Roy Scheider’s final film involves a Nazi, just like his first film after Jaws

Beautiful Blue Eyes, the final film to star Jaws legend Roy Scheider, is now on release in the US in Regal Theaters. It sees the aged Scheider as a retired NYPD cop who visits his estranged son and is convinced that his neighbour is the SS Commander, who slaughtered his entire family in 1941. Scheider’s character convinces his son to help him kidnap the neighbour.

But that isn’t the first time the actor has rubbed shoulders with a Nazi, he did it straight after Jaws in Marathon Man which hit screens in 1976.

It stars Dustin Hoffman as Babe, with Scheider as his brother ‘Doc’ who is working with…or is it against Dr Szell, played with cold relish by diamond smuggler Laurence Olivier. It also co-starred Martha Keller, who would feature in the following year’s Black Sunday, opposite Robert Shaw.

The film may be most famous for its dentistry scene, but Scheider really shines in his role, exuding confidence and kicking-ass, making the accident prone by comparison Chief Brody almost seem like Inspector Clouseau.

I’d have paid to see a whole other film with Scheider up to his espionage antics, he just uses charisma, and he has some outstanding scenes, including one going toe to toe with Olivier and another highly tense scene set in Paris that would give Jason Bourne and Daniel Craig’s James Bond butterflies.

The film is full of numerous palm-sweating moments and fits neatly into the wave of paranoia and conspiracy thrillers of the period such as Klute (1971) – which also featured Roy Scheider – the excellent The Parallax View (1974), Three Days of the Condor (1975) and All The President’s Men (1976).

On unnerving scoring duties was Michael Small, who had also delivered a suitably off score for The Parallax View. He’d also go onto score the final Jaws film, Jaws the Revenge in 1987.

Marathon Man was expertly directed by John Schlesinger (who had directed Hoffman in Midnight Cowboy) and is from a screenplay by screenwriting legend, William Goldman, who also penned the book it is based on.

Scheider first discovered the book when he was filming Jaws on Martha’s Vineyard, he reportedly finished it in one night. It’s perhaps somewhat fitting then that the post for Jaws can be viewed during one scene when Dustin Hoffman is running.

“Is it safe?” asks Olivier to Hoffman in its infamous torture scene, it is certainly safe to say that this classic film still stands up to viewing today, and is a must-see for any fan of Roy Scheider, who has never been so suave.

Marathon Man is available to buy on DVD and Bluray, with Beautiful Blues Eyes currently screening in 400 Regal Cinemas.