Corrected entry: When the Jackal boards the train for Paris, about 40 minutes from the end of the film, the engine of the train is blue; when the train arrives in Paris, the engine is red.
The Day of the Jackal (1973)
1 commented-on entry since 12 Dec '24, 05:47
Directed by: Fred Zinnemann
Starring: Edward Fox, Michel Auclair, Terence Alexander, Alan Badel
Plot hole: When the French conclude - incorrectly - that Charles Calthrop is the Jackal, they contact the British authorities and obtain his file photograph from the passport office. The photograph is of Edward Fox in character as the Jackal - but it shouldn't be! The Jackal and Calthrop have no connection. The Jackal never used his identity and did not apply for a false passport in his name. The photo should have been of Edward Hardwicke in character as Charles Calthrop, who appears in the closing minutes of the film. The two actors do not look anything like each other.
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.
Trivia: The Jackal demands $500,000 (US) to assassinate De Gaulle, which seems like a modest amount for such a dangerous job. However, when you take inflation into account that's the equivalent in 2024 money of over $5m. No wonder his putative employers are surprised.
Question: Before the Jackal makes an impression of the Paris apartment key, he deliberately rubs the key against his chin. Why?
Answer: Chins have sebaceous glands (natural oils). He rubs the key on his chin to lightly coat the metal key as a lubricant, so it does not stick to the mould. It will make a perfect impression in the mould to create a flawless cast.
Correction: The train has had a change of engine en route. The original engine was diesel and arriving in Paris was electric. This would actually have happened but wasn't shown as it would serve no part in telling the story.
Yes but how many changes? It makes sense to change a locomotive from diesel to electric or vice versa if the railway infrastructure would require this change. On usual train routes the locmotive is changed once from diesel to electric or vice versa. On few ocasions it would be possible to change the locomotive from diesel to electric and then back to diesel so two changes on one train route in total. But it wouldn't make any sense at all to change the electric locmotive with another electric locomotive. This is a continuity error in the movie.
There are three shots of the train: one arriving at Tulle, one in transit, and finally one as the train arrives in Paris. In each of the three shots, the train is pulled by a different locomotive. Also, the train in the second shot is a different length and made up of different types of carriages than the train that arrives at Tulle. It's obvious that stock train footage was used and any attempt at continuity was disregarded.