Master Race

FORTY-SEVENTH STREET between Fifth and Sixth Avenues in New York, known in the city as the diamond district, is just about the single most Jewish street imaginable, Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Boulevard not excepted. How does the idea of the world's most wanted Nazi war criminal, the notorious "White Angel" of Auschwitz, strolling down this street, stopping into stores and having his diamonds appraised, appeal to you? Suppose you then discovered that he had extracted these diamonds from doomed Jews in return for granting them their freedom, and then had dispatched them to their deaths. And what if you also knew that this seemingly benign old gentleman is armed with a foot long knife, hidden in a metal wrist ornament, which he is capable of flicking out and slitting someone's throat with in a matter of seconds?

Well, combine this image with that of a nervous, bumbling graduate student in history at Columbia, in the process of writing a doctoral dissertation designed to clear the name of his late father, a noted historian driven to alcoholism, and finally, to suicide by the McCarthy witch hunts, and you'll have something of a notion of what makes Marathon Man an outstanding thriller.

The two characters--the Nazi, Dr. Szell, a dentist who makes a practice of extracting information from people by using the tools of his trade, most notably a high-powered drill, in highly dubious fashion, is Laurence Olivier--are interwoven in an intricate but readily comprehensible story which moves through France and Uruguay and finally reaches its culmination in New York. The graduate student, played by Dustin Hoffman, is an aspiring marathon runner who jogs in Central Park before and after classes, dreaming of Olympic stardom; his developing skills at endurance running turn out to come in quite handy--hence the title.

Although the film is certainly not tasteless, either in plot or in presentation, violence--and violence of a particularly bizarre and painful character--runs continually throughout Marathon Man. And if those in the audience are unprepared for, or less than anxious to partake in a two hour experience of this sort, the effect of the film will be unpleasant at best. With that warning, and noting that there are weapons of destruction employed in this film unlike any you have ever seen, know also that this screen version of the William Goldman novel is about as exciting and captivating a mystery as has been produced in recent years.

Hoffman is at his best here as the naive, overwhelmed Tom Levi, whose purpose in life is both limited and noble, who becomes entangled in events far beyond his wildest imaginings, and who, in the final analysis, demonstrates a resiliency and inner strength which one gathers his father, for all his brilliance, lacked. The metaphor of the marathon runner, ever striving for greater fortitude, is indeed apt, and Hoffman has found a role which, with its moments of humor and of pathos, affords him an opportunity to turn in a performance strikingly reminiscent, in its portrayal of a character confused and bewildered, yet ultimately driven and determined in self-righteous fury, of the Dustin Hoffman of The Graduate.

Oliver's role is at once more fun and a greater challenge. His ability to switch successfully from Dr. Szell, the traveling businessman, to Dr. Szell, the barbarous torturer and murderer, to Dr. Szell, the frightened old man, makes the evil Szell character believable in its horror, and gives the movie its strength.

Still, for those who have read the novel, the film, though a relatively faithful adaptation, may prove something of a disappointment. Knowing pretty much what is about to happen and how it all ends inevitably lessens the tension and excitement. Too, literature, and particularly mystery novels of this type, leave much to the reader's imagination, and the descriptive details that the author, in this case Goldman, provides, allow the reader's mind to conjure up greater horrors and a stronger sense of terror than can be produced on screen.

WITH THAT SAID about Marathon Man, the film and the book, it is worth taking a moment to consider William Goldman, whose screenplay credits include Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and All the President's Men, but who is held in highest regard by this writer for Boys and Girls Together, a novel about growing up in the 50's, published over a decade ago, that is remarkable for a set of extraordinarily well-developed characters and strikingly witty and realistic dialogue. Having failed to encounter anyone who has heard of this book, or anyone who knew of Goldman as anything other than a screenwriter, save for Marathon Man the novel, it seemed reasonable to attempt a reader-service and recommend Boys and Girls Together as a sure way to good vacation or an enjoyable week of bedtime reading. Goldman is a first rate entertainer, and Marathon Man, like almost everything else Goldman has had a hand in, is entertainment of a high order.