The Odessa File (1974)

Director:

Ronald Neame

Writers:

Frederick Forsyth (novel)
Kenneth Ross (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

18 October 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller | Drama

Tagline:

A gripping puzzle of pursuit and escape

Plot:

After reading the diary of an elderly Jewish man who committed suicide, freelance journalist Peter Miller...

Plot Keywords:

Diary | Suicide | SS | Germany | Journalist

Cast

Jon Voight	...	Peter Miller
Maximilian Schell	...	Eduard Roschmann
Maria Schell	...	Frau Miller
Mary Tamm	...	Sigi
Derek Jacobi	...	Klaus Wenzer
Peter Jeffrey	...	David Porath
Klaus Löwitsch	...	Gustav Mackensen
Kurt Meisel	...	Alfred Oster
Hannes Messemer	...	General Glücks
Garfield Morgan	...	Israeli General
Shmuel Rodensky	...	Simon Wiesenthal
Ernst Schröder	...	Werner Deilman
Günter Strack	...	Kunik (also as Gunter Strack)
Noel Willman	...	Franz Bayer
Martin Brandt	...	Marx

Also Known As:

Der Fall Odessa (West Germany)
Die Akte Odessa (West Germany)
The O.D.E.S.S.A. File (UK) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

130 min | Germany:120 min

Country:

UK | West Germany

Language:

German | English

Color:

Black and White | Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:PG (TV rating) | South Korea:12 (DVD rating) (2005) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (1975) | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (1988) | USA:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Alter Elbtunnel, St. Pauli, Hamburg, Germany

Company:

John Woolf Productions

Trivia:

Average Shot Length = ~8.7 Seconds. Median Shot Length = ~8 seconds.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The action starts in 1963, in the day when President Kennedy was killed. The ambulance that brings Salomon Tauber's body to the hospital is a Volkswagen Kombi model 1967 or newer. The 1963 model had a split windshield.

Quotes:

[Miller is trying to sell his editor a story based on the diary]
Hoffmann: No one wants to read about Jews.
Peter Miller: They were GERMANS!
Hoffmann: They were German Jews.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Two Senoritas (1975)

Soundtrack:

Christmas Dream

effective thriller

Just a sad reminder of how gripping thrillers were a dime-a-dozen in the 70's, as compared to the suspense-bankrupt modern day. 2 hours of entertainment & not one single explosion!! Jon Voigt once again establishes himself as one of the best actors of the decade in his principal role as the tenacious journalist bent on revenge. The film & its subject matter could have easily been more confusing, and tho some scenes defy logic (a supposedly lethal hit man is reduced to dunderhead status in the film's pivotal fight scene), the story steams ahead fluidly til the climactic denoument. This is Voigt's movie, but the supporting cast is effective in small roles, especially Maximillian Schell in his few scenes & Mary Tamm, as Voigt's along-for-the-ride girlfriend who also happens to be very easy on the eyes. And look, there's Derek Jacobi, long before he met Kenneth Branagh, in a tiny, yet pivotal role! Forge, Derek, forge!! Not as good as "The Conversation" but infinitely better than any movie starring Sharon Stone or Steven Seagal (or both). 7 out of 10.