The Super Cops (1974)

The true story of two New York City cops. Greenberg & Hantz fought the system, became detectives and were known on the streets as "Batman & Robin".

Director:

Gordon Parks

Writers:

Lorenzo Semple Jr., L.H. Whittemore (book)

Stars:

Ron Leibman, David Selby, Sheila Frazier

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ron Leibman	...	David Greenberg
David Selby	...	Robert Hantz
Sheila Frazier	...	Sara (as Sheila E. Frazier)
Pat Hingle	...	Insp. Novick
Dan Frazer	...	Police Capt. Irving Krasna
Joseph Sirola	...	Police Lt. O'Shaughnessy
Arny Freeman	...	Judge Benny Kellner
Bernard Kates	...	Heller
Alex Colon	...	Carlos
Charles Turner	...	Joe Hayes
Ralph Wilcox	...	John Hayes
Al Fann	...	Frank Hayes
David Greenberg	...	Det. Basoff (as Dave Greeberg)
Robert Hantz	...	Det. Neel
Norman Bush	...	Billy

Storyline

Dave and Rob, fresh from the Police Academy, enrage their captain because they want to do more than controlling the traffic. As penalty they are sent to Brooklyn. However they don't give up, but develop their own methods to fight against dealers, criminals and corrupt colleagues.

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Plot Keywords:

police | new york city | wrecking ball | police officer | based on book

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Crime

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 October 1974 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

2 supercolt a Brooklyn

Filming Locations:

Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), St. Regis Films, Tom Ward Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The New York papers did actually report their story as "The Adventures of Batman and Robin."

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Quotes

David Greenberg: Sir? Hantz and me we made all kinds of collars on our own time and all we got so far is called crooks and treated like we got leprosy. A polite question is what the fuck kind of police force is this?
Captain Bush: It is a big organization, that's what kind. Like General Motors. Like the Army. It has its own system of doing things. It may be lunatic. Who knows, who cares. But if you are bucking that system your are in TROUBLE!
Robert Hantz: Even if we aim to improve it?
Captain Bush: HmmmBoy... You belong in the New York Police ...

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Connections

Remade as The Supercops (1975)

User Reviews

Great Popcorn Entertainment

Gordon Parks, the prolific black Life magazine photographer, made a true ticking-timebomb of a movie here - one that does not mess around! Based upon the true story of two NYC cops - later dubbed Batman and Robin - who singlehandedly employed radical tactics to clean up their precinct neighborhood of drugs, this is a cop-buddy movie before that term became a repetitive formula. Lightning paced, there is not one unimportant throwaway scene here.

Man, early '70s NYC must have been a terrible place to be a police officer, from the looks of movies like this and "Serpico." These two cops start out as safety-division rookies, busting dealers in plainclothes in their spare time. But instead of receiving applause from the city police department, they receive nothing but resistance and antagonism from their peers. They have to singlehandedly navigate a minefield of police and legal corruption, boneheaded assignments meant to keep them from their work on the streets, ruthless drug kingpins, and a nasty ghetto neighborhood.

Both David Selby and Ron Leibman are fantastic in the leads; part of the entertainment is watching Leibman's eyes darting around crazily in every scene in what is a flawless comic performance, and Selby's acting is low-key and wry. These two make all the comedy aspects of the story work - displaying a palpable frustration mixed with gutsy determination. Director Parks, who was already known for his coverage of controversial subjects in his photography, does not shy away from the grittiness of the story. Rather, the movie is uncompromising in portrayal of the toughness of the world of police and streets criminals that these two men inhabit. Adding to this realism is the fact that the real Hantz and Greenberg acted as technical advisors for the film, and even appear in surreal cameo roles as two fellow officers who ridicule the protagonists. It is a real tribute to the effectiveness of Parks' direction that he manages to perfectly balance this depressing mileu with bright comedy.

Why has MGM/UA let this sit on the shelf for 30 years - barely giving it a home video or DVD release in the U.S? It is a minor masterpiece from the 1970s.