21 Hours at Munich

21 Hours at Munich is a 1976 American historical drama television film directed by William A. Graham and starring William Holden, Shirley Knight and Franco Nero. 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 during the 1972 Summer Olympics. It was broadcast by ABC November 7, 1976. Despite its TV origin, the film was released theatrically in several foreign countries. It was nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys. Plot A dramatization of the incident in 1972 when Arab terrorists broke into the Olympic compound in Munich and murdered 11 Israeli athletes. Cast William Holden as Chief of Police Manfred Schreiber Shirley Knight as Anneliese Graes Franco Nero as Issa Anthony Quayle as General Zvi Zamir Richard Basehart as Chancellor Willy Brandt Noel Willman as Interior Minister Bruno Merk Georg Marischka as Genscher Else Quecke as Golda Meir Michael Degen as Mohammed Khadif Djamchid 'Jam' Sohaili as Touny (as Djamchid Socheili) Walter Kohut as Feldhaus Jan Niklas as Schreiber's Aide Ernest Lenart as Ben Horin Osman Raghab as Prime Minister Aziz Sedky James Hurley as Avery Brundage 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 Eric Falk as Romano (as Erik Falk) Bernhard Melcer as Slavin Herbert Fux as Shorr Eppaminodas Sodukos as Shapira (as Epamonodas Sdukos) Wilfried von Aacken as Springer (as Wilfried von Aacken) Abraham Gabison as Halfin Ullrich Haupt as Israeli Coach (as Ullrich Haupt) Dan van Husen as Tony (as Dan Van Husen) Achim Geisler as Abu Halla (as Joachim Geisler) Reto Feurer as Salah Julio Pinheiro as Paulo Franz Gunther Heider as Samir Sammy Kazian as Denawi Carmelo Ceslo as Badran See also List of American films of 1976