Marathon Man (1976 John Schlesinger)

I always remember the scene where Hoffman begs the Puerto Ricans over the road to burgle his apartment, I'd just forgotten how great everything else is in this film. You can see Goldman writing it:

The wheels of pram
Close up
A doll's head in the pram.
Sound of TICKING.

And just the audacious plot. How does it begin?

A man running around Central Park
Cut to - black and white flashback of marathon runner
Cut to - a man in a bank vault. Man takes tin out of security box.
Man drives - his car conks out. It's a Mercedes.
Another man. A Jewish man.
The fight, the explosion.

Then - we're in Paris. Roy Scheider. How does he fit in?

All with excellent support from Jim Clark (editing) and Conrad Hall (camera - he and Goldman worked a few times together).

You'd think Goldman would have won awards wouldn't you? No, Larry did. I'm really not sure Larry was ever any good, even though my mum wouldn't like to hear that. I was not impressed by Goldman's story that Method Hoffman wanted to improvise for an hour with he and Larry on their feet, though Larry was really suffering and in great pain. (You can see it in the rather ungainly way in which he climbs into a taxi.)

With Marthe Keller, William Devane.

Thank god he gets some clothes - must have been freezing. Made me think of 'Stars and Bars'.

Scorching story by a Jew about concentration camp monster and diamonds, recognised in Jewish quarter of city, terrific.

Music by Michael Small.