll try it.

What about the French documents?

- French identity card's all right.

The other one, I don't think

I've seen what they look like...

...let alone copy it.

I'll get a colleague in France

to pick someone's pocket...

...so I can make a duplicate.

Give me more time, more money.

How much more?

Five hundred.

Three hundred pounds?

Half now, half on delivery.

- When will I hear from you?

I'll be returning to Genova on August 14.

Be in the same place

where we met tonight at 6:00.

Must be a big job you've got.

There are certain things

I wish to make clear.

When you've finished, you will

hand over the negatives...

...and all the prints

of the photographs you've taken.

You will also forget the name of Duggan...

...and the name on the French

documents you're going to produce.

Is that understood?

Taking it easy?

I wish I had your job.

All my tenants are on holiday.

What time is it?

Half past 5:
00.

- I must hurry.

Good-bye.

- Good-bye.

That's him. See?

In the light coat.

He's the Elysee Palace official.

He'll pack his wife and children

off to the Loire Valley...

...for the annual holiday.

You haven't got much time.

I need Wolenski.

Arrange to get him across the border.

What? Never mind the Italian government.

Once he's inside France...

...bring him to Paris immediately.

You're being very foolish, Viktor.

You know yourself,

they always talk in the end.

You've seen it with your own

two eyes in Indo-China.

And in Algeria, of course.

Tell us what they're waiting for

in that hotel.

What are they planning?

Who have they been meeting with?

Nobody? Not a soul?

Then where were they

before they went to Rome?

Tell us, Viktor.

Go back a bit.

Hold it. Stop.

Question:
Rome, Viktor.

Why did they go to Rome?

No answer.

- Check.

Question:
Why are they in Rome?

Answer:
Secret.

- Check.

Question:
Where did they stay

in Vienna, Viktor?

No answer.

- Check.

Was it a house?

I am asking you,

was it a house?

Answer:

K-K-Kleist.

Go on.

Question:
Who is Kleist?

What does he do?

What did they do to the bastard?

I can't understand a word.

Put it on the speakers.

- Where from, sir?

'Who is Kleist? ' That bit.

Who is Kleist?

What does he do?

Jack? Jackie?

Would that beJackie?

Jackie?

That's not possible.

Go back, and this time turn up the sound.

Heel, Rex.

Rex, come here.

Are you all right?

- I think so.

Do you want me to call for an ambulance?

Are you sure?

- I'll survive.

There. See?

I'm sorry.

- It's not your fault, my dear.

Sorry to drag you away, Colonel.

- Nonsense.

The tape is on your machine

in case you want to refer back...

...and here is the transcript.

Jackal.

I thought Wolenski used it

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Kenneth Ross

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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