Day of the Jackal (1997)

Day of the Jackal (1997)

Everyone always assumed it was Liquid Cyanide commonly used tactic in the United Stated by American Hitman Richard Kuklinski (The Iceman) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Kuklinski they were close

The substance sprayed on the handle is named Prussic acid - hydrocyanic acid. If someone comes in contact with it, they will instantly begin to feel headaches, shortness of breath and dizziness.
If it's absorbed into the blood through the skin, it would burn (like a hot frying pan on your fingernails) and convulsions to cyanosis a, coma and death are almost guaranteed.

This is why Bruce Willis character The Jackal holds his breath when spraying it and immediately backs away. In an aerosol form, it can be easily absorbed through the nostrils but another problem would exist - you could never be able to touch that handle again - I don't care how clean you scrub it.

Back in the 1970s, George Gordon Battle Liddy https://spyscape.com/article/g-gordon-liddy-was-the-bonkers-white-house-plumber-a-madman-or-mastermind (known as G. Gordon Liddy/white house) https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2022/03/25/nixon-jack-anderson-assassination/ was almost hired to kill a reporter - Jack Anderson. The idea was to use Prussic acid on him as he got into his car by spraying it into his face when he sat down...or...smear a potent amount of LSD on his steering wheel to kill him.

In this movie (the video above), the burglar begins foaming at the mouth, which probably would not happen until after the man is found lying dead on the floor.

Prussic acid, also known as hydrocyanic acid or cyanide, is a rapidly acting, lethal toxin. Prussic acid inhibits oxygen utilization by the animal at the cellular level resulting in suffocation. Ruminants are more susceptible because the rumen microbes have enzymes that release the prussic acid in the digestive tract. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_cyanide