Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

A freewheeling Detroit cop pursuing a murder investigation finds himself dealing with the very different culture of Beverly Hills.

Director:

Martin Brest

Writers:

Daniel Petrie Jr. (screenplay), Danilo Bach (story),

Stars:

Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Eddie Murphy	...	Det. Axel Foley
Judge Reinhold	...	Det. William 'Billy' Rosewood
John Ashton	...	Det. Sgt. John Taggart
Lisa Eilbacher	...	Jeannette 'Jenny' Summers
Ronny Cox	...	Lt. Andrew Bogomil
Steven Berkoff	...	Victor Maitland
James Russo	...	Mikey Tandino
Jonathan Banks	...	Zack
Stephen Elliott	...	Police Chief Hubbard
Gilbert R. Hill	...	Insp. Douglas Todd
Art Kimbro	...	Det. Foster
Joel Bailey	...	Det. McCabe
Bronson Pinchot	...	Serge
Paul Reiser	...	Jeffrey
Michael Champion	...	Casey

Storyline

Detroit cop Axel Foley is delighted when he receives a surprise visit from his best friend Mikey Tandino, who lives in California. Not long after Mikey arrives in Detroit, Mikey is killed, right in front of Axel, by a man named Zack. Axel follows Zack to Beverly Hills, California, where Beverly Hills police department Lieutenant Andrew Bogomil assigns Detective Billy Rosewood and Rosewood's partner, Sergeant John Taggart, to keep an eye on Axel. Axel visits his friend Jenny Summers, who works in an art gallery. With Jenny's help, Axel discovers that Zack works for Jenny's boss, Victor Maitland, the man who owns the art gallery. Maitland is a drug kingpin who is using the gallery as a front, and Maitland had Zack kill Mikey after Maitland accused Mikey of stealing some of Maitland's bonds. With the help of Jenny, Billy, and Taggart, Axel does what he can to make sure Maitland and Zack won't kill any more people.

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Plot Keywords:

police | gallery | detective | murder | art gallery | 

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Taglines:

The Heat Is On!

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 December 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Un detective suelto en Hollywood

Filming Locations:

6704 W. Jefferson Avenue, Detroit, Michigan, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$14,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$234,760,500 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Eddie Murphy Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Martin Scorsese was offered the chance to direct, but he turned it down saying the premise reminded him too much of Coogan's Bluff.

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Goofs

As the police interrupt the cigarette truck discussion, Axel's hand holding the money is down. In the next shot, seen from outside the truck, his hand is up, with the goon grabbing the money from his hand.

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Quotes

Axel Foley: [in strip club with "Nasty Girl" playing in background]
[acting drunk]
Axel Foley: Hey man what's hapnin' Phil, I new dat was you, he told me that wasn't you, said you don't come here no more, but I said it's Phil! That is Philip,
[turns back toward Taggart and Rosewood]
Axel Foley: I told you that's Phil, you liar!
Strip Club Holdup Man #1: Get outta here man!
Axel Foley: Hey Philip, gimme kiss baby! Hey
Strip Club Holdup Man #1: [pushes Axel to ground, stops music by scratching needle across record and pulls out sawed-off shotgun] Everybody Freeze!
Axel Foley: Phil!
Strip Club Holdup Man #1: Get your hands on the table!
[...]

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Crazy Credits

Scott Murphy's character of Det. Owensby is misspelled as Det. Owenby in the credits.

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Connections

Referenced in Jeopardy!: 2010 Tournament of Champions Finals: Game 1 (2010)

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Soundtracks

"Nasty Girl"
Written by Vanity
Performed by Vanity (as Vanity 6)
Produced by The Starr Company & Vanity (as Vanity 6)
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Records INC.
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products

User Reviews

Murphy at his best!

BEVERLY HILLS COP (1984) ***1/2 Eddie Murphy, Lisa Eilbacher, Ronny Cox, John Ashton, Judge Reinhold, Paul Reiser, Bronson Pinchot. Murphy, hot off his debut in `48 HRS' wisely continued to ride his rising star in this his first starring vehicle, tailor-made for his fast-talking, fun-loving, street-smart persona as Detroit undercover cop Axel Foley in this blockbuster hit who heads to posh Beverly Hills to investigate the murder of a good friend mixed up in a drug smuggler's art dealer front headed by equally good friend Eilbacher, and faster than you can say fish-out-of-water he's rousted by Beverly Hills finest, Ashton and Reihold – a modern day Laurel and Hardy if you will, only to continue to fluster as he tries to unearth the muck in the richest city in America. Pinchot steals the show as the effete, espresso hawiking art shop clerk Serge. Lots of laughs and a good blend of action (this was once earmarked for Sylvester Stallone!) and sprinkled with pop tunes that led to an even bigger soundtrack goldmine. Waycool instrumental theme music via Harold Faltemeyer.