Serpico (1973)

An honest New York cop named Frank Serpico blows the whistle on rampant corruption in the force only to have his comrades turn against him.

Director:

Sidney Lumet

Writers:

Peter Maas (book), Waldo Salt (screenplay)

Stars:

Al Pacino, John Randolph, Jack Kehoe

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Al Pacino	...	Serpico
John Randolph	...	Sidney Green
Jack Kehoe	...	Tom Keough
Biff McGuire	...	Captain McClain
Barbara Eda-Young	...	Laurie (as Barbara eda-Young)
Cornelia Sharpe	...	Leslie
Tony Roberts	...	Bob Blair
John Medici	...	Pasquale
Allan Rich	...	D.A. Tauber
Norman Ornellas	...	Rubello
Edward Grover	...	Lombardo (as Ed Grover)
Albert Henderson	...	Peluce (as Al Henderson)
Hank Garrett	...	Malone
Damien Leake	...	Joey
Joseph Bova	...	Potts (as Joe Bova)

Storyline

Serpico is a cop in the 1960s-early 1970s. Unlike all his colleagues, he refuses a share of the money that the cops routinely extort from local criminals. Nobody wants to work with Serpico, and he's in constant danger of being placed in life threatening positions by his "partners". Nothing seems to get done even when he goes to the highest of authorities. Despite the dangers he finds himself in, he still refuses to 'go with the flow', in the hope that one day, the truth will be known.

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Plot Keywords:

police corruption | police | corruption | new york city | undercover cop | 

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Taglines:

Many of his fellow officers considered him the most dangerous man alive - An honest cop.

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Genres:

Biography | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA Italy

Language:

English Italian Spanish

Release Date:

26 February 1974 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Serpiko

Filming Locations:

5-7 Minetta Street, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$29,800,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Artists Entertainment Complex,Produzioni De Laurentiis International Manufacturing Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

130 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Frank Serpico's nickname "Paco" is actually "Francis" in Spanish. "Paco" is short for "Francisco".

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Goofs

In the opening scenes, with the patrol car carrying Serpico to the hospital, the unit's emergency light has three red bulbs and one amber bulb as it spins. As the unit arrives at the hospital and they remove him from the back seat, the light has four red bulbs.

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Quotes

Capt. Insp. McClain: Frank, we wash our own laundry here!

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Alternate Versions

There is one Australian VHS version released through RCA Columbia Pictures Hoyts Home Video in the 1980's which had all profanity overdubbed with tamer language, as well as some scenes of sexuality/nudity. Subsequent releases on DVD are uncensored.

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Connections

Referenced in The Missing Person (2009)

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Soundtracks

E Lucevan le Stelle
(uncredited)
from "Tosca"
Music by Giacomo Puccini
Performed by Giuseppe Di Stefano

User Reviews

He's still my hero!

Serpico managed to last a lot longer than I did as a cop...I made it 7 years but being a female officer in SC in the '80's was not a cakewalk either! I now teach criminal justice at the community college level and I have taught Ethics classes for 13 years; Frank Serpico is always a part of that course and the movie is always shown. While the movie is "old" it still holds up. My students always rave about it and some of them even read Peter Maas' book...without being made to! We finished the movie today. We begin discussion Friday and it will be lively, as always. This is well worth the watch/read and make no mistake that it "can't be like that now"; watch the news.