Hustle (1975)

Phil Gaines is a bitter, cynical cop who investigates the case of a dead stripper/porno actress found on the beach. Gaines is experiencing a troubled relationship with a hooker, and things ... See full summary »

Director:

Robert Aldrich

Writer:

Steve Shagan

Stars:

Burt Reynolds, Catherine Deneuve, Ben Johnson

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Burt Reynolds	...	Lt. Phil Gaines
Catherine Deneuve	...	Nicole Britton
Ben Johnson	...	Marty Hollinger
Paul Winfield	...	Sgt. Louis Belgrave
Eileen Brennan	...	Paula Hollinger
Eddie Albert	...	Leo Sellers
Ernest Borgnine	...	Santoro
Catherine Bach	...	Peggy Summers
Jack Carter	...	Herbie Dalitz
James Hampton	...	Bus Driver
Colleen Brennan	...	Gloria Hollinger (as Sharon Kelly)
Chuck Hayward	...	Morgue Attendant
David Estridge	...	Albino
Peter Brandon	...	Minister
David Spielberg	...	Jerry Bellamy

Storyline

Phil Gaines is a bitter, cynical cop who investigates the case of a dead stripper/porno actress found on the beach. Gaines is experiencing a troubled relationship with a hooker, and things don't get any better when the dead girl's father launches his own investigation.

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Plot Keywords:

beach | suicide | prostitute | police | film within a film | 

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Taglines:

She's the call girl. He's the cop. They both take their jobs seriously.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 December 1975 (USA)

Also Known As:

All the Other Angels

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Churchill Service Company, RoBurt

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Did You Know?

Trivia

Robert Englund:  The Freddy Krueger star as a Holdup Man. This was Englund's third film.

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Quotes

Lt. Phil Gaines: Don't you know where you live, Marty? Can't you smell the bananas? You know what country you live in? You live in Guatamala with color television.

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Connections

Referenced in Siskel & Ebert: The Fabulous Baker Boys/Breaking In/Crimes and Misdemeanors/Look Who's Talking (1989)

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Soundtracks

"Begin the Beguine"
Composed by Cole Porter

User Reviews

Switzerland also has that Nazi gold, don't forget.

Having collaborated on "The Longest Yard", director Robert Aldrich cast Burt Reynolds and Eddie Albert again in the enigmatic "Hustle". Reynolds plays LA cop Phil Gaines. He and his wife have basically no relationship, so Phil lives with call girl Nicole Britton (Catherine Deneuve). When a young woman gets found dead on the beach one day, Phil and his colleague Louis Belgrave (Paul Winfield) get hired to investigate. They conclude that she died of a self-induced drug overdose. But they don't tell her parents (Ben Johnson and Eileen Brennan) that there were massive amounts of semen in all three orifices of the woman's body, and that the woman was a stripper in a nightclub. The father is convinced that this was not a suicide, and is determined to investigate on his own if necessary.

I have to say that the movie has a rather convoluted plot: the number of characters - and the question of each character's relationship to each other - makes the whole thing hard to follow at times. As it is, following the revelation of the body at the beginning, the movie sort of throws Phil into the story from right out of the blue. It seems that mostly, the movie functions as a look at the underbelly of 1970s LA, including a hostage situation in one scene. And, if all else fails, there's always something sexy for Catherine Deneuve to do (namely the part about what Switzerland has). A surprise appearance - although they do credit him - is Ernest Borgnine as Phil and Louis's superior; he's the only character who seems as if he's about to have a seizure or something.

Overall, I think that the movie is seeing, if only once. While it is true that the movie progresses pretty slowly, I actually would assert that that adds some realism: not every detective/action story has to be a series of explosions and mayhem.

All in all, a worthwhile movie. BTW, did you notice who the hold up man at the end is? It's Freddy Krueger himself, Robert Englund. And I wonder if David Spielberg is related to Steven Spielberg.

Sammy Davis Jr. hugging Nixon...