.gif)
Marathon Man (film)
Encyclopedia
Marathon Man is a 1976 thriller film based on the novel of the same name
by William Goldman
. The film was directed by John Schlesinger
, and stars Dustin Hoffman
, Roy Scheider
, and Laurence Olivier
. The original music score was composed by Michael Small
.
) is a history Ph.D. candidate and avid runner
researching the same field as his father, who committed suicide after being investigated during the Joseph McCarthy
era. Babe's brother, Henry (Roy Scheider
), better known as "Doc", poses as an oil company executive but, unknown to Babe, is actually a U.S. government agent working for a secret agency headed by Director Peter Janeway (William Devane
).
The brother of a Nazi war criminal possesses a safe deposit box key but is killed in a traffic accident. Doc suspects that the criminal, Dr. Christian Szell (Laurence Olivier
), will be arriving in New York to retrieve an extremely valuable diamond collection. Doc, who is often supposedly out of the country on business for extended periods of time, comes to New York under the guise of a visit to Babe. Meanwhile, Babe enters into a relationship with a young woman named Elsa Opel (Marthe Keller
), who claims to be from Switzerland. The two are later mugged in a park by two men dressed in suits.
Some time later, Doc takes Babe and Elsa to lunch. During the meal, Doc tricks Elsa into revealing that she has been lying to Babe about her background. Though Doc suspects she may have some connection to Szell, he tells Babe only that she is simply seeking an American husband so that she can become a U.S. citizen. After Szell arrives in America, Doc confronts him stating he is not welcome in the country. Szell casually accepts the pronouncement, but then mortally wounds Doc with a retractable blade concealed in his sleeve. Doc makes it back to Babe's apartment and dies in Babe's arms.
The police interrogate Babe for hours until government agents led by Janeway arrive. Janeway asks Babe what Doc told him before he died, and informs Babe of his brother's career as a U.S. government agent. Babe insists that his brother did not tell him anything, but Janeway is convinced Doc would not have otherwise struggled all the way to Babe's apartment without giving him vital information of some kind.
Babe is later abducted from his apartment by the same two men who mugged him in the park, and he is tortured by Szell, a skilled dentist. During his torture, Babe is repeatedly asked "Is it safe?" by Szell, a code phrase he does not understand, and continues to deny any knowledge. Babe is then "rescued" by Janeway, who explains that Szell is in America to sell off a large cache of diamonds which he had taken from Jews killed at Auschwitz
. Janeway again presses Babe about Doc's dying words, but Babe still insists he knows nothing. Frustrated, Janeway reveals himself as a double agent
and returns Babe to Szell (also a double agent) who we learn has informed on other Nazi war criminals in return for immunity.
Szell explains to Babe that he suspected Doc would attempt to rob him of his diamonds, or deliver him to authorities. His query "Is it safe?" relates to whether or not authorities will be waiting to apprehend Szell upon his attempt to retrieve the diamonds. Still unable to extract anything from Babe, he proceeds to drill into one of Babe's healthy teeth. Babe eventually escapes again, aided by his superior skills as a marathon runner.
After inviting a neighborhood acquaintance and his fellow thugs to break into his apartment in order to steal his pistol, Babe phones Elsa, who agrees to meet him with a car and drives him to a country home as a hideout. Upon arrival, Babe correctly guesses that Elsa has set him up, forcing her to confess that the home is owned by Szell's deceased brother. Janeway and Szell's men arrive, but Babe avoids capture by taking Elsa hostage. Janeway kills Szell's men and offers to let Babe kill Szell in revenge for Doc's death if Janeway can have the diamonds. Babe agrees, but as he leaves to find Szell, Janeway attempts to shoot Babe and kills Elsa instead when she tries to alert Babe. Angered, Babe guns down Janeway.
Back in New York, Szell attempts to determine the value of his diamonds. However, he chooses an appraiser in the Diamond District in midtown Manhattan, where many of the shop owners are Jewish
. A shop assistant who is also an Holocaust survivor believes he has recognized Szell as a wanted Nazi criminal. After Szell hurriedly leaves the shop, an elderly Jewish woman also recognizes him, but passersby think she is senile. Trying to cross the street to get closer to Szell in order to expose him, the woman is hit by a taxi, causing a crowd to assemble to aid her. Amidst the confusion, the shop assistant appears again, directly confronting Szell, who slits the man's throat with the blade hidden in his sleeve.
Szell retrieves his diamonds from the bank but is taken hostage by Babe as he attempts to leave. Babe forces Szell into Central Park
and into one of the pump rooms at the south end of the reservoir
. Babe holds Szell at gunpoint and informs him that he can keep as many diamonds as he can swallow. Szell initially refuses, prompting Babe to begin throwing the diamonds into the water below them. Szell relents and swallows one diamond, but then refuses to cooperate further. A struggle ensues; Babe throws the remainder of the diamonds down the scaffold steps towards the water; Szell dives for them, but stumbles, and fatally falls on his own knife blade. Picking up his gun, Babe exits the pump room and heads out into Central Park. Stopping by the reservoir, he throws the gun into the water.
(the distinction going to Bound for Glory). However, it was the first feature using Steadicam
that saw theatrical release, predating the premieres of both Bound for Glory and Rocky
.
for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
and he won a Golden Globe
in the same category.
Dr. Szell was ranked as villain #34 on the American Film Institute's
"100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains
" list. The film itself was ranked #50 on the "100 Years...100 Thrills
" list. Both the novel and the film contain a graphic depiction in which Szell tortures Babe by drilling into one of his teeth, without anesthetic, while repeatedly asking the question, "Is it safe?" The quote "Is it safe?" was ranked #70 on the "100 Years...100 Movie Quotes
" list. The dental torture scene in this film was named #65 on Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments
. The scene was parodied in the film Gremlins 2: The New Batch
in which a gremlin has a victim in a dentist's chair and asks him the familiar question while wielding a drill.
The ending was rewritten, according to Goldman, because Hoffman was unhappy with it. Goldman was not sure who wrote it, but told an interviewer he thought the new, more famous ending was "shit" because it left out two important plot clarifications. The final confrontation between Babe and Szell, in particular, is changed: in the film, Babe "spares" Szell in a pump room, tries forcing him to swallow his diamonds and Szell then falls on his own retractable blade, dying. In the novel, Babe resolutely leads Szell to Central Park
and shoots him multiple times, subsequently lecturing him. He then throws the diamonds away and is quietly led away by a policeman.
Marathon Man
Marathon Man is a 1974 conspiracy thriller novel by William Goldman. In 1976 it was made into a film of the same name starring Dustin Hoffman, Laurence Olivier, and Roy Scheider and directed by John Schlesinger.-Plot synopsis:...
by William Goldman
William Goldman
William Goldman is an American novelist, playwright, and Academy Award-winning screenwriter.-Early life and education:...
. The film was directed by John Schlesinger
John Schlesinger
John Richard Schlesinger, CBE was an English film and stage director and actor.-Early life:Schlesinger was born in London into a middle-class Jewish family, the son of Winifred Henrietta and Bernard Edward Schlesinger, a physician...
, and stars Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Lee Hoffman is an American actor with a career in film, television, and theatre since 1960. He has been known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and vulnerable characters....
, Roy Scheider
Roy Scheider
Roy Richard Scheider was an American actor. He was best known for his leading role as police chief Martin C...
, and Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
. The original music score was composed by Michael Small
Michael Small
Michael Small was an American film score composer best known for his scores to thriller movies such as The Parallax View, Marathon Man, and The Star Chamber. Relatively few of his scores are available on compact disc...
.
Plot
Thomas Babington "Babe" Levy (Dustin HoffmanDustin Hoffman
Dustin Lee Hoffman is an American actor with a career in film, television, and theatre since 1960. He has been known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and vulnerable characters....
) is a history Ph.D. candidate and avid runner
Running
Running is a means of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. It is simply defined in athletics terms as a gait in which at regular points during the running cycle both feet are off the ground...
researching the same field as his father, who committed suicide after being investigated during the Joseph McCarthy
Joseph McCarthy
Joseph Raymond "Joe" McCarthy was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957...
era. Babe's brother, Henry (Roy Scheider
Roy Scheider
Roy Richard Scheider was an American actor. He was best known for his leading role as police chief Martin C...
), better known as "Doc", poses as an oil company executive but, unknown to Babe, is actually a U.S. government agent working for a secret agency headed by Director Peter Janeway (William Devane
William Devane
William Joseph Devane is an American film, television and theater actor.-Life and career:Devane was born in Albany, New York in 1937 or 1939 , the son of Joseph Devane, who was Franklin D. Roosevelt's chauffeur when he was Governor of New York...
).
The brother of a Nazi war criminal possesses a safe deposit box key but is killed in a traffic accident. Doc suspects that the criminal, Dr. Christian Szell (Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
), will be arriving in New York to retrieve an extremely valuable diamond collection. Doc, who is often supposedly out of the country on business for extended periods of time, comes to New York under the guise of a visit to Babe. Meanwhile, Babe enters into a relationship with a young woman named Elsa Opel (Marthe Keller
Marthe Keller
Marthe Keller is a Swiss actress and opera director. She studied ballet as a child, but stopped after a skiing accident at age 16...
), who claims to be from Switzerland. The two are later mugged in a park by two men dressed in suits.
Some time later, Doc takes Babe and Elsa to lunch. During the meal, Doc tricks Elsa into revealing that she has been lying to Babe about her background. Though Doc suspects she may have some connection to Szell, he tells Babe only that she is simply seeking an American husband so that she can become a U.S. citizen. After Szell arrives in America, Doc confronts him stating he is not welcome in the country. Szell casually accepts the pronouncement, but then mortally wounds Doc with a retractable blade concealed in his sleeve. Doc makes it back to Babe's apartment and dies in Babe's arms.
The police interrogate Babe for hours until government agents led by Janeway arrive. Janeway asks Babe what Doc told him before he died, and informs Babe of his brother's career as a U.S. government agent. Babe insists that his brother did not tell him anything, but Janeway is convinced Doc would not have otherwise struggled all the way to Babe's apartment without giving him vital information of some kind.
Babe is later abducted from his apartment by the same two men who mugged him in the park, and he is tortured by Szell, a skilled dentist. During his torture, Babe is repeatedly asked "Is it safe?" by Szell, a code phrase he does not understand, and continues to deny any knowledge. Babe is then "rescued" by Janeway, who explains that Szell is in America to sell off a large cache of diamonds which he had taken from Jews killed at Auschwitz
Auschwitz concentration camp
Concentration camp Auschwitz was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II...
. Janeway again presses Babe about Doc's dying words, but Babe still insists he knows nothing. Frustrated, Janeway reveals himself as a double agent
Double agent
A double agent, commonly abbreviated referral of double secret agent, is a counterintelligence term used to designate an employee of a secret service or organization, whose primary aim is to spy on the target organization, but who in fact is a member of that same target organization oneself. They...
and returns Babe to Szell (also a double agent) who we learn has informed on other Nazi war criminals in return for immunity.
Szell explains to Babe that he suspected Doc would attempt to rob him of his diamonds, or deliver him to authorities. His query "Is it safe?" relates to whether or not authorities will be waiting to apprehend Szell upon his attempt to retrieve the diamonds. Still unable to extract anything from Babe, he proceeds to drill into one of Babe's healthy teeth. Babe eventually escapes again, aided by his superior skills as a marathon runner.
After inviting a neighborhood acquaintance and his fellow thugs to break into his apartment in order to steal his pistol, Babe phones Elsa, who agrees to meet him with a car and drives him to a country home as a hideout. Upon arrival, Babe correctly guesses that Elsa has set him up, forcing her to confess that the home is owned by Szell's deceased brother. Janeway and Szell's men arrive, but Babe avoids capture by taking Elsa hostage. Janeway kills Szell's men and offers to let Babe kill Szell in revenge for Doc's death if Janeway can have the diamonds. Babe agrees, but as he leaves to find Szell, Janeway attempts to shoot Babe and kills Elsa instead when she tries to alert Babe. Angered, Babe guns down Janeway.
Back in New York, Szell attempts to determine the value of his diamonds. However, he chooses an appraiser in the Diamond District in midtown Manhattan, where many of the shop owners are Jewish
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
. A shop assistant who is also an Holocaust survivor believes he has recognized Szell as a wanted Nazi criminal. After Szell hurriedly leaves the shop, an elderly Jewish woman also recognizes him, but passersby think she is senile. Trying to cross the street to get closer to Szell in order to expose him, the woman is hit by a taxi, causing a crowd to assemble to aid her. Amidst the confusion, the shop assistant appears again, directly confronting Szell, who slits the man's throat with the blade hidden in his sleeve.
Szell retrieves his diamonds from the bank but is taken hostage by Babe as he attempts to leave. Babe forces Szell into Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
and into one of the pump rooms at the south end of the reservoir
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir
The Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir — originally and sometimes still known as the Central Park Reservoir — is a decommissioned reservoir in Central Park in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, USA.-Description:...
. Babe holds Szell at gunpoint and informs him that he can keep as many diamonds as he can swallow. Szell initially refuses, prompting Babe to begin throwing the diamonds into the water below them. Szell relents and swallows one diamond, but then refuses to cooperate further. A struggle ensues; Babe throws the remainder of the diamonds down the scaffold steps towards the water; Szell dives for them, but stumbles, and fatally falls on his own knife blade. Picking up his gun, Babe exits the pump room and heads out into Central Park. Stopping by the reservoir, he throws the gun into the water.
Cast
- Dustin HoffmanDustin HoffmanDustin Lee Hoffman is an American actor with a career in film, television, and theatre since 1960. He has been known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and vulnerable characters....
…Thomas "Babe" Levy - Laurence OlivierLaurence OlivierLaurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
…Dr. Christian Szell - Roy ScheiderRoy ScheiderRoy Richard Scheider was an American actor. He was best known for his leading role as police chief Martin C...
…Henry "Doc" Levy - William DevaneWilliam DevaneWilliam Joseph Devane is an American film, television and theater actor.-Life and career:Devane was born in Albany, New York in 1937 or 1939 , the son of Joseph Devane, who was Franklin D. Roosevelt's chauffeur when he was Governor of New York...
…Peter Janeway - Marthe KellerMarthe KellerMarthe Keller is a Swiss actress and opera director. She studied ballet as a child, but stopped after a skiing accident at age 16...
…Elsa Opel - Richard BrightRichard Bright (actor)Richard James Bright was an American actor best known for his role as Al Neri in the The Godfather films.-Early life & work:...
…Karl, Szell's subordinate #1 - Marc LawrenceMarc LawrenceMarc Lawrence was an American character actor who specialized in underworld types. He has also been credited as F. A. Foss, Marc Laurence and Marc C...
…Erhardt, Szell's subordinate #2 - Tito GoyaTito GoyaTito Goya was a Puerto Rican actor best known for his portrayal of "Cupcakes" in the movie "Short Eyes"....
…Melendez
Production
Marathon Man was not the first feature film production to use the SteadicamSteadicam
A Steadicam is a stabilizing mount for a motion picture camera that mechanically isolates it from the operator's movement, allowing a smooth shot even when moving quickly over an uneven surface...
(the distinction going to Bound for Glory). However, it was the first feature using Steadicam
Steadicam
A Steadicam is a stabilizing mount for a motion picture camera that mechanically isolates it from the operator's movement, allowing a smooth shot even when moving quickly over an uneven surface...
that saw theatrical release, predating the premieres of both Bound for Glory and Rocky
Rocky
Rocky is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and both written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It tells the rags to riches American Dream story of Rocky Balboa, an uneducated but kind-hearted debt collector for a loan shark in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
.
Reception
The film was a financial and critical success. Olivier's performance was particularly praised: he was nominated for an OscarAcademy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
and he won a Golden Globe
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
in the same category.
Dr. Szell was ranked as villain #34 on the American Film Institute's
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
"100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains
AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains
AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains is a list of the 100 greatest screen characters chosen by American Film Institute in June 2003. It is part of the AFI 100 Years… series. The series was first presented in a CBS special hosted by Arnold Schwarzenegger...
" list. The film itself was ranked #50 on the "100 Years...100 Thrills
AFI's 100 Years... 100 Thrills
Part of the AFI 100 Years… series, AFI's 100 Years…100 Thrills is a list of the top 100 heart-pounding movies in American cinema. The list was unveiled by the American Film Institute on June 12, 2001, during a CBS special hosted by Harrison Ford....
" list. Both the novel and the film contain a graphic depiction in which Szell tortures Babe by drilling into one of his teeth, without anesthetic, while repeatedly asking the question, "Is it safe?" The quote "Is it safe?" was ranked #70 on the "100 Years...100 Movie Quotes
AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes
Part of the AFI 100 Years... series, AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes is a list of the top 100 movie quotations in American cinema. The American Film Institute revealed the list on June 21, 2005, in a three-hour television program on CBS...
" list. The dental torture scene in this film was named #65 on Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments
100 Scariest Movie Moments
The 100 Scariest Movie Moments is a television documentary miniseries that first aired in late October 2004 on Bravo. Aired in five 60-minute segments, the miniseries counts down what producer Anthony Timpone, writer Patrick Moses, and director Kevin Kaufman have determined as the 100 most...
. The scene was parodied in the film Gremlins 2: The New Batch
Gremlins 2: The New Batch
Gremlins 2: The New Batch is a 1990 American horror comedy film, and the sequel to Gremlins . It was directed by Joe Dante and written by Charles S. Haas, with creature designs by Rick Baker...
in which a gremlin has a victim in a dentist's chair and asks him the familiar question while wielding a drill.
Differences between the novel and film
An 8½ minute sequence was shot of Doc fighting with some men who kill a spy colleague of his. William Goldman speculates that it was cut because it was violent and that it was a "grievous" cut to the detriment of the film. With the sequence missing, Doc's character seems to be less flawed than he really is.The ending was rewritten, according to Goldman, because Hoffman was unhappy with it. Goldman was not sure who wrote it, but told an interviewer he thought the new, more famous ending was "shit" because it left out two important plot clarifications. The final confrontation between Babe and Szell, in particular, is changed: in the film, Babe "spares" Szell in a pump room, tries forcing him to swallow his diamonds and Szell then falls on his own retractable blade, dying. In the novel, Babe resolutely leads Szell to Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
and shoots him multiple times, subsequently lecturing him. He then throws the diamonds away and is quietly led away by a policeman.