The Day of the Jackal

On August 22, 1962, the militant underground group OAS attempts a daring assassination of President Charles de Gaulle. Their plan fails spectacularly, causing de Gaulle and his entourage to remain unscathed.

Following the failed assassination, OAS leader Jean Bastien-Thiry and his accomplices are captured. This leads to Bastien-Thiry being sentenced to execution for his role in the assassination attempt.

The surviving OAS leaders, now in hiding in Austria, begin plotting another assassination attempt. They decide to hire a British assassin, known only as 'Jackal,' offering him a hefty sum of $500,000.

The Jackal travels to Genoa to commission a custom-made rifle from a gunsmith. He also forges a new identity with the assistance of a forger, who he later kills when threatened with blackmail.

The Jackal duplicates a key to an apartment that overlooks Paris’ Place du 18 juin 1940, granting him a strategic location for his assassination attempt. This careful planning marks a crucial step in his mission.

The French Action Service takes decisive action by kidnapping Viktor Wolenski, the OAS chief clerk. Despite his death during interrogation, he reveals the name 'Jackal,' providing critical information about the assassination plot.

In light of the new intel, the Interior Minister convenes a meeting with top French security officials. Police Commissioner Berthier recommends his capable deputy Claude Lebel to lead the investigation into the plot against de Gaulle.

Colonel St. Clair inadvertently leaks sensitive information to his mistress, Denise, who is secretly an OAS operative. This breach provides crucial insights that assist the Jackal’s plans.

While at a hotel, the Jackal charms an aristocrat, Colette de Montpellier. However, upon learning that authorities are closing in, he narrowly escapes just before Lebel and his team arrive.

After taking refuge at Madame de Montpellier's estate, the Jackal kills her to eliminate any potential leads once he realizes that the police have contacted her. This brutal act underscores his ruthlessness.

As the police find Madame de Montpellier’s corpse, Lebel transitions to a public manhunt for the Jackal. The investigation gains urgency as they realize the assassin has been making calculated moves all along.

Lebel suspects a British individual named Charles Harold Calthrop may have entered France under the alias Paul Oliver Duggan. This leads to heightened scrutiny and focus on the connections to the Jackal.

During an urgent meeting, Lebel expresses his belief that the Jackal plans to assassinate de Gaulle during the upcoming Liberation Day ceremony. This event will commemorate the liberation of Paris in World War II.

On Liberation Day, the Jackal disguises himself as an elderly amputee and gains access to a building overlooking the ceremony. He assembles his rifle, preparing for the critical moment to eliminate de Gaulle.

As de Gaulle begins the ceremony, the Jackal’s shot narrowly misses him due to a sudden movement. In the ensuing chaos, Lebel rushes in, leading to a confrontation that ends with the Jackal being shot and killed.

After the incident, police investigate the true identity of the Jackal, who had exploited Calthrop's identity. The real Calthrop is cleared of suspicion, leaving Lebel as the only witness to the dark events surrounding the failed assassination.