The Seven-Ups (1973)

A tough detective who is part of an elite New York City unit is trying to find out who killed his partner, but uncovers a plot to kidnap mobsters for money.

Director:

Philip D'Antoni

Writers:

Albert Ruben (screenplay), Alexander Jacobs (screenplay)

Stars:

Roy Scheider, Tony Lo Bianco, Victor Arnold

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Roy Scheider	...	Buddy - Seven-Up
Victor Arnold	...	Barilli - Seven-Up
Jerry Leon	...	Mingo - Seven-Up
Ken Kercheval	...	Ansel - Seven-Up
Tony Lo Bianco	...	Vito Lucia
Larry Haines	...	Max Kalish
Richard Lynch	...	Moon
Bill Hickman	...	Bo
Lou Polan	...	Carmine Coltello
Matt Russo	...	Festa
Joe Spinell	...	Toredano
Robert Burr	...	Lt. Hanes
Rex Everhart	...	Inspector Gilson
David Wilson	...	Bobby
Ed Jordan	...	Bruno

Storyline

Buddy, Barilli, Mingo and Ansel, detectives with the NYPD, comprise a secret investigative unit called the Seven-Ups, who, largely undercover, focus on cases leading to felony convictions with prison sentences of seven years or more for the criminals in question. Many within the NYPD who know about the unit don't support the idea of it because of the often unethical way they work on the cases, but their superior, Inspector Gilson, defends the unit solely because of the results. On the sly, Buddy, who is the head of the team, gets much of the information for the cases from Vito Lucia, a childhood friend who still lives and works in the old neighborhood where much of the crime is based. Vito knows that his life could be in danger if the mob finds out that he acts as a snitch for the police. After Buddy starts looking into the loan sharking business of some local mob members, unknown to him some of those mob members are shaken down for a minimum $100,000 apiece, one by one kidnapped for ...

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Plot Keywords:

bagman | fingerman | ransom | new york | kidnapping | 

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Taglines:

They take the third degree one step further!

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

14 December 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Armoton ryhmä

Filming Locations:

Weehawken Port Imperial, Port Imperial Boulevard, Weehawken, New Jersey, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,425,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Philip D'Antoni Productions,Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to the Wikipedia website, "Buddy Manucci, played by [actor Roy] Scheider, is a loose remake of the character of Buddy "Cloudy" Russo he played in The French Connection (1971), a character who also used dirty tactics to capture his enemies, and who was also based on Sonny Grosso."

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Goofs

The car chase scenes between Bill Hickman and Roy Scheider take place on both the Palisades Interstate Parkway and Taconic State Parkway. These roads are on two different sides of the Hudson River, and getting from one road to the other requires crossing the river a second time via The Tappan Zee Bridge, which they failed to do.

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Quotes

Insp. Gilson: There's something heavy that the boys downtown never told us about. Have you heard rumors of Mob kidnappings?
Buddy Manucci: [surprised] No. I heard about... that heavy artillery on the street, that's all.
Lt. Jerry Hanes: Why the hell didn't you tell us? A squad from the Chief Detective's office is investigating stories about undercover police, alleged police, going around kidnapping wiseguys for ransom.
Buddy Manucci: [eyes widening] And they think it's us?
Insp. Gilson: Buddy, what would you think? What was Ansel doing with Cotello? A lot of people ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

The 20th Century Fox logo does not appear at the beginning. Instead we get a credit saying "Twentieth Century-Fox Presents".

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Connections

Featured in Cinemassacre's Top 10 Car Chases (2008)

User Reviews

Gritty 70's 'CULT' Cop Thriller you MAY HAVE MISSED?

I saw 'Jaws' for the first time aged 7 but a good chunk of why i LOVED that film was Roy Scheider's Brody, I honestly can't imagine that film without him and his "SMILE YOU SON of a B...H"

Back to "The Seven-Up's"

I'd read a little about this film in movie magazines and books over the years but had never ever seen it until yesterday (thanks I have to say to YouTube), had wanted to see it for over 30 years and finally I have done so.

I'm with the majority of reviewers here...

it's gritty, well made with some good performances especially Schnider who with his brown leather jacket makes it his 'Bullitt' there is even a scene in which he removes the cool jacket to reveal a black turtle-neck and holster (a knowing nod to McQueen's classic film perhaps?) I have to admit that the first 40 minutes or so are kinda slow as with many of the 1970's cop thriller's/drama's of the time but stick with it as the pace builds and it gets better and better from this point.

The CAR CHASE is a stand-out as many here have stated (and might be worth the watch for this wonderfully filmed sequence alone) it starts out as a fairly ordinary affair but turns into a terrific pursuit.

Richard Lynch always had the look of a good villain and he is again here.

One of the reasons I'd wanted to see it (apart from Scheider) was I had read it almost played out like an unofficial "French Connection" sequel and it kinda does.

Tony Lo Bianco is terrific as Buddy's (Scheider) friend and he was also in Connection, it could be argued that this is a far better film than that films sequel and I would subscribe to this as the French Connection II was to me very disappointing.

Fans of 1970's Cop Thrillers will find much to enjoy in the second half of this film...the ending is terrific with shades of Blue Thunder's ending, speaking of which that is another terrific Roy Scheider film along with '2010', 'Jaws', 'Jaws II" (yes really, Scheider makes it thanks to Brody and that "I know what a shark looks like up close and I don't intend on going through that hell Again" speech) and "Marathon Man.

Roy was a terrific actor and has left us with some wonderful performances in some wonderful films...God Bless.

Now to track down "Sorcerer" (aka Wages of Fear) another I've never managed to see.