Dustin Hoffman

Laurence Olivier

Roy Scheider

William Devane

Marthe Keller

Fritz Weaver

Richard Bright

Marc Lawrence

Allen Joseph

Tito Goya

Ben Dova

Lou Gilbert

Jacques Marin

James Wing Woo

Nicole Deslauriers

Lotte Palfi Andor

Lionel Pina

Church

Tricoche

Jamie Tirelli

Wilfredo Hernández

Harry Goz

Michael Vale

Fred Stuthman

Lee Steele

William Martel

Glenn Robards

Ric Carrott

Alma Beltran

Daniel Nunez

Anthony Pena

Chuy Franco

Billy Kearns

Sally Wilson

Tom Ellis

Bryant Fraser

Igor Dega

Gene Bori

Annette Claudier

Roger Etienne

Raymond Serra

John Garson

Charlott Thyssen

Estelle Omens

Madge Kennedy

Jeff Palladini

Scott Price

Abebe Bikila

S.C. Dacy

Bobra Suiter

William Magerman

Shawn McAllister

Irving Metzman

Monty O'Grady

N.J. Osrag

Harrison Ressler

Louis Tanno

Mark L. Taylor

Treat Williams

Sidney Beckerman

Conrad L. Hall

John Schlesinger

William Goldman

Robert Evans

Jim Clark

Charles Spurgeon

Michael Small

Mike Fenton

Jane Feinberg

Ann Roth

Richard Johnson

Dan Perri

George Justin

Robert De Mora

Ben Nye

Barbara Lorenz

George Gaines

Fred Stafford

Edward L. Sandlin

David M. Ronne

Jack De Shields

Richard Macdonald

Dick Smith

Thriller

Crime

Drama

Action

Marathon Man

Paramount Pictures

United States of America

CinemaSerf

As a man who quite literally loathes the very idea of a dentist, let alone actually going to visit one - this film adds an extra dimension of ghastliness to the already fairly hideous underlying premiss. That centres around "Babe" (Dustin Hoffman). He is an ordinary history student who is horrified when his older brother is brutally murdered. Why? Well, he sets out to investigate and before long is embroiled in a nazi-hunting plot to track down "Szell" (Sir Laurence Olivier) who is, himself, trying to stay one step ahead of some government agents whilst he tries to track down an huge cache of diamonds. It turns out that this evil creature thought the now deceased brother knew the location of the gems, and of course that puts "Babe" in quite considerable peril and so soon, he is next on the interrogation list. This torture gives the idea of getting a drilling an whole new meaning, as the sound of the dental whirring does more than enough to compensate for the lack of actual visuals. Though the ending is fitting, I found it all just a bit too convenient, but Hoffman is superb here, as are Sir Laurence and an international cast that add depth to this really quite disturbing plot. Even now, when we are so much more used to graphic violence and gore on screen, this is potently gruesome and effective.