The ODESSA File (film)

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The ODESSA File
Directed by Ronald Neame
Produced by John Woolf
Written by Kenneth Ross
George Markstein
Starring Jon Voight
Maximilian Schell
Maria Schell
Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber
Cinematography Oswald Morris
Editing by Ralph Kemplen
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date(s) 1974
Running time 130 min
IMDb profile

The ODESSA File is a 1974 film adaptation of the thriller novel by Frederick Forsyth, about a struggle between a young German reporter and the ODESSA, an organization for ex-Nazis. The film stars Jon Voight and was directed by Ronald Neame, with a score by Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The plot begins on November 22, 1963, the day John F. Kennedy was assassinated. A young German reporter happens to see an ambulance on a highway. He chases the ambulance and discovers it contains an elderly Jewish Holocaust survivor who had committed suicide. The reporter obtains the diary of the man, which contains information on his life in the World War II camps, and the names of members of the SS who ran the camp. He makes up his mind to hunt a Nazi who is mentioned in the diary, not just for a sensational cover story, but for a more serious personal reason.

Real-life investigator of Nazi war criminals Simon Wiesenthal makes a brief appearance as a character in the story.

Spoilers end here.

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