The plot was inspired by the kidnapping and trial of the German Nazi SS-Obersturmbannführer (lieutenant colonel) Adolf Eichmann, who was one of the major organizers of the Holocaust.

One day, Israeli Mossad agents kidnap Goldman and take him to Israel for trial on charges of being a Nazi war criminal.

At the end, it appears that Goldman is neither a Nazi nor a war criminal after all; he falsified the dental records which the Israelis used to identify him to bring about the trial.

When the deception is revealed by the Israeli prosecutor, Goldman is left standing in the trial court's bulletproof glass box, a broken man.

He did not like the idea and indeed, if you will watch the film, you will see that his name does not appear in the credits, nor does it even say, "based on the play, The Man in the Glass Booth" because he wouldn't let us do it.

Roger Ebert wrote "Arthur Hiller's film for the AFT is a very good one, although it suffers from one basic problem.

[4] Raymond Benson wrote in 2009, "The film is a riveting, first-rate drama featuring an Oscar-nominated, tour-de-force performance by Schell".