48 Hrs. (1982)

A hard-nosed cop reluctantly teams up with a wise-cracking criminal temporarily paroled to him, in order to track down a killer.

Director:

Walter Hill

Writers:

Roger Spottiswoode, Walter Hill

Stars:

Nick Nolte, Eddie Murphy, Annette O'Toole

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nick Nolte	...	Jack Cates
Eddie Murphy	...	Reggie Hammond
Annette O'Toole	...	Elaine
Frank McRae	...	Haden
James Remar	...	Ganz
David Patrick Kelly	...	Luther
Sonny Landham	...	Billy Bear
Brion James	...	Kehoe
Kerry Sherman	...	Rosalie
Jonathan Banks	...	Algren
James Keane	...	Vanzant
Tara King	...	Frizzy
Greta Blackburn	...	Lisa
Margot Rose	...	Casey
Denise Crosby	...	Sally

Storyline

Oddball cop and tough guy, Jack Cates is the only survivor of a cop shooting and in hunting down the murderer collects Reggie Hammond from jail for 48 hours. Hammond is oddly motivated to help. The killer is searching for his stash of cash. Cates and Hammond who have the Black-white, cop-crook thing to work out make surprisingly good partners as they navigate through the city looking for their suspect.

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Plot Keywords:

cop | partner | revenge | tough guy | police shootout | 

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Taglines:

When a tough cop has a cool convict as a partner and 48 hrs to catch a killer, a lot of funny things can happen in . . . 48 HRS. [Australia Theatrical]

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 December 1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

48 Hours

Filming Locations:

Pacific Mutual Carriage House, 544-570 S Grand Ave, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$75,900,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Lawrence Gordon Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo (4 channels)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Paramount Pictures studio executives were concerned during shooting that the picture would be too violent to also function as an effective comedy. The hotel-lobby shoot-out was the execs' major grave concern.

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Goofs

When Ganz and Billy Bear try to escape in the city bus, they exchange gunfire with Reggie and Cates and the bus window was shattered, yet when the bus is last seen escaping, the windows are intact.

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Quotes

[Jack and Reggie enter the country and western bar]
Reggie: Not a very popular place with the brothers.
Jack: My kinda place. I always liked country boys. They're sure as hell don't like you.

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Connections

Featured in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #18.56 (2010)

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Soundtracks

ROXANNE
By Sting

User Reviews

Pretty entertaining thanks to great performances from the two leads...

It's the chemistry between Nolte and Murphy that makes this work, plus the fact that both men really attempt to 'get into the skin' of their character, something mostly ignored in other examples of this genre. Director Hill knows he's got a great team in front of the camera, and all that remains is for him to incorporate some spectacular action sequences around them. This he does competently. That one-two punch is what gives the movie its fireworks.

The banter and situations concerning the characters are also gleefully un-PC. It'd be interesting to see what a studio and director would make of the same premise in these 'enlightened' times. Murphy's comic stage persona is less restrained here than it would be in later films, and the results are often shamefully funny.

Don't expect Shakespeare, there's far too much cursing and other unsavoury shenanigans going on for that; do expect a pacy and entertaining early example of the 'buddy thriller'.