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Marathon Man is a thriller novel by William Goldman. The story is about a former Nazi SS dentist from Auschwitz, now residing in the US, trying to smuggle a large quantity of diamonds out of the country. This involves an ultra-secret intelligence agency called "The Division". The plot revolves around Thomas "Babe" Levy, a graduate student whose brother works for this governmental body.
In 1976, Marathon Man was made into a film starring Dustin Hoffman as Babe and Laurence Olivier as Dr Szell. Olivier was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and he won a Golden Globe in the same category. The film is nearly identical to the novel due to the fact that William Goldman also wrote the screenplay.
Both the novel and the film are known for a very graphic scene in which the Nazi dentist tortures Babe by drilling into his teeth, all the while saying only one thing: "Is it safe?"
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