Director John Schlesinger has tried with great intelligence to suggest that the plot of this thriller - Nazi war criminals after a fortune in diamonds - is more ingenious than it is; while William Goldman's elliptical screenplay, based on his own novel, also hints at depths not justified in the exposition.

Dustin Hoffman is the marathon runner whose endurance stands him in good stead when he is caught up in the web of intrigue that his brother (Roy Scheider) is weaving on behalf of a CIA offshoot.

The plot moves with a fair share of excitement along tried and true lines, to a carefully-staged climax in which Hoffman and the arch-villain (Laurence Olivier) come face to face.

By far the best performance comes from William Devane as a double-agent with a voice and a line that is all too plausible for the innocent fish to swallow.