Literally Speaking: The ODESSA File
Frederick Forsyth’s onscreen blurb at the start of the film tells the viewer that the film (of his novel) is based on real events but how closely the film mirrors the facts isn’t really important, it could be complete fiction and it would still be gripping thriller.
When freelance journalist Peter Miller is given the diary of a recently deceased survivor of the Nazi concentration camps, he, somewhat out of character, becomes obsessed with tracking down the camp’s commanding officer, Eduard Roschmann. Why the mercenary Miller is so affected by the journal is kept secret until the films climactic confrontation with Roschmann, but along the way he becomes involved with Israeli Intelligence, goes undercover to infiltrate ODESSA (the organisation formed by former SS officers) and has to contend with an ODESSA assassin and Derek Jacobi’s German accent.
That probably makes the film sound more action packed than it is, as it’s really quite a talky thriller; there are no car chases, no shootouts, and no explosions. It builds tension from the situation, when Miller is grilled by one of the ODESSA leaders we know his life hangs in the balance and all it will take is one mistake to give him away. Even when Miller is beaten after attending a rally of war veterans it takes place off screen.
Future Doctor Who companion, Mary Tamm, plays Miller’s exotic dancer girlfriend and adds a bit of glamour to the dreary Berlin locations while Derek Jacobi plays an ODESSA forger who’s also a bit of a mummy’s boy but it’s Jon Voight’s film, at least until that final confrontation.
As Miller, Voight not only does a decent German accent but also convinces as an obsessed journalist, even if the viewer isn’t privy to the reason for his obsession. He makes Miller’s jeopardy real and without that the film wouldn’t work, certainly not as a thriller at any rate. When he finally gets to confront Maximilian Schell as Roschmann, the scene plays out almost like the final act in a play, just two actors in a room throwing words at each other and it works all the better for that almost stagey feel. Schell puts a human face on evil, with Roschmann, only previously seen in flashback, now a balding, overweight old man clinging to a past when, as he puts it, “We ruled the world”.
Ronald Neame’s direction is pretty faceless, the film lacking a true visual style. A more gifted director would have been able to make a little more of the story and the Berlin locations but Neame does a serviceable job and does get good performances out of his actors.
One credit that did surprise me, which I didn’t remember noticing the first time I watched the film many years ago, was that of West End maestro and current lord of Saturday teatime TV, Andrew Lloyd Webber. I wasn’t aware Webber has actually scored any films, and he hasn’t done many, just this and Gunshoe (a film I really must get around to watching). He’s not bad, although at times the music seems to peter out when it’s just getting started.
Ex-Nazi’s were a favourite cinematic bad guy in the ‘70s, almost like they were making the most of them before they became too old to be a threat. The ODESSA File isn’t as good a film as Marathon Man, and its not as much fun as The Boys from Brazil but it is a good solid thriller.
