The Laughing Policeman (1973)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Stuart Rosenberg

Writers:

Per Wahlöö (novel) &
Maj Sjöwall (novel) ...

Release Date:

23 January 1974 (Sweden)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

This movie is so real it makes every other movie in this town look like a movie.

Plot:

In San Francisco, one victim in a mass murder is a police detective. His partner and a new partner investigate in the city's seamy side.

Plot Keywords:

Bus | Killer | Detective | Investigation | Sub Machine Gun

Cast

Walter Matthau	...	Sgt. Jake Martin SFPD
Bruce Dern	...	Insp. Leo Larsen SFPD
Louis Gossett Jr.	...	Insp. James Larrimore SFPD (as Lou Gossett)
Albert Paulsen	...	Henry Camerero
Anthony Zerbe	...	Lt. Nat Steiner SFPD
Val Avery	...	Insp. John Pappas SFPD
Cathy Lee Crosby	...	Kay Butler
Mario Gallo	...	Bobby Mow, Snitch
Joanna Cassidy	...	Monica, Beth's Roomate
Shirley Ballard	...	Grace Martin
William Hansen	...	Mr. Schwermer, Bus Vicitm
Jonas Wolfe	...	Det. Mike Collins
Paul Koslo	...	Duane Haygood, Drug Pusher
Louis Guss	...	Gus Niles / Andrew Medford - Bus Victim
Frances Lee McCain	...	Prostitute (as Lee McCain)

Also Known As:

An Investigation of Murder (UK)

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Finland:K-18 | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | USA:R | Singapore:NC-16

Filming Locations:

San Francisco, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

When Larsen (Bruce Dern) and Martin (Walter Matthau) are on the way to pick up explosives from the Hell's Angels, the tune "Big Noise From Winnetka" plays in the background. Dern went to New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the morgue scene, early in the film, there are a few "corpses" breathing. On one corpse, the toes curl.

Quotes:

Insp. Leo Larsen SFPD: Terrific! We can tell the chief that we've got a fruiter that runs when he's chased!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hot Times (1974)

Soundtrack:

You'll Never Know

Unjustly obscure police depiction

For some reason, this crime drama is almost completely overlooked. Even though it has it's faults, it is mostly a terrific examination of a police investigation. (In fact, in Australia, it was titled "Investigation of a Murder" which is far more apt a title than what it is here.) Matthau plays a police detective whose partner has been gunned down in a mass murder aboard a city bus. He is paired with Dern to find out if there's a connection between the massacre and the policeman's presence on the bus. They form an uneasy alliance (due to their clashing personalities and styles of working) and attempt to solve the baffling case. Gossett makes a strong impression as a fellow detective, though his character sort of drifts out of the picture at some point. Crosby and Cassidy have small, early roles as women who were affected by the murders. What's brilliant about the film is the wondrous verisimilitude and almost complete authenticity of the settings and performances. Only occasionally, can someone be caught "acting". Most of the time, the camera acts in an almost documentary fashion, eavesdropping on the various events and conversations. This type of gritty, realistic, matter-of-fact film is simply not made anymore today. The comparatively simple bus massacre is more striking and vivid than any of the overdone action scenes that litter all of today's films. There's a stark quality to the production that fits it well. Where the film strays is in it's endless cop vignettes which don't always have anything to do with the plot and which distract from, rather than enhance, the story. It's as if the writers tried to include too much from the source novel and wound up muddying the waters of the primary story. This also makes the film hard to follow at times. What's priceless is the display of the unmistakably tacky clothes and furnishings of the 1970's. There are also amusing glimpses into the San Francisco gay bar scene with real patrons displaying their faces (sometimes made up in drag) before the camera. Matthau says little in the film, but holds the attention with his various personal demons and conflicts. He chews gum incessantly and listens to standards on his radio to keep his emotions in check. Dern, as a more lively sort, is a great counterpoint and holds his own nicely. The mystery winds up being not all that big a mystery at all, but there's still a decent payoff with a "French Connection-esquire" car chase through San Francisco.