The Day of the Jackal

In this involving political thriller, a secret French paramilitary organization plans to assassinate French President Charles De Gaulle because of their disagreement with his policies during the Algerian War. They hire a professional killer, known only as "The Jackal". The police learn of the plot from an informer, and police investigator Lebel cleverly pieces together the clues to the Jackal's identity. The complicated plot uses parallel editing to cross-cut between the details of the Jackal's preparations for the assassination and Lebel's efforts to find him before it is too late. (official distributor synopsis)