Review of The Day of the Jackal (1973) by Clay B — 22 Nov 2010

"The Jackal spent 71 days,56 minutes thinking a bullet into the brain of de Gaulle".

"Nameless, faceless...relentlessly moving towards the date with death that would rock the world".

Great 70's film, starring Edward Fox in the role he will probably be best remembered for. Remade (poorly) as The Jackal with Bruce Willis in the 90's.

Lawyer: For heaven's sake, man, don't you realize you are going to be shot!

Bastien-Thiry: You don't understand. No French soldier will raise his rifle against me.

[He is shot by a firing squad the next day].

Col. Rodin: Will you do it?

The Jackal: Yes.

Montclair: How much?

The Jackal: You must understand that this is a once-in-a-lifetime job, whoever does it can never work again...

Montclair: How much do you want?

The Jackal: Half a million.

Montclair: What?

The Jackal: In cash. Half now, half on completion.

Montclair: Half a million francs?

The Jackal: Dollars.

Montclair: [standing up] Are you mad?

The Jackal: Considering you expect to get France in return, I'd have thought it a reasonable price. If you can't do it, then there's nothing more to be said.

[turns to leave].

Col. Rodin: We accept!

Minister: There is one thing: how did you know whose telephone to tap?

Lebel: I didn't, so I tapped all of them.

Mallinson: The prime minister?

Insp. Thomas: The prime minster, sir. That he said if there's the remotest possibility of General de Gaulle's life being threatened by a person of these islands, then it is to be stopped. And he's given me full powers and top priority.

Mallinson: Is this some kind of bloody joke?

Insp. Thomas: No, of couse not, sir. I've got to drop whatever I'm doing, and I shall need six of your best men, straight away.

Mallinson: Where's the notification for all this? Where's the proper authority?

[Telephone rings. Mallison answers].

Mallinson: Yes!

[Mallison listens then rises].

Mallinson: Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Of course, sir.

Colette de Montpelier: Why, I don't know what you're talking about.

Lebel: Madam, be in no doubt as to the seriousness of your position.

[Colette stands and moves uneasily to another chair].

Col. Rodin: We are not terrorists, you understand. We are patriots. Our duty is to the soldiers who died fighting in Algeria, and to the three million French citizens who have always lived there.

The Jackal: And so you want to get rid of him.

Col. Rodin: Speaking as a professional, do you think it's possible?

The Jackal: It's possible. The point is getting away with it. And speaking as a professional, that's a very important consideration.

Montclair: But in principle you say it could be done?

The Jackal: Yes, with enough time and planning. It would be more difficult than most other targets.

Casson: Why more?

The Jackal: Because de Gaulle has the best security service in the world. Their information is first-class. You see, gentlemen, not only have your own efforts failed, but you've rather queered the pitch for everyone else.

Casson: How dare you suggest that!

The Jackal: In this work, you simply can't afford to be emotional. That's why you've made so many mistakes.

Col. Rodin: But if we decided to employ a professional...

The Jackal: You have to employ a professional. Your organization is so riddled with informers that nothing you decide is a secret for long. No, the job would have to be done by an outsider. The only question would be by whom, and for how much.

Caron: You know, sir, what they'll do to you if you don't catch this man in time...

Lebel: I've been given a job to do, so we'll just have to do it.

Caron: But no crime has been committed yet, so where are we supposed to start looking for the criminal?

Lebel: We start by recognizing that, after De Gaulle, we are the two most powerful people in France.

Insp. Thomas: [after Special Branch Detective finds Charles Calthrop's passport in his apartment] What's this?

Special Branch Detective: His passport.

Insp. Thomas: Oh?

Special Branch Detective: We checked it. It's him, all right. Look. The Dominican visa. There's no exit stamp, though. He must have got out on the sly.

Insp. Thomas: You haven't grasped it yet, have you? Oh, yes, this is our man, all right. Definitely. But hasn't it occurred to you that we're holding his passport in our hands? If he is out of the country, what's he travelling on? Eh?

Lebel: Excuse me, but it has just occurred to me that we have forty-eight hours in which to find this Jackal.

[There is a chorus of "What?" and "How do you know?" from the committee members].

Lebel: Am I right in assuming that the President has no engagements outside the Elysee Palace today, tomorrow and Saturday ?

Minister: None.

Lebel: And what is Sunday, August the twenty-fifth?

Minister: [Slaps forehead] Of course! Liberation Day!

Lebel: That's what he's been waiting for.

Minister: We must have been blind.

The Gunsmith: Over what range will you fire?

The Jackal: I'm not sure yet but probably not more than 400 feet.

The Gunsmith: Will the gentleman be moving?

The Jackal: Stationary.

The Gunsmith: Will you go for a head shot or a chest shot?

The Jackal: Probably head.

The Gunsmith: What about the chance of a second shot?

The Jackal: Well I might get the chance but I doubt it. In any event I'll need a silencer to escape.

The Gunsmith: In that case you'd better have explosive bullets. I can prepare a handful along with the gun.

The Jackal: Glycerin or mercury?

The Gunsmith: Oh mercury... much cleaner.

Valmy: [answers phone] Hello?

Denise: Denise.

Valmy: Valmy here.

Denise: They found out about the Jackal.

[arriving in St Clair's home].

Denise: Are you home already...?

[discovers St Clair's body and a bottle of pills].

The Interrogator: You're being very foolish, Victor. You know yourself, they always talk in the end. You've seen it with your own two eyes in... where was it, Indochina? And Algeria, of course. Why don't you tell us what they're waiting for in that hotel, eh? Rodin, Montclair, Casson: what are they planning, who have they been meeting? Nobody? Not a soul, hmm? Then where were they before they went to Rome, eh? Tell us, Victor.

Lebel: The following conversation was recorded at 6:15 this morning. The number being dialed was identified as Molitor 5901.

[plays a tape recorder for the council].

Denise: Hello.

Valmy: Yes?

Denise: Denise.

Valmy: Valmy here.

Denise: They know he's a Danish schoolteacher. They're visiting every hotel in Paris.

[Lebel switches off the recorder].

Lebel: The contact was arrested an hour ago. Unfortunately, the information came from this room.

Minister: Whose voice was that?

St. Clair: [slowly rises] I regret to have to inform you, Minister, that it was the voice of a friend of mine... she is staying with me at the moment... excuse me.

[leaves].

Minister: I feel we owe you an apology, Commissioner.

Lebel: Thank you.

Casson: No wonder our people are giving up, they've lost faith!

Montclair: We've failed them every single time!

Col. Rodin: We won't fail them again!

Casson: What can we do? We're paralyzed!

Montclair: Every cop in France has memorized our faces! Informants are all around us!

Col. Rodin: ...We must find an outsider. A foreigner!

Montclair: A foreigner? Why?

Col. Rodin: A contract killer! He won't have a record inside France, so he won't exist; he can come and go as he pleases!

Montclair: That sort of person costs money.

Col. Rodin: Yes. I'll find the right man.