The Laughing Policeman (1973)
When a gunman opens fire on a crowded city bus in San Francisco, Detective Dave Evans is killed, along with the man he'd been following in relation to a murder. Evans' partner, Sgt. Jake Martin, becomes obsessed with solving the case.
- Stuart Rosenberg
- Thomas Rickman
- Per Wahlöö
- Maj Sjöwall
- Stuart Rosenberg
Rating: 6.2/10 by 58 users
Alternative Title:
L'ispettore Martin ha teso la trappola - IT
An Investigation of Murder - GB
Matança em San Francisco - BR
Le flic ricanant - FR
San Francisco, ciudad desnuda - ES
De Negende Passagier - NL
Country:
United States of America
Language:
English
Runtime: 01 hour 52 minutes
Budget: $0
Revenue: $0
Plot Keyword: san francisco, california, mass murder, murder, killer
From the early-70's zenith of crime and police-centered films, 'The Laughing Policeman' deserves credit, respect and recognition as a fine, gritty, accurate work that shows the way real officers interact and go through their work-days and solve crimes. Walter Matthau, mostly known for his astute comedic touch, is excellent, as is Bruce Dern, who's promoted to an uneasy partnership with Matthau, when the latter's partner, who was on vacation yet took an unsolved case home with him, is at the wrong place at the wrong time, part of a brutal mass murder on board a bus. The well-directed script shows how alienated a good policeman is from his family, how hated he is by most of the community, and the blind alleys and dead ends he has to go through in order to solve the case, and have it hold up in a court of law. It's 'Dirty Harry' or the 'French Connection' films done honestly, not as a fever dream of wish fulfillment from the policeman's perspective (though I must admit I love those too!)...
