Frederick Forsyth’s The Day of the Jackal was released in 1973. You might have seen the movie, or read the book. Both were good..Starring British actor Edward Fox as the Jackal, and directed by Fred Zinnemann, it tells the story of an assassin hired by French paramilitary dissidents, the OAS, to kill Charles de Gaulle, the president of France..Although it is a work of fiction, there were indeed attempts on de Gaulle’s life..In fact, the film opens with a recreation that did occur — travelling in a black Citroën DS, the president and his wife ducked and escaped unharmed despite the car being hit several times and bullets passing within a few inches of De Gaulle’s head..After the 1962 ambush, which lasted 45 seconds, investigators picked up a total of 187 bullet casings from the scene..“They are such bad shots,” De Gaulle, then 71 and France’s Second World War hero, would joke.. De GaulleDe Gaulle in the Jackal's crosshairs. .The assassination attempt would kill two of the president’s motorcycle bodyguards, shatter the car’s rear window and puncture all four tires..Though the Citroen went into a front-wheel skid, de Gaulle’s chauffeur was able to accelerate out of the skid and drive to safety..A year later, attending the funeral of President John F. Kennedy’s, de Gaulle would boldly state it was likely the same people who tried to kill him, who killed Jack..Contracted professionals, possibly from the French Action Service..Like many people in power at the time, de Gaulle felt the Lee Harvey Oswald story just didn’t add up, and it still doesn’t today..But back to the Jackal, played impeccably by Fox..Working silently, and alone, unlike James Bond and even Jason Bourne, the Jackal is an outlier..From the moment he strikes a deal with the militant, right-wing OAS — demanding a total of US$500,000, half paid in advance and the rest on completion — he also chooses a code name, “The Jackal.”.Interestingly, Robert Redford, Michael Caine, Jack Nicholson and Roger Moore were considered for the role of the Jackal..Robert Shaw also lobbied for the part, but Zinnemann (High Noon) was looking for someone "nimble and willowy.".I bring this up for a couple reasons; I recently saw that a TV series, based on The Day of the Jackal, is about to start filming. Starring British actor Eddie Redmayne (The Theory Of Everything), the classic thriller series is being produced by Carnival Film & Television and will be filmed in multiple locations including Budapest, Austria, Croatia and London. I also note this, because Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is campaigning for president, recently told commentator Joe Rogan he is "aware" he might be in danger of assassination by intelligence agencies like his father and uncle Jack..Kennedy Jr., 69, repeatedly claimed the CIA was involved in the assassination of his uncle, President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas, in 1963. He also claims the intelligence agency could have been behind his father Sen. Robert F. Kennedy's assassination in California in 1968..While not a runaway hit, by any standards, The Day of the Jackal received positive reviews and went on to win the BAFTA Award for Best Editing, five additional BAFTA Award nominations, two Golden Globe Award nominations and one Oscar nomination..The film grossed US$16,056,255 at the North American box office, returning $8,525,000 in rentals to the studio. The British Film Institute also ranked it the 74th greatest British film of the 20th century..But there is one thing about this film that has always puzzled me..It has made me think long and hard..While the Jackal was forced to kill the Genoa forger who was trying to blackmail him, he did not kill the gunsmith..In the novel, the master gunsmith who produces the rifle, Paul Goosens, is Belgian, a retired engineer for FN's factory in Liège. The film changed his nationality to Italian, and his surname to "Gozzi.".For this job, the Jackal would need a special weapon, one that could be concealed inside a pair of crutches — part of his plan to gain access to the kill site, overlooking the Arc de Triomphe..Adding to the film’s realism, the special lightweight rifle was a genuine working model, and included a suppressor and telescopic sight..Two of them were made for the movie. One was handed over to the British authorities, and the other now resides in the Paris Cinematheque..To meet the gunsmith, the Jackal arrives early and waits in a park, behind a newspaper, to ensure he isn't followed or the house isn't under surveillance..A wonderful piece of engineering, the gun was encased in stainless steel, not aluminum, because of strength/bending issues..A fact that did not change the mission in any way..He also included lethal liquid mercury tipped bullets, which, when placed in the single load weapon, would be “explosive” at 100 yards..Under the Geneva Conventions, only standard ball ammunition is allowed for use against enemy soldiers on battlefields, while it remains legal to use other kinds of ammunition when firing at inanimate targets, firing at "unlawful belligerents" such as terrorists and criminals, or equipping police forces..It is interesting to note at this juncture, the man who built the assassination rifle to kill Fidel Castro for the CIA in the 1960s, as part of Operation Mongoose, ended up believing it was used on JFK instead..In First Hand Knowledge: How I Participated in the CIA-Mafia Murder of President Kennedy, Robert Morrow claims he customized specific rifles so they could be dismantled, hidden and reassembled quickly..After the assassination, Morrow, on contract with the CIA and paid by the US Army, “went into a state of panic. I went to my (CIA) case officer and he said, "Shut up.' ".The CIA has since denied Morrow ever worked for the CIA, a standard denial by the agency when cornered..The CIA threw plenty of dirt on Nov. 22, and this was just one aspect of it. The agency’s hands are as bloody as FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, who likely let the assassination happen..But getting back to our friend, the Jackal … why did he not kill Gozzi?.He killed just about everyone else, including a wealthy woman he befriended to lay low on his way to Paris, a gay man he met in a Turkish steam bath who discovers his true identity on TV, as well as a Paris apartment concierge..His fictional dossier, secreted to the OAS, states the Jackal killed “that fellow in the Congo” — possibly Patrice Lumumba, the first Congolese president, who was rumoured to have been assassinated by a European.. Day of Jackal 3 .Yet he is the man with no name..British and French intelligence agencies believed him to be Charles Calthrop, a former arms salesman, until the real Calthrop appears after the death of the Jackal..The Jackal is meticulous, seeking out clothes and military medals at a flea market; items which will make him look like a French war veteran..He would also chew on cordite, a substance that would make him look older and pale, the ruse to help him to gain access to the shooting window..He would make his failed fictional attempt on de Gaulle from a hotel window opposite the Montparnasse Bienvenue Métro Station — to this day, 150 rue de Rennes — during Liberation Day ceremonies..A failure only because of the last minute intervention of Deputy Minister Lebel (Michael Lonsdale), the Jackal would be buried in secret, his identity never truly known..The Liberation Day scenes were filmed at a real parade, with most spectators being unaware of a movie being shot. This caused a bit of confusion: many of the crowd mistook the arrests being filmed for real ones, and attempted to assist..By the way, the actor who played de Gaulle, Adrien Cayla-Legrand, looked so much like the former president that upon exiting his limousine during filming, it drew gasps from onlookers..So why didn’t the Jackal kill the gunsmith?.Quite simple. I think, because they were both professionals, and had a deep respect for each other. And there was no need to kill him..In the world of assassins, killing is an art, and so is the work of building specialty weapons..And unless you are being paid, it is dishonourable to kill.
