''21 Hours at Munich'' is a 1976 American

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romances, adventure films, and s ...

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

directed by William A. Graham and starring

William Holden William Holden (born William Franklin Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981) was an American actor, and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film ''Stalag 17'' (1953) ...

, Shirley Knight and

Franco Nero Francesco Clemente Giuseppe Sparanero (born 23 November 1941), known professionally as Franco Nero, is an Italian actor, producer, and director. His breakthrough role was as the title character in the Spaghetti Western film '' Django'' (1966), ...

. It is based on the 1975 non-fiction book ''The Blood of Israel'' by Serge Groussard, and it deals with real events concerning the

Munich massacre The Munich massacre was a terrorist attack carried out during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, by eight members of the Palestinian militant organization Black September, who infiltrated the Olympic Village, killed two members ...

during the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 19 ...

. It was broadcast by ABC November 7, 1976. Despite its TV origin, the film was released theatrically in several foreign countries. It has been nominated for 2

Primetime Emmys The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime E ...

Plot

A dramatization of the incident in 1972 when Arab terrorists broke into the Olympic compound in Munich and murdered 11 Israeli athletes.

Cast

as Chief of Police Manfred Schreiber * Shirley Knight as

Anneliese Graes Anneliese Graes (November 5, 1930 – June 1, 1992) was a chief detective (1951–1991) from Essen, Germany, who acted as mediator between German officials and Black September terrorists during the 1972 Munich Olympic Games after eight Black Septe ...

as Issa *

Anthony Quayle Sir John Anthony Quayle (7 September 1913 – 20 October 1989) was a British actor and theatre director. He was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his supporting role as Thomas Wolsey in the film '' Anne of the Thousand Days'' (1969 ...

as General

Zvi Zamir Zvi Zamir ( he, צבי זמיר) born Zvicka Zarzevsky (born 3 March 1925) is a former major general in the Israel Defense Forces and the director of the Mossad from 1968 to 1974. He is currently retired and lives in Israel. Early life Born ...

Richard Basehart John Richard Basehart (August 31, 1914 – September 17, 1984) was an American actor. He starred as Admiral Harriman Nelson in the television science-fiction drama '' Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea'' (1964–68). He also portrayed Wilton Knig ...

as Chancellor

Willy Brandt Willy Brandt (; born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm; 18 December 1913 – 8 October 1992) was a German politician and statesman who was leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) from 1964 to 1987 and served as the chancellor of West Ger ...

Noel Willman Noel Willman (4 August 1918 – 24 December 1988) was an Irish actor and theatre director. Born in Derry, Ireland, Willman died aged 70 in New York City, United States. Willman's films included '' The Man Who Knew Too Much'' (1956), '' Across ...

as Interior Minister Bruno Merk *

Georg Marischka Georg Marischka (born 29 June 1922 in Vienna; died 9 August 1999 in Munich) was an Austrian actor, screen writer, director and film producer for cinema and television. Life George Marischka was born into the world of film because his father w ...

as Genscher *

Else Quecke Else Quecke (5 September 1907 – 19 June 2004) was a German actress. She appeared in more than 100 films and television shows between 1955 and 1996. Filmography References External links * 1907 births 2004 deaths German film act ...

Golda Meir Golda Meir, ; ar, جولدا مائير, Jūldā Māʾīr., group=nb (born Golda Mabovitch; 3 May 1898 – 8 December 1978) was an Israeli politician, teacher, and '' kibbutznikit'' who served as the fourth prime minister of Israel from 1969 to ...

Michael Degen Michael Degen (31 January 1928 – 9 April 2022) was a German-Israeli actor, in film and theatre, as well as a theatre director and writer. Early life Born in Chemnitz as the younger son of Jewish parents, Degen survived the Holocaust in Berlin ...

as Mohammed Khadif * Djamchid 'Jam' Sohaili as Touny (as Djamchid Socheili) *

Walter Kohut Walter Kohut (20 November 1927 – 18 May 1980) was an Austrian film, television and theatre actor. He appeared in many Austrian and German films over a 30-year period and became known for playing shady characters. He became known internationall ...

as Feldhaus *

Jan Niklas Jan Niklas (born 15 October 1947) is a German film and television actor. He is best known for appearing in TV films such as ''Peter The Great'', '' Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna'' and '' Anne Frank: The Whole Story''. He won a Golden Globe Awar ...

as Schreiber's Aide * Ernest Lenart as Ben Horin * Osman Raghab as Prime Minister

Aziz Sedky Aziz Sedky ( ar, عزيز صدقي, ; 1 July 1920 – 25 January 2008) was an Egyptian politician and engineer. Sedky served as the Prime Minister of Egypt from 16 January 1972 until 26 March 1973. He was nicknamed the "father of Egyptian i ...

* James Hurley as

Avery Brundage Avery Brundage (; September 28, 1887 – May 8, 1975) was an American sports administrator who served as the fifth president of the International Olympic Committee from 1952 to 1972. The only American and only non-European to attain that p ...

* Franz Rudnick as Troger * Heinz Feldhaus Brandt's Aide * Martin Gilet as Weinberger * Paul L. Smith as Gutfreund (as Paul Smith) * Güther Maria Halmer as Spitzer (as Guther Halmer) * David Hess as

Berger Berger is a surname in both German and French, although there is no etymological connection between the names in the two languages. The French surname is an occupational name for a shepherd, from Old French ''bergier'' (Late Latin ''berbicarius'', ...

* Eric Falk as

Romano Romano may refer to: Food * Pecorino Romano, a hard, salty Italian cheese * Romano cheese, an American English and Canadian English term for a class of cheeses Places Italy Municipalities in the Metropolitan City of Rome, Latium * Arcinazzo Ro ...

(as Erik Falk) * Bernhard Melcer as Slavin * Herbert Fux as Shorr * Eppaminodas Sodukos as Shapira (as Epamonodas Sdukos) * Wilfried von Aacken as

Springer Springer or springers may refer to: Publishers * Springer Science+Business Media, aka Springer International Publishing, a worldwide publishing group founded in 1842 in Germany formerly known as Springer-Verlag. ** Springer Nature, a multinationa ...

(as Wilfried von Aacken) * Abraham Gabison as Halfin * Ullrich Haupt as Israeli Coach (as Ullrich Haupt) * Dan van Husen as

Tony Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...

(as Dan Van Husen) * Achim Geisler as Abu Halla (as Joachim Geisler) * Reto Feurer as

Salah (, plural , romanized: or Old Arabic ͡sˤaˈloːh, ( or Old Arabic ͡sˤaˈloːtʰin construct state) ), also known as ( fa, نماز) and also spelled , are prayers performed by Muslims. Facing the , the direction of the Kaaba with ...

* Julio Pinheiro as Paulo * Franz Gunther Heider as Samir * Sammy Kazian as Denawi * Carmelo Ceslo as Badran

References

External links

* * 1976 television films 1976 films 1976 drama films 1970s American films 1970s English-language films 1970s historical drama films ABC network original films American drama television films American films based on actual events American historical drama films Drama films based on actual events Films about terrorism in Europe Films about hostage takings Films about the 1972 Summer Olympics Films based on non-fiction books Films directed by William Graham (director) Films scored by Laurence Rosenthal Films set in Munich Films set in West Germany Filmways films Historical television films Munich massacre Television films based on actual events Television films based on books {{US-tv-drama-film-stub

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links