The Jerusalem File (1972) on Netflix
PG19721h 35mActionDramaThriller
American archaeology student David Armstrong is drawn into a power struggle between rival Arab groups by his friend from Yale, Raschid Rifaat. An attempt on Rifaat's life nearly kills them both.
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- Netflix2.9/5
- IMDb5.8/10109 votes
- Rotten TomatoesNot available
Plot summary
Studying archaeology at the University of Jerusalem, the American David Armstrong is drawn by his old friend from Yale, the Arab Raschid Rifaat, into a power struggle between rival Arab groups. Armstrong works beside him and tries to keep politics out of their association. An attempt on Rifaat's life nearly kills them both. The action unfolds in and around Jerusalem after the 1967 Six Day War.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Jerusalem File (1972)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Nicol Williamson, who played the archaeologist Professor Lang, was a heavy drinker; director John Flynn recalled that late one night Williamson got quite loaded and threatened to throw Bob Dylan off a hotel balcony.
- Ian Hendry, who played Mayers, drank during the making of the film: John Flynn said he never saw Hendry sober, that he started with a couple of shots in the morning but said his lines clearly, calling him a perfectly functioning alcoholic.
- Troy Kennedy Martin rewrote the original script for The Jerusalem File, which director John Flynn had thought was bad; Flynn later recalled that he loved the result.
- While waiting for the production money to come in, director John Flynn stayed at the American Colony Hotel in east Jerusalem and refined the script in its bar, where foreign journalists gathered and gave him the inside dope on what was really happening in Israel.
