Marathon Man (1976)

A history student becomes caught in the middle of a dangerous international plot involving Nazis, stolen jewels, and government agents.

Director:

John Schlesinger

Writers:

William Goldman (screenplay), William Goldman (from: his novel)

Stars:

Dustin Hoffman, Laurence Olivier, Roy Scheider

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dustin Hoffman	...	Thomas Babbington Levy aka Babe
Laurence Olivier	...	Christian Szell
Roy Scheider	...	Doc Levy
William Devane	...	Peter Janeway
Marthe Keller	...	Elsa Opel
Fritz Weaver	...	Professor Biesenthal
Richard Bright	...	Karl
Marc Lawrence	...	Erhard
Allen Joseph	...	Babe's Father
Tito Goya	...	Melendez
Ben Dova	...	Klaus - Szell's Brother
Lou Gilbert	...	Rosenbaum
Jacques Marin	...	LeClerc
James Wing Woo	...	Chen
Nicole Deslauriers	...	Nicole

Storyline

Thomas "Babe" Levy, whose brother Henry James "Doc" Levy is an oil business executive, is a Ph.D. candidate in History at Columbia University. He is also training as a marathon runner. Babe is paying homage to his deceased father, H.B. Levy, in pursuing the same studies as him, his father who committed suicide while being under investigation in the Communist witch hunts. Babe's work does not sit well with Doc who wants Babe to move on with his life. While at Columbia, Babe meets and begins to date Elsa Opel, a foreign exchange student also in History. While out for a walk in Central Park late one night, Babe and Elsa are mugged, the unusual aspect of it being that their attackers were men in suits. Babe will learn that the mugging was not a random attack after someone close to Babe is found murdered, the deceased who was not who he purported to be. From here, Babe is thrown into an international conspiracy concerning Nazi war criminal Christian Szell in hiding, and a large cache of ...

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Plot Keywords:

jew | television news | central park | stabbed in the belly | war criminal | 

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Taglines:

A thriller.

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Genres:

Crime | Thriller

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Certificate:

16

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although not particularly a fan of William Goldman's original novel, Dustin Hoffman took the role so that he could work with John Schlesinger again (the two had previously collaborated on Midnight Cowboy (1969)). He had also heard that Al Pacino was interested in the role and wanted to beat him to it.

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Goofs

During the movie, Babe (Dustin Hoffman) fires several rounds from his Colt .45 Commander semi-automatic pistol. A real Commander would eject a fired metal cartridge case after each shot; however, no cases are seen ejecting from Babe's pistol nor are any heard hitting the ground.

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Quotes

Janeway: I don't think he knows anything. And I think he knows too much.
Christian Szell: You can afford to think what you wish. I can't.

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Crazy Credits

The ending credits scroll with Babe's jogging route as a backdrop.

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Connections

Referenced in The Cinema Snob: Little Shop of Horrors (2020)

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Soundtracks

Dors, o cité oerverse
(1881)
(from 'Hérodiade')
Music by Jules Massenet
Libretto by Paul Milliet (uncredited) and Henry Grémont (uncredited)
Sung by Joseph Rouleau, with the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House (Royal Opera House Covent Garden Orchestra)
Conducted by John Matheson
Courtesy of London and Decca Records

User Reviews

A prime example of the way highly styled entertainment should be

Schlesinger made a great action-suspense film and married it to the artistry of unique talents… Hoffman was, by then, a dynamic, young and incredibly versatile film actor with three Academy Award nominations already under his belt for "The Graduate," "Midnight Cowboy," and "Lenny."

But the key to "Marathon Man" was the chemistry between its stars… Perhaps one of the most gut-wrenching and most memorable scenes in the film comes when Hoffman is captured and tortured by Olivier who plays the role of a mean and vicious and sadistic Nazi war criminal, Christian Szell… Olivier's performance resulted in a 1976 Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor…

In 1945, Szell ran the experimental camp at Auschwitz where they called him the White Angel… He was a dentist and could provide escape for any Jew who was willing to pay the price… He started out with gold, naturally, but very quickly worked his way up to diamonds…

As Szell saw the end early, he sneaked his brother into America with the diamonds… And they were right here, in New York, in a safe deposit-box until Szell's brother got killed in a head-on collision with an oil truck…

Uniquely built, and with a marvelous, rugged face, Roy Scheider, well known for his strong performances in "The French Connection," "Klute," and "Jaws," came on board as Hoffman's mysterious businessman brother, getting the rare chance to play a character that's both hero and villain… Doc is a fascinating guy because he chooses to work out his problems in a much different way than Dustin's character does… He was very touched and very moved by his father's death, but he abandoned all his hopes for whatever he intended to do and he became a spy, a killer, a very jaded personality…

In doing something truly suspenseful, Schlesinger accomplished a film that's largely about fear and it's about pain and the infliction of pain because of fear… The thrilling sensation of great expectations came on the 47th Street in the diamond district in New York, where Schlesinger gets the best of it

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English French German Spanish Yiddish

Release Date:

27 January 1977 (Netherlands)

Also Known As:

Der Marathon-Mann

Filming Locations:

Champs Elysées, Paris 8, Paris, France

Box Office

Budget:

$6,500,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$21,709,020

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$21,709,020

Company Credits

Production Co:

Robert Evans Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

125 min

Sound Mix:

Mono Stereo

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1