The Eichmann Show

September 2nd 1945.

The war is over. 50 million dead

including six million murdered Jews.

As leading Nazis are captured

one name slowly rises to the top

of the most wanted list -

Adolf Eichmann

the SS officer accused of

planning the Final Solution

to the Jewish Question.

It will take the

Israeli secret service 15 years

to track him down to his

hiding place in Argentina.

On 11th May 1960, a man living under the

name Ricardo Klement

is kidnapped and taken

to a safe house in Buenos Aires

to be interrogated.

What is your name? Your name.

What is your SS number?

- Your name.

- Eichmann.

- Say it.

- Eichmann. Eichmann.

My name is Adolf Eichmann.

In capturing the man - in capturing the man

responsible - responsible for the...

execution of the Final Solution

of the Jewish problem

you have done something truly

extraordinary.

Eichmann will be judged in Israel.

Tell the world - no, show the world,

to show the world what the Nazis did

to show the world what the

Nazis did to the Jewish people.

Let's use television to do this.

Let's use television to do this.

Only television can do this.

In... in granting permission

for Capital Cities

to film the trial of Eichmann

on Israeli soil

you will become a part of the

most important television event in history

past, present and...

yeah, why not? Future.

The Prime Minister will see you now.

Prime Minister.

- Mr Hurwitz?

- Speaking.

I'm Milton Fruchtman.

I'd like to talk to you about a job.

- You do know no one's hiring me right now?

- Yes, but I'd like to change that.

Adolf Eichmann, it's going to be

the trial of the century.

How would you like to film it?

The papers call him a monster.

Sure. Because monsters sell more papers.

This says you're officially

off the blacklist.

Yeah, well... it's the unofficial ones

you need to worry about.

- You work on the trial?

- Yes.

We should have put a bullet in his head

in Buenos Aires and left him there.

- Welcome to Israel.

- Thank you.

Leo Hurwitz?

Well, you're holding a sign that says

'Leo Hurwitz, ' so I guess so.

- Pleasure to meet you, Mr Hurwitz.

- Leo.

- I'm Perry, as in Como.

- It's a pleasure to meet you, Perry.

How was the flight?

- I managed to get some work done.

- Lucky you.

Coming over was my first time

on a plane.

Puked so much they locked me

in a toilet till we touched down.

That's great, Perry.

Without cameras we can't film.

We have to find a way.

Of course I'm going to tell him.

We're working around the clock

to make sure that the -

He's arrived.

Yeah, I'm literally about to

offer him my hand to shake.

We'll talk later. Leo.

Milton.

Leo Hurwitz, I cannot tell you

how relieved I am to finally have you here!

- You have cases?

- In the car.

Drop them off at the

hotel, would you, Perry?

Sure.

I say 'hotel', it's not really a hotel

as we would know it

but it's clean, they have rooms,

serve food.

- Meet Judy, my secretary.

- Hi.

And Alan, my production assistant.

You join us from a kibbutz, right,

where you've been working on...

A small documentary.

And, if I'm being completely honest

a particularly beautiful girl.

But yeah, mainly the documentary.

It's a pleasure to meet you, Alan.

Alan, have the team meet us

in the courtroom in ten minutes.

Right.

How's that looking?

That's excellent. We

should talk about that.

Come and meet David.

Leo, I'd like you to meet

our lawyer, David Arad.

David, we finally

have our director.

- Mr Hurwitz.

- Leo, please.

It's wonderful to meet you at last.

You got a problem, David'll fix it.

In five different ways.

One of which may or may not

involve the use of a gun.

Most issues can generally be resolved by

understanding the position of the other.

The issue with the judges, however...

There's an issue?

Milton, there's an issue

with the judges?

As you know, we have a contract with the

Israeli government to film this trial.

But there is a condition.

The three trial judges

must give their permission.

And we don't have permission?

Yesterday they came to inspect the cameras.

And?

And they found them

too loud and too visible.

I flew five and a half thousand miles

and you don't have permission to film?

- Yet.

- 'Yet.' I find that so reassuring.

Look, I know this is a shock,

but right now we need to press on.

Come.

Leo, this is Ron and Roy, our terrific

Marconi engineers from England.

Terrific's perhaps overstating

the point, but...

We're well-trained

and at your disposal, Mr Hurwitz.

Leo, please.

We're having a bit of trouble

with the contrast.

Well, that's not really going to be an

issue unless we find invisible cameras.

Come on, I'll show you the courtroom.

Thank you, gentlemen, carry on.

Thanks.

The court will be connected

to the control room by cables

running between the two roofs.

So in addition to the trial being

relayed live to Israelis in the streets

there is also going to be

live coverage every day on the radio.

What about television, Milton?

We don't even know

if we're going to be able to film.

What alternative do we have?

- Well, I'm glad you're so positive.

- What else would I be?

The press room.

Phones, telex, typewriters

a direct feed to the courtroom

allowing hundreds of people

from reporters to philosophers,

to scrutinise, decipher

and judge every inch

of your footage as it unfolds.

If there is any footage.

There has to be footage, and there will be.

C'mon, let's meet your cameramen.

- My cameramen?

- Here we go.

Milton, I pick my own team.

Jesus, it's a theatre.

Ah.

Mr Hurwitz is here,

so I'll bring him over.

Leo.

I'd like to introduce you

to your camera operators.

This is Rolf, Yaakov, Millek and Fred.

On behalf of my colleagues

I'd like to welcome you to our country.

It's a great honour for

us to work with the

distinguished director

of such documentaries

as Native Land and the antifascist

masterpiece Strange Victory.

It's a pleasure to meet you gentlemen...

It's shameful that an artist

of your stature and humanity

should be blacklisted by the

House Un-American Activities Committee

It's frightening what these guys know.

They even knew that

I worked with Rita Hayworth.

These gentlemen are the crme

de la crme of the Israeli film industry

Yeah, well they're going to need to be.

- Milton, your taxi's here.

- Thank you. Excuse me.

It's a pleasure to meet you, gentlemen.

You'll like the Israeli press attach.

He's like the sphinx, only Jewish.

Thanks, Judy.

- We don't have time for PR, Milton.

- This isn't PR.

We have a contract with

the Israeli government.

They're concerned the judges

won't ever give us permission to film.

And what if they don't?

If they don't, Capital

Cities lose the half

million dollars they've

spent on the production

the thirty-seven countries

we promised the footage to

will never see the Eichmann trial

and, well, our names

become the punchline

to an industry joke

told for decades to come.

Why are we meeting the Israeli press

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