The things I learned from watching Day of the Jackal

These posts suck.

When announcing a manhunt in a homicide case the French TV news will blithely describe a suspect as "the murderer" before he has even been tried (let alone convicted) of that crime.

You can repaint, total and desert a rented car and not have to worry about returning it.

Officials who demand to look at your papers are waaaaay too grumpy and not very attenutive.

If you are the President of France, duck a lot.


He's not hiding in this stove
Oh, ho he's hiding in the stove, eh

Tap *ALL* the lines. It's the only way to be sure.

If she looks too good to be true (or vice versa) she is.

And the most important:

You begin by realizing that you are the most important man in France.

#1 Thing I learned: "things I learned from watching" posts are done by folks who think they have all the answers.

Enrique Sanchez

You can wake up French Inspectors by shaking their foot.

Members of the French Board of Ministry smoke a lot of cigarettes.

You can kill a woman just by touching her neck.

If you are an English assassin and want to look cool, wear an ascot.

Melons are good for target practice.

Three guys firing a barrage of automatic weapons at several passing cars and motorcycles won't hit anybody.

If you're a professional, don't accept a job from an organization that's riddled with informants, queered the pitch for everyone else, and doesn't have enough cash on hand to pay your fee.

When your organization robs some banks for a secret operation, don't rob the banks in the country where you're running the secret op. It'll attract the attention of the authorities and the small-fry will ID your organization.

When planning an assassination, it's not a good idea to shoot a politician in the middle of a small army with tanks, jets, heavy weapons, and snipers on every rooftop.

When the top leadership hides from the French authorities, don't use a mail courier that's actually seen the Jackal or heard his code-name.

Don't blackmail a customer after you've told him you're all alone and no one knows where your studio is located.

When reporting the state secrets of your lover, don't use his home landline, and learn to talk in code.

When crossing the Italian border into France, and you're thoroughly searched in a customs room where all the men have the same color skin and hair as you, that's a clue. Turn your car around and go back home.

When staying at a French hotel, never pass up a chance for some prime, grade A bootie.

When you're getting ready to shoot de Gaulle, make sure you have a secondary weapon that can fire more then one bullet without pausing to reload, in case you're interrupted.