However, there is a small consolation prize out there. There’s not enough Doc! We needed an entire movie with this character and instead we get only about 60% or so. Doc is onto her game and cleverly exposes her, though Babe doesn’t believe it.ĭoc doesn’t make it much further than that in movie and we’re left with Babe to deal with the aftermath. She’s a fraud, keeping an eye on Hoffman in case Doc does some funny business with Olivier’s Nazi. My favorite scene in the movie is the dinner the two of them have with Babe’s new girlfriend. Doc shows up to visit Babe and you realize these guys are brothers. Then halfway through the movie you see the connection. He’s meeting people at operas, killing an Asian dude in his hotel room and just being a general badass. For every scene of Babe at school and awkwardly dating a European gal (Marthe Keller) is followed by a scene with Doc running around Paris doing spy stuff. Babe and Doc are divided up with no explanation as to their relationship. The movie moves as two separate stories for the first half or so.

However, for me my favorite part of Marathon Man is Hoffman’s spy brother Doc, played by Roy Scheider. There’s plenty of blood and violence and it’s best remembered for a dental torture scene. Roy Scheider as Doc, making smoking look cool. If you’re not familiar, it’s a paranoid 70’s thriller about college guy named Babe (Dustin Hoffman), who’s training to run marathons and gets caught up in his brother’s spy job of transporting diamonds for an old Nazi (Laurence Olivier). I first saw it when I was a kid, about nine years old I think (which by the way, Marathon Man is not a movie for nine-year olds) and have always been fascinated with it.

Note: This blog post spoils most Marathon Man, but since it's been over 45 years I think it's okay.

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