The Day of the Jackal 1973 - Movie Quotes

Minister There is one thing: how did you know whose telephone to tap?

Lebel I didn't, so I tapped all of them.

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Col. Rodin Will you do it?

The Jackal Yes.

Montclair How much?

The Jackal You must understand that this is a once-in-a-lifetime job, whoever does it can never work again...

Montclair How much do you want?

The Jackal Half a million.

Montclair What?

The Jackal In cash. Half in advance, half on completion.

Montclair Half a million francs?

The Jackal Dollars.

Montclair [standing up] Are you mad?

The Jackal Considering you expect to get France in return, I'd have thought it a reasonable price. If you can't manage it, then there's nothing more to be said.

[turns to leave]

Col. Rodin We accept!

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Col. Rodin We are not terrorists, you understand. We are patriots. Our duty is to the soldiers who died fighting in Algeria, and to the three million French citizens who have always lived there.

The Jackal And so you want to get rid of him.

Col. Rodin Speaking as a professional, do you think it's possible?

The Jackal It's possible. The point is getting away with it. And speaking as a professional, that's a very important consideration.

Montclair But in principle you say it could be done?

The Jackal Yes, with enough time and planning. It would be more difficult than most other targets.

Casson Why more?

The Jackal Because de Gaulle has the best security service in the world. Their information is first-class. You see, gentlemen, not only have your own efforts failed, but you've rather queered the pitch for everyone else.

Casson How dare you suggest that!

The Jackal In this work, you simply can't afford to be emotional. That's why you've made so many mistakes.

Col. Rodin But if we decided to employ a professional...

The Jackal You have to employ a professional. Your organization is so riddled with informers that nothing you decide is a secret for long. No, the job would have to be done by an outsider. The only question would be by whom, and for how much.

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[last lines]

Mallinson There's no question of Her Majesty's Government ever conceding the fact that this Jackal was an Englishman. So far as one can see, there was a period when an Englishman came under suspicion, but he has now been cleared. Certainly, the Jackal masqueraded as an Englishman, but he also masqueraded as a Dane and as a Frenchman. So there's no way of proving his identity at all.

Insp. Thomas But if the Jackal wasn't Calthrop, then who the hell was he?

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Minister Commissioner Berthier, any suggestions?

Berthier We're in trouble on this one. Our agents inside the OAS can't pin him down, since not even the OAS knows who he is. Action Service can't destroy him; they don't know who to destroy. The gendarmes, all forty-eight thousand of them, can't pursue him; they don't know who to pursue. The police can't arrest him. How can they? They don't know who to arrest. Without a name, all other proposals are meaningless. The first task, then, is to find it. We get a name, we get a passport and a face. And with a face, we get an arrest. But to find his name, and to do it in secret, is a job of pure detective work.

Minister Commissioner, who is the best detective on the force?

Berthier The best detective is my own deputy commissioner, Claude Lebel.

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Commentator The time elapsed from the first to the last shot was seven seconds. In all, more than 140 shots were fired. Sever bullets pierced the president's car; one came within an inch of his head. But, as if by a miracle, neither he nor anyone else was hurt.

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Lebel The following conversation was recorded at 6:15 this morning. The number being dialed was identified as Molitor 5901.

[plays a tape recorder for the council]

Denise Hello.

Valmy Yes?

Denise Denise.

Valmy Valmy here.

Denise They know he's a Danish schoolteacher. They're visiting every hotel in Paris.

[Lebel switches off the recorder]

Lebel The contact was arrested an hour ago. Unfortunately, the information came from this room.

Minister Whose voice was that?

St. Clair [slowly rises] I regret to have to inform you, Minister, that it was the voice of a friend of mine... she is staying with me at the moment... excuse me.

[leaves]

Minister I feel we owe you an apology, Commissioner.

Lebel Thank you.

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Mallinson The prime minister?

Insp. Thomas The prime minster, sir. That he said if there's the remotest possibility of General de Gaulle's life being threatened by a person of these islands, then it is to be stopped. And he's given me full powers and top priority.

Mallinson Is this some kind of bloody joke?

Insp. Thomas No, of couse not, sir. I've got to drop whatever I'm doing, and I shall need six of your best men, straight away.

Mallinson Where's the notification for all this? Where's the proper authority?

[Telephone rings. Mallison answers]

Mallinson Yes!

[Mallison listens then rises]

Mallinson Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Of course, sir.

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Col. Rodin There's nothing more you want from us. From now on you'll be working completely alone.

The Jackal Not completely. One will have the cooperation of de Gaulle.

[the OAS members look astonished]

The Jackal Well, he won't listen to his secret service and he's not the sort of man to stay out of the public eye.

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The Gunsmith Over what range will you fire?

The Jackal I'm not sure yet, but probably not more than 400 feet

The Gunsmith Will the gentleman be moving?

The Jackal Stationary.

The Gunsmith Will you go for a head shot or a chest shot?

The Jackal Probably head.

The Gunsmith What about the chances of a second shot?

The Jackal Well, I might get the chance, but I doubt it. In any event I'll need a silencer to escape.

The Gunsmith In that case, you'd better have explosive bullets. Yes, I can prepare a handful for you along with the gun.

The Jackal Glycerin or mercury?

The Gunsmith Oh, mercury... I think. It's much cleaner.

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[Caron calls London, Assistant Commisioner Mallinson at 3:58 in the morning]

Mallinson I don't wish to sound rude, Inspector, but wouldn't it be better if this sort of routine inquiry could be conducted through the proper channels, preferably when we're all awake?

Caron Yes, I'm sorry Mr. Mallinson, but it is very urgent. Commissioner Lebel didn't wish to make a formal request; he was rather hoping that you'd cooperate with us unofficially.

Mallinson All right, I'll take the Commissioner's call at... 08:30, you say? Fine. Good night.

[hangs up]

Mallinson What's left of it...

Mallinson's Wife Who was that, dear?

Mallinson The Old Boy Network.

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Colonel Rolland [dictating a letter] The plot described above constitutes, in my view, the most dangerous single conception that the terrorists could possibly have devised to endanger the life of President De Gaulle. If the plot exists as described, and if a foreign-born assassin whose codename may be "Jackal" has in fact been engaged for this attempt on the life...

[the secretary makes a brief halt, and continues]

Colonel Rolland ...on the life of the President, it is my duty to inform you, Minister, that in my opinion we face a national emergency. New paragraph: The above report is top secret and intended for your eyes only. Written at 0800 hours, August 14 1963. Address: To the Minister of the Interior. Have the dispatch rider stand by, and forget everything you've heard.

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The Jackal How many know about this?

Col. Rodin Just the four of us.

The Jackal Let's keep it that way. This job depends on absolute secrecy. No notes must be kept. If any one of you is captured, I shall feel free to call it off. I suggest you go somewhere secure and remain there under guard until the job is done. Agreed?

Col. Rodin Agreed.

The Jackal [writes on a piece of paper] The planning will be mine. Here is the account number of my bank in Switzerland. When I've received confirmation that the first $250,000 has been deposited, I'll move, provided I'm ready. But I shall not be hurried or interfered with in any way.

Col. Rodin [passes the paper to Montclair] Agreed.

The Jackal All I shall want from you is a number that I can ring in Paris for information about De Gaulle's schedule and security arrangements.

Montclair I'd like to know where you expect us to find half a million dollars so quickly.

The Jackal Use your network to rob some banks.

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Caron You know, sir, what they'll do to you if you don't catch this man in time...

Lebel I've been given a job to do, so we'll just have to do it.

Caron But no crime has been committed yet, so where are we supposed to start looking for the criminal?

Lebel We start by recognizing that, after De Gaulle, we are the two most powerful people in France.

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The Jackal [disguised as Per Lundquist] Goodbye, Mr. Duggan.

[heaves a suitcase with his clothes and false papers off a bridge]

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The Interrogator You're being very foolish, Victor. You know yourself, they always talk in the end. You've seen it with your own two eyes in... where was it, Indochina? And Algeria, of course. Why don't you tell us what they're waiting for in that hotel, eh? Rodin, Montclair, Casson: what are they planning, who have they been meeting? Nobody? Not a soul, hmm? Then where were they before they went to Rome, eh? Tell us, Victor.

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Insp. Thomas [to his squad] He may be abroad, traveling on a false passport. What you're going to do now is to go down to the Passport Office. Get a complete list of every passport application for the last three months.

Special Branch Detective But, sir...

Insp. Thomas I don't care who's closed, wake the buggers up! Then take all those papers down to Somerset House, get started on checking the applicants' names against death certificates. Not birth certificates, mind you. If you find a passport filed by someone who died as a child, the one who filed it might be our man. If you don't find anything in the first three months, go back another three, and another three if you have to. Right, off you go!

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The Jackal Boring, aren't they, the magazines?

Colette de Montpelier I find them fascinating.

The Jackal What? Articles about pig breeding and combine harvesters?

Colette de Montpelier I'm enthralled by combine harvesters. In fact, I yearn to have one as a pet.

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Lebel [interrogating hotel staff] But you did say that Madame de Montpelier's bed was slept in by two people?

Hotel Maid Yes sir, definitely. You can always tell.

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[the Jackal calls Molitor 5901]

Valmy The Jackal is blown. Wolenski talked before dying. Repeat: The Jackal is blown.

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Minister [to Lebel] Remember, Commissioner, you have full powers in this investigation, and the resources of every department represented here are entirely at your disposal. My instructions are simply: no publicity, and do not fail.

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Colette de Montpelier Why, I don't know what you're talking about.

Lebel Madam, be in no doubt as to the seriousness of your position.

[Colette stands and moves uneasily to another chair]

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Casson No wonder our people are giving up, they've lost faith!

Montclair We've failed them every single time!

Col. Rodin We won't fail them again!

Casson What can we do? We're paralyzed!

Montclair Every cop in France has memorized our faces! Informants are all around us!

Col. Rodin ...We must find an outsider. A foreigner!

Montclair A foreigner? Why?

Col. Rodin A contract killer! He won't have a record inside France, so he won't exist; he can come and go as he pleases!

Montclair That sort of person costs money.

Col. Rodin Yes. I'll find the right man.

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[only words]

Wolenski [tortured] Jac... kal.

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[Lebel arranges calls from Holland, Belgium, Italy, West Germany, South Africa, the United States and Britain]

Caron Sir, how do you know that the Jackal comes from any of these seven countries?

Lebel I don't. But he must be on file somewhere.

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Caron [on phone] Yes, Washington, I know it's seven o'clock there, it's midnight here!

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General Colbert [on the phone] I need Wolenski. Arrange to get him across the border... What?... No, never mind the Italian government! And once you have him inside France, bring him to Paris immediately!

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Valmy [answers phone] Hello?

Denise Denise.

Valmy Valmy here.

Denise They found out about the Jackal.

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Lebel The time elapsed from the first to the last shot was 7 seconds. In all, more than 140 shots were fired. 7 bullets pierced the President's car, one coming within an inch of his head, but by a miracle, neither he or anyone else was hurt. Six months later, most of the conspirators had been caught and tried. Their leader, Col. Bastien-Thiry, has been sentenced to death. At the last moment, his lawyer applies one more time for a stay of execution.

Lawyer The appeal for clemency has been turned down. There is nothing more that I can do. I am sorry.

Bastien-Thiry There is no need.

Lawyer For heaven's sake, man, don't you realize that you are going to be shot?

Bastien-Thiry You don't understand. No French soldier is going to raise a rifle against me.

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Insp. Thomas [after Special Branch Detective finds Charles Calthrop's passport in his apartment] What's this?

Special Branch Detective His passport.

Insp. Thomas Oh?

Special Branch Detective We checked it. It's him, all right. Look. The Dominican visa. There's no exit stamp, though. He must have got out on the sly.

Insp. Thomas You haven't grasped it yet, have you? Oh, yes, this is our man, all right. Definitely. But hasn't it occurred to you that we're holding his passport in our hands? If he is out of the country, what's he travelling on? Eh?

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The Jackal What about the French documents?

The Forger French identity card's all right. The other one, I don't think I've ever seen what they look like, let alone copy it. I'll have to get a colleague of mine in France to pick someone's pocket so I can make a duplicate. It'll mean more time, more money...

The Jackal How much more?

The Forger Five hundred... three hundred pounds?

The Jackal Half now, half on delivery.

The Forger When will I hear from you?

The Jackal I'll be returning to Genoa on August the 14th. Be in the same place we met tonight at six o'clock.

[pays the Forger]

The Forger Must be a big job you've got on, eh?

The Jackal Now there are certain things I wish to make clear: when you've finished the work, you will hand over all the negatives and all the prints of the photographs you've just taken. You will also forget the name of Duggan, and the name on the French documents you are going to produce. Is that understood?

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[first lines]

Commentator August 1962 was a stormy time for France. Many people felt that President Charles de Gaulle had betrayed the country by giving independence to Algeria. Extremists, mostly from the Army, swore to kill him in revenge. They banded together in an underground movement, and called themselves the OAS.

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Lebel Excuse me, but it has just occurred to me that we have forty-eight hours in which to find this Jackal

[There is a chorus of "What?" and "How do you know?" from the committee members]

Lebel Am I right in assuming that the President has no engagements outside the Elysee Palace today, tomorrow and Saturday ?

Minister None.

Lebel And what is Sunday, August the twenty-fifth?

Minister [Slaps forehead] Of course! Liberation Day!

Lebel That's what he's been waiting for.

Minister We must have been blind.

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[On the eve of Liberation Day]

Minister We can't find him. He's vanished, just disappeared off the face of the earth. I don't think we really ever had any idea what kind of a man you've been pursuing for the last two weeks.

Lebel What about tomorrow?

Minister The President rekindles the Eternal Flame at ten. High Mass is at eleven. There's only one public ceremony in the afternoon, at four o'clock: he will present Liberation medals to veterans of the Resistance.

Lebel What about crowd control?

Minister Crowds will be kept back from the ceremony further than ever before. Steel barriers go up several hours before each ceremony. Every house inside the barrier ring is searched from top to bottom, including the sewers. The police will be issued with special lapel badges at the last moment, in case he tries to masquerade as a security man. There'll be marksmen inside Notre Dame, even among the congregation. The priests celebrating Mass will be searched for concealed weapons. We'll have firemen and marksmen on every rooftop along the procession route. Dumont has drafted a number of specially tall officers to hedge around the President without him noticing.

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Lebel [running] Top floor!

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[the Jackal collects his forged documents and sorts through them]

The Forger What? It's all there. The Duggan driver's license and the French identity card were easy enough, but whoo, that third card was a big headache! It's nicely dog-eared, isn't it?

The Jackal Haven't you forgotten something?

The Forger Sorry?

The Jackal The original driver's license, the one I said I wanted back.

The Forger [crafty smile] I thought we might have a little chat about that. The fact is, you see, the original driver's license is not here. But don't worry, it's put away in a very safe place...

[holds up a set of keys]

The Forger Nobody can get it, but me.

The Jackal Well, what do you want?

The Forger I'm coming to that. What I propose is simply a little trade: I give you the original driving license and all those negatives I took of you, for a certain sum of money.

The Jackal How much?

The Forger A thousand pounds. It's worth that, wouldn't you say, to get those documents back?

The Jackal Yes, I suppose so.

The Forger [pleased] An English gentleman can always be trusted to see sense!

The Jackal I can find the first five hundred by tomorrow, but on the condition we don't meet in this place.

The Forger There's nothing wrong with this place. It's very quiet, and very private.

The Jackal There's everything wrong with this place as far as I'M concerned!

The Forger Forget about that, no one comes here unless they're invited by me! One has to be discreet, you know, in my little sideline.

[chuckles. The Jackal laughs with him, and then chops his neck]

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Col. Rodin One last thing. What codename will you use?

The Jackal Why not the Jackal?

Col. Rodin Why not?

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Lebel It's obvious that the Jackal has been tipped off all along, and yet he's decided to go ahead, regardless. He's simply challenged the whole lot of us.

Minister Are you really suggesting that there's a leak from inside this room?

Lebel I can't say. But we think that the Jackal is now in Paris with a new name and a new face, probably masquerading as a Danish schoolteacher.

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Denise Crisis?... .What crisis?

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Colette de Montpelier No, of course I don't live in the Alps. I went there for a visit, that's all.

The Jackal Climbing?

Colette de Montpelier Good Lord, no. I spent a day at the Cadet Academy in Barcelonette amongst a lot of jaundiced military types, watching my son receive his commission.

The Jackal [surprised] Oh...

Colette de Montpelier He's nineteen.

The Jackal I never know when you're being serious.

Colette de Montpelier It's true, unfortunately.

The Jackal Why "unfortunately"? I see nothing unfortunate in...

Colette de Montpelier I'm not begging for compliments, Mr. Duggan.

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Minister The President must be told.

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Special Branch Detective Hughes here, sir. Paul Oliver Duggan: born April the 3rd 1929 in Sambourne Fishley, applied for a passport on July the 14th of this year; passport mailed July the 17th to an address in Paddington. That'll probably turn out to be an accommodation address. Why? Because Duggan died at the age of two and a half on November the 8th, 1931.

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Insp. Thomas [answers phone] Thomas... Yes, that's right... Is this some sort of bloody joke?... What, now? Personally? Oh, yes, I'll...

[cut to Thomas arriving at 10 Downing Street, the residence of the British Prime Minister]

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Insp. Thomas I don't think I've ever heard of a political killer in this country. It's not our style, is it?

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Lebel I'm beginning to get a feeling about the Jackal...

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Colonel Rolland "Jackal." I thought Wolenski used it as a swearword, but it doesn't sound like him.

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The Forger I knew you didn't come to Geneva for a driver's license. Anyone in London could've done that.

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[arriving in St Clair's home]

Denise Are you home already...?

[discovers St Clair's body and a bottle of pills]

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Colonel Rolland The ones we've caught are small fry. They've been ordered to do it, but they don't know why.

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The Jackal Do you know a good Turkish bath?

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The Jackal The problem is I won't have time to play around with makeup. Besides, I'm not much good at it anyway.

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The Gunsmith It's very, very remarkable. It's so simple.

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Colette de Montpelier I know nothing at all about Mr. Duggan's whereabouts. We only met in the lounge of that hotel. He joined me for coffee.

Lebel What did he want?

[Colette gives Lebel a cold stare]

Lebel What did you talk about?

Colette de Montpelier Social chit-chat. I imagine he was trying to impress me.

Lebel Why do you think that?

Colette de Montpelier Commissioner, please, we're not children, after all.

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Bernard You're getting all steamed up.

The Jackal I think so.

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The Jackal I'll pay you half the fee now and the rest on delivery.

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The Interrogator You're being very foolish, Victor. You know yourself, they always talk in the end. you've seen it with your own two eyes in -- Where was it, Indo-China? And in Algeria, of course. So why don't you tell us what they're waiting for in that hotel, eh? Rodin, Montclair, Casson. What are they planning? Who have they been meeting with? Nobody? Not a soul? eh? Then where were they before they went to Rome, eh? Tell us, Victor.

[the interrogator electrocutes Wolenski]

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Colette de Montpelier Why did you come?

The Jackal To see you. I had to.

Colette de Montpelier But why?

The Jackal Does it matter?

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Colette de Montpelier Paul... the police were here yesterday looking for you.

The Jackal Did they say they were coming back?

Colette de Montpelier No, only that I should phone if...

[pause]

Colette de Montpelier Paul, I know you stole that car. It has a local license plate. I know it must be very serious. I don't mind. You can tell me what you've done. You can stay here, it's safe. But you must tell me, Paul. I won't say anything...

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[Lebel arrives at the Nice hotel, but finds the Jackal gone]

Lebel Very strange. He was booked in here for two days, then just after eleven he suddenly asks for his bill and leaves...

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Col. Rodin I want a camp bed in here with linen and all the usual - including something to wash in and shaving things. Also, get a percolator and lots of coffee.

Caron Right, sir.

Col. Rodin Get onto the switchboard. I want a good telephonist, the best they've got. And I need ten outside lines open around-the-clock. If there's any nonsense, refer them to Berthier. This job gets top priority at all times.

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[bidding farewell within earshot of Wolenski]

Col. Rodin A pleasant journey home, Mister... Mister Jackal.

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The Day of the Jackal Movie Quotes