Marathon Man is a 1974 paranoid thriller novel by William Goldman that was made into a 1976 film directed by John Schlesinger.
| Author | William Goldman |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Conspiracy thriller novel |
| Publisher | Delacorte Press |
Publication date | 1974 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 309 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-440-05327-7 {{isbn}}: Check isbn value: invalid character (help) |
| Marathon Man | |
|---|---|
 Marathon Man film poster | |
| Directed by | John Schlesinger |
| Written by | William Goldman (novel and screenplay) |
| Produced by | Sidney Beckerman Robert Evans |
| Starring | Dustin Hoffman Laurence Olivier Roy Scheider |
| Cinematography | Conrad Hall |
| Edited by | Jim Clark |
| Music by | Michael Small |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release dates | October 6, 1976 (USA) |
Running time | 125 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | Unknown |
Plot introduction
The story is about a former Nazi SS dentist from Auschwitz, Dr. Christian Szell (presumably modeled, at least in part, on the real-life Josef Mengele), now residing in Uruguay, trying to smuggle a large quantity of diamonds out of the U.S. This involves an ultra-secret intelligence agency called "The Division". The plot revolves around Thomas "Babe" Levy, a history graduate student at Columbia University and runner who is haunted by the suicide of his father, which was caused by the witchhunts of McCarthyism decades earlier. Thomas also has a brother, who unbeknownst to him works for this secret governmental body.
Film, TV and theatrical adaptations
In 1976, Marathon Man was made into a film starring Dustin Hoffman as the protagonist, Babe, and Laurence Olivier as Nazi dentist and war criminal, Dr. Szell. Olivier was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and he won a Golden Globe in the same category. The film is nearly identical to the novel because William Goldman also wrote the screenplay (although the film and the novel have different endings). Legendary Finnish runner Paavo Nurmi was referenced in the 1974 novel Marathon Man, as the idol of the protagonist. The movie adaptation replaced Nurmi with Ethiopian Olympian Abebe Bikila.
Both the novel and the film are known for a graphic scene in which the Nazi dentist tortures Babe by drilling into his teeth, without anesthetic, and repeatedly asking the question, "Is it safe?" Babe does not know what the question means nor the identity of his inquisitor. The dentist offers him oil of cloves as positive inducement to cooperate.
Although the film was not the first feature film production to use the Steadicam (the distinction going to Bound for Glory), it was earliest feature released which used it, predating both Bound for Glory and Rocky.
References in Music
The song "Assimilate" by Skinny Puppy uses a sound byte of the infamous "is it safe" quote.
External links
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