History Trivia / TheDayOfTheJackal

* UncreditedRole: Creator/DavidKernan as Per Lundquist.

* ExecutiveMeddling: A minor example, but Fred Zinnemann and producer Sir John Woolf argued over whether the English cast members should speak with French accents. Woolf thought it would be distracting if French characters [[NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent spoke like Englishmen]], while Zinnemann argued that if the movie was good enough [[MST3KMantra it wouldn't matter to the audience]]. Zinnemann won the argument, though he admitted afterwards that Woolf wasn't entirely wrong.

** Creator/MichaelCaine, Creator/RogerMoore, Creator/JackNicholson and Creator/RobertRedford were all considered for the Jackal, but Fred Zinneman refused to cast a star in the role, feeling that the character should be anonymous. Creator/RobertShaw lobbied for the part, but Zinneman was looking for someone "nimble and willowy".

** Creator/MichaelCaine, Creator/RogerMoore, Creator/JackNicholson and Creator/RobertRedford were all considered for the Jackal, but Fred Zinneman refused to cast a star in the role, feeling that the character should be anonymous. Creator/RobertShaw lobbied for the part, but Zinneman was looking for someone " nimble and willowy ".

* ExecutiveMeddling: A minor example, but Fred Zinnemann and producer Sir John Woolf argued over whether the English cast members should speak with French accents. Woolf thought it would be distracting if French characters [[NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent spoke like Englishmen]], especially with French actors among their costars, while Zinnemann argued that if the movie was good enough [[MST3KMantra it wouldn't matter to the audience]]. Zinnemann won the argument, though he admitted afterwards that Woolf wasn't entirely wrong.

* AcclaimedFlop: Though the film was not a box office success, it received generally excellent reviews and made Creator/EdwardFox much in demand in films and on television.

* ExecutiveMeddling: A minor example, but Fred Zinnemann and producer Sir John Woolf argued over whether the English cast members should speak with French accents. Woolf thought it would be distracting if French characters spoke like Englishmen, especially with French actors among their costars, while Zinnemann argued that if the movie was good enough [[MST3KMantra it wouldn't matter to the audience]]. Zinnemann won the argument, though he admitted afterwards that Woolf wasn't entirely wrong.

* UsefulNotes/BFITop100BritishFilms: #74

** Intelligence agencies have often come to refer to one of the ways the Jackal created a fake identity -- by using the name, along with birthdate and place of birth, of someone who died as an infant or small child -- as "the Jackal" system or method.

** Intelligence agencies have often come to refer to one of the ways the Jackal created a fake identity for his passport -- by using the names, along with birthdates and places of birth, of people who died as an infant or small child -- as "the Jackal system".

* LifeImitatesArt: Infamous terrorist and assassin Ilich "Carlos" Ramírez Sánchez was given the nickname "The Jackal" after a Guardian correspondent saw a copy of this book among his possessions. Ironically the book didn't even belong to him, but to the person who owned the apartment where he was staying.

** Creator/MichaelCaine, Creator/RogerMoore, Creator/JackNicholson and Creator/RobertRedford were all considered for the Jackal, but Fred Zinneman refused to cast a star in the role, feeling that the character should be anonymous.

* AcclaimedFlop: Though the film was not a box office success, it received generally excellent reviews and made Edward Fox much in demand in films and on television.

* FakeNationality: Most of the major French characters are played by English actors, though Michael Lonsdale, Delphine Seyrig and Olga Georges-Picot are exceptions.

* RetroactiveRecognition: Yes, that ''is'' a young Creator/DerekJacobi playing Lebel's assistant Caron.

* LifeImitatesArt: Infamous terrorist and assassin Ilich "Carlos" Ramírez Sánchez was given the nickname "The Jackal" after a Guardian correspondent saw a copy of this book among his possessions.

* HeyItsThatGuy: Apparently, seven centuries on, Series/{{Cadfael}} is alive and well and working in France. Also, Michael Lonsdale, the actor who plays Lebel plays the villain Hugo Drax in the Film/JamesBond film ''Film/{{Moonraker}}''. [[Film/TheBattleOfAlgiers Col. Mathieu ]] will join the OAS apparently.