How did he kill the hotel woman he slept with?

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I remember many years ago a spectator was accidentally killed while watching a game of football (Soccer in the USA). The ball hit the unfortunate person on the neck quite hard, killing him instantly. I believe, at the inquest, it was mentioned about the jugular vein being involved - just a freak accident & one of those times when the victim was certainly in the wrong place at the wrong time.






Boo!

I think your description is a more accurate account of what probably happened. On another viewing, I notice his hand near her neck and not close enough to the nerve behind the ear.

a blow to the jugular will not kill, unless compression was sustained on both sides of the neck, even if one side was damaged the other would still provide oxygenated blood to the brain. it is the same idea as a choke hold, its used in mixed martial arts and ju jitsu, you compress both sides of the neck, without crushing the windpipe, therefore cutting off the blood flow in two major arteries close to the surface, oxygen is cut off from the brain which causes them to go unconcious, it would only kill if they were kept deprieved of oxygen for a few minutes. thats why its considered safe and legal to use in competitive fights.

a sudden blow would have more of a shock effect and may work to knock someone out due to the same effect that knocks out boxers who have their neck snapped back too forcefully and suddenly from a heavy punch that their body as an evolutionary defense mechanism goes limp. so the blow may well cause the person to pass out or shock the nervous system and cause the person to become disorientated, but unless the windpipe was crushed and they suffocated it would not be fatal. if the windpipe alone was crushed they would choke, if they blow knocked them out and crushed the windpipe they would pass out and just not breath and not wake up.

like others have said this scene smacked more of movie magic, like the rather unconvincing kill of the forger who basically gets slapped then the actor just keeps his eyes open and goes limp, the idea being his neck was supposedly and easily broken, something not easy to safely replicate on film, so i think it could be the scene in the film was either using a fictional 'vulcan death grip' method or was supposed to have snapped her neck.

the idea that using a single blow in karate would cause brain damage is more myth than fact, if anyone really did such a thing they would be locked up and there would be reports of it. it really wouldnt be good news for the person who carried it out unless they had strong evidence of self defence, as people with martial arts training can be considered to have been armed, an aggravating factor in almost every country, even if they only used their bare hands due to them knowing martial arts, like kicking someone can be considered an armed assault as a 'shod foot' (kicking someone while wearing shoes) can legally be considered using a weapon in many jurisdictions.

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Yes I agree.

There are three different kills where there is precious little technique demonstrated, giving rise to the OP's understandable query. But I think Fred Zinnemann just wanted to give the impression that he was an extremely professional killer, rather than fill in a detailed canvas.

Neither in the book nor in the film did the Jackal intend to kill the gunsmith. As I recall, the gunsmith took elaborate precautions to ensure that this wouldn't happen. As I further recall, he told the Jackal about this, and the Jackal believed him, at least in the book. And why would the gunsmith spill the beans anyway? He made his living supplying weapons to the underworld, custom-made and otherwise, was his stock in trade. He would have been shutting down his own lucrative business.

The forger wasn't nearly as smart as the gunsmith and unwittingly told the Jackal as much. If I were the Jackal, I would have killed the forger, too. No consequences in his case, and good insurance.

"My God, the world is loaded with half-assed assumptions pulled out of your butt."

actually according to the book he didn't. further the characteristics of the gunsmith, i.e., his craftsmanship, his unhesitating demand for a large sum, and his precision and constructing the crutch-carrying device, implied a respected no-nonsense craftsman who would be proud of his work and left alive out of regard. Unlike the photographer with his slimy personality and thieving intentions.

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