19/45
Forsyth was working as a freelance journalist covering the Biafran War
Tale
The Jackal is an elusive assassin who makes his living carrying out hits for the highest fee. He soon meets his match in a tenacious British intelligence officer who tracks him down in a thrilling cat-and-mouse chase across Europe.. Check out our list of renewals and cancellations to see if your favorite show made the cut..
He said: 'I came back Christmas '69, thoroughly skint
When it ended he returned to Britain, unemployed and unsure what to do next. I don’t have a likelihood of a job, don’t have a flat, don’t have a car and don’t have any savings. Then I had this crazy, crazy idea to write a novel.
Referenced in The Graham Norton Show: Denzel Washington/Paul Mescal/Saoirse Ronan/Eddie Redmayne/Blossoms (2024)
'Everybody said you must be joking or mad because the chances of even getting it published are hundreds to one, even thousands.' Within weeks of publication, the film rights were snapped up. Some of Hollywood’s biggest stars battled to play the Jackal in the 1973 film but the role went to the then unknown Edward Fox because director Fred Zinnemann thought he could pass invisibly in a crowd. (Air Mail).
The locations look gorgeous, the action sequences so far, have been gripping and the performances have been compelling
I certainly did not have Eddie Redmayne as The Jackal on my streaming series bingo card for this year but there you go. It’s great to see a classic novel given such a lavish production and it all plays really well as far as I’m concerned. Like other reviewers, I don’t buy Lashana Lynch as the MI:6 operative and feel she was miscast in the role.
Otherwise, a fine piece of old school cloak and dagger entertainment
On the flip side, it’s always good to see Charles Dance flexing his acting muscles. Úrsula Corberó is lovely to watch on screen though I fear she’s been a little underused.