Marathon Man is a 1974 paranoid thriller novel by William Goldman that was made into a 1976 film directed by John Schlesinger.
The story is about a former Nazi SS dentist from Auschwitz, Dr. Christian Szell (presumably modelled, at least in part, on the real-life Josef Mengele), now residing in Uruguay, trying to smuggle a large quantity of diamonds out of the U.S. This involves an ultra-secret intelligence agency called "The Division". The plot revolves around Thomas "Babe" Levy, a graduate student and runner who is haunted by the suicide of his father, which was caused by the witchhunts of McCarthyism decades earlier. Thomas also has a brother, who unbeknownst to him works for this secret governmental body.
Film
In 1976, Marathon Man was made into a film starring Dustin Hoffman as Babe and Laurence Olivier as Dr. Szell. Olivier was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and he won a Golden Globe in the same category. The film is nearly identical to the novel due to the fact that William Goldman also wrote the screenplay, although the film and the novel have different endings.
Both the novel and the film are known for a graphic scene in which the Nazi dentist tortures Babe by drilling into his teeth without the use of anesthetic, all the while asking, "Is it safe?" Babe has no idea what the question refers to or even the identity of the person asking it, making it impossible for him to give the answer his captor seeks. The dentist offers him oil of cloves as positive inducement to cooperate.
The book was written by William Goldman, perhaps best known for his "Princess Bride" book and screenplay.
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