1973, Film: “The Day of the Jackal”

The British/French thriller film "The Day of the Jackal" premiered on 16 May 1973 in New York City, New York, USA. The film was directed by Fred Zinnemann with a screenplay by Kenneth Ross based on the novel with the same title by the English author Frederick Forsyth. Main stars are Edward Fox and Michael Lonsdale. It tells the story of a professional assassin known as the "Jackal" who is hired to assassinate French president Charles de Gaulle in the summer of 1963.

Synopsis

After the failed assassination attempt on the French President Charles de Gaulle on 22 August 1962, the ultra right winged militant French underground organisation OAS (“Organisation armée secrète”) decide to make another attempt, and hire a professional British assassin, known as the "Jackal" (Edward Fox)...

Edward Fox as the "Jackal"

Michael Lonsdale as Deputy Commissioner Claude Lebel

Terence Alexander as Lloyd and Tony Britton as Inspector Thomas

Main cast

• Edward Fox as the "Jackal"
• Michael Lonsdale as Deputy Commissioner Claude Lebel
• Terence Alexander as Lloyd
• Michel Auclair as Colonel Rolland
• Alan Badel as the Minister
• Tony Britton as Inspector Thomas
• Denis Carey as Casson
• Adrien Cayla-Legrand as President Charles de Gaulle
• Cyril Cusack as the Gunsmith
• Maurice Denham as General Colbert
• Vernon Dobtcheff as the Interrogator
• Jacques François as Pascal
• Olga Georges-Picot as Denise
• Raymond Gérôme as Flavigny
• Barrie Ingham as St. Clair
• Derek Jacobi as Caron
• Jean Martin as Wolenski
• Ronald Pickup as the Forger
• Eric Porter as Col. Rodin
• Anton Rodgers as Jules Bernard
• Delphine Seyrig as Colette de Montpellier
• Donald Sinden as Mallinson
• Jean Sorel as Jean Bastien-Thiry
• David Swift as Montclair
• Timothy West as Commissioner Berthier
• Philippe Léotard as Gendarme

Edward Fox as the "Jackal"

Edward Fox as the "Jackal" and Cyril Cusack as the Gunsmith

Awards

BAFTA for Best Film Editing: Ralph Kemplen (1974)

Edward Fox as the "Jackal"

Edward Fox as the "Jackal" and Delphine Seyrig as Colette de Montpellier

Trivia

De Gaulle was targeted for death by the OAS in relation for his Algerian initiatives. Several assassination attempts were made on him:

• on 8 September 1961 on his way to his country home in Colombey-les-Deux-Églises
• on 22 August 1962 in Petit-Clamart (“Opération Charlotte Corday”) when he and his wife narrowly escaped from an organized machine gun ambush on their Citroën DS. Due to the pneumatic suspension the DS could escape at full speed with a flat tire.
• on 25 August 1963 a hired killer tried to assassinate De Gaulle, known as “The day of the Jackal”
• on 15 August 1964 on Mont Faron near Toulon

The Presidential DS with bullet holes and flat tire, 22 August 1962

The Presidential DS with bullet holes, 22 August 1962

Goofs

There are numerous goofs in the film, these are the ones in the opening scene:

• The man on the scooter stops at the cafe, there is an August 1964 calendar on the wall, but the opening scene took place in 1962.
• Set in 1962 the man on the scooter passes a Peugeot 504 (marketed from 1969), a Peugeot J7 (marketed from 1965), a Volkswagen Beetle 1302 (marketed from 1971), a Peugeot 204 cabriolet (marketed from 1965), a Renault 16 (marketed from 1965) and a Fiat 850 (marketed from 1964).
• The presidential DS passes (set in 1962) a Simca 1500 (marketed from 1963), a Peugeot 204 (marketed from 1965), a Peugeot 504 (marketed from 1969), a Citroën Ami 8 (marketed from 1969), a Renault 6 (marketed from 1968), a BMW 02 Series (marketed from 1966), an Opel Rekord C coupé (marketed from 1967), a Simca 1100 (marketed from 1967), a Simca 1501 (marketed from 1966), an Opel Rekord C (marketed from 1967) and a Renault 16 (marketed from 1965).
• Even the Citroën DS’s are wrong in some shots, the DS with the new (second) nose was introduced in September 1962 while the assassination attempt took place in August 1962!!! The presidential DS had the first nose!

"The Day of the Jackal" trailer