The Day of the Jackal

In 1973 an Anglo-French Film was made based upon a 1971 best seller about a fictional plot to assassinate French President Charles De Galle by English author Frederick Forsyth.

Summary

In 1962 an unsuccessful attempt is made to assassinate Charles De Galle by members of the OAS because of De Galle granting of Independence to the French quasi-colony of Algeria. The leaders of the OAS deceide to kill De Galle as a attempted Coup-De tate for France itself. To accomplish this they hire an "Englishman" who agrees under the following conditions: his code name will be the "Jackal"; his price is $500,000 dollars and total secrecy even from his employers-although he does agree to contact an OAS spy within De Galle's cabinet.

The "Jackal" aquiress a British passport under a fake name "Paul Andrew Duggan" and travels to Genoa Italy where he also aquires a sniper rifle from a gunsmith and fake identity papers from a forger; he kills the forger who attempts to blackmail him for more money then what he agrees to pay.

Meanwhile the French Security Services have Kidnapped an OAS bodyguard and tortured him into revealing information about the OAS Leaders-including the assassination plot. Realizing they must track down an unknown assassin with few clues, a French Detective of the Surete Claud Lebel is assigned to job of doing so. In the process of making discrete Inquiries to Scotland Yard, the British Secret services unearth a suspect Charles Calthrop  and establish that the Duggan passport is under a fake name. Lebel is also compelled to report to the french Ministers of State on his investigation; unknowlingly one of the Ministers mistress is an OAS spy from which the "JAckal" learns that just as he is hunting De Galle, they are also hunting him!

Determined to complete his "contract" the "Jackal" stops at a hotel where he seduces a French noblewoman and persuades her to give him shelter. On the way to meet her, he is in a road accident and wrecks his car, although he manages to retrive his rifle and take the other car to meet his paramour. Before he meet with her the police had talked to her about "Duggan" when she mentions that fact to the "Jackel" he kills her and goes to Paris in her car. Meanwhile the French invistigation of the car accident reveals that is a painted over ALda Romero Giulietta Spider such as "Duggan" had been known to be driving-and the missing car is at the woman's estate. Likewise the noblewoman is discovered to be dead and her car missing. The Public is informed that a murderer of the Countess is being hunted-with the "Jackel" latest secret identity. The "Jackal" hides in a public bathhouse where he allows a man to pick him up-he then kills the man who foolishly remarks that the "Jackel" resembles the Wanted man.

Meanwhile Lebel is getting annoyed that three times he has come close to catching the "Jackal" but the man has always escaped. He therefore employs wiretapping on the French Ministers of States telephones and uncovers the OSS Spy. He also realizes that the "Jackal" has a schedule from three days from now-the "Jackal" will assissinate De Galle on August 25-Liberation Day-the one day of the Year De Galle will be in public.

On Liberation day the "Jackal" under a disguise of a one legged French War Veteran goes to the hotel where he has staked his sniper's nest; knocks the hotel conceragge unconscious, and makes his preperations. Lebel making a last tour of the Public square, asks a Policeman if anyone out of the ordinary has passed by him. The man remarks that he has seen a one legged veteran go to a nearby hotel. Lebel realizes that this is the "Jackal" and memtions the police man to follow him. Just as they go up to the top room-the "Jackal" fires at De Galle-and missess because of the French habbit of kissing a person face cheeks!

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