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 | poliziottesco | north american poliziottesco | ransom | 

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Taglines:

The producer of "Bullitt" and "The French Connection" brings you a high-speed ride with the strong arm of the law.

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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:

The Seven-Ups

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

The 1973 Pontiac Grand Ville with license plate # 4N - 2645, used in the car chase by stunt driver and stunt co-ordinator Bill Hickman, looks like the same one used in an episode of Madigan (1972) [See: Madigan: The Park Avenue Beat (1973)]. In that episode, Hickman appears uncredited as a taxi driver.

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Goofs

In the diner, Scheider gets angry and knocks his notebook off the counter, hitting it hard enough to make it land on the floor. However, in the wider shot that follows, the notebook is sitting on the stool right by him, spinning around (which makes for a nice shot but would have been impossible).

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Quotes

Toredano the Garage Man: Look. Look at my hands. I've been here before. You do what you gotta' do. I didn't talk then... and I ain't talkin' now.

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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

Spoofed in The Big Sleaze (2010)

User Reviews

Good Basic Cop Movie that we need more of

I love the other reviews of this movie. They mirror my attitude. I am a 70's sort of guy, minus disco and "Star Wars" childishness. There was nothing great about this movie, except for a chase scene. That is why it was good, because it was tough, basic and economical. Roy Scheider carried the movie, which was based on the crew, the 7 Ups, that backed up Gene Hackman in the "French Connection". The people in it were believable and average, who burned themselves pouring coffee, showed fear in chase scene and almost lost it after a close call crash.

Maybe it would be easier to tell you what it lacked. There was no fancy weapons, just basic revolvers and crude sawed off shotguns. There was no tough guy philosophizing, ala Tarantino. There was no kung fu or samurai nonsense and no fancy trick shooting either. There was no clever guy who carries out some complicated scheme based on hundreds of things going just the way he planned including everyone else's reactions. The criminals were bad guys but they didn't shoot people for the hell of it. As a matter of fact, there was a body count of just three. something that the average movie these days would pass in the opening credits. It could be a G movie today! No bus load of orphan school children were kidnapped nor were terrorists threatening to kill half of the city. There were no high tech hijinks, nor were the crimes themselves very moving or ingenious, the highest tech thing I saw was a touch tone ATT wall phone. It had no subplots or amusing character developments. Also, no sex or women, except for one mobster's wife who did some screaming as the Buddy our hero had her menaced.

It was some little undertaker who exploited his connections with the local mob and the police to kidnap local mobsters for some easy payoffs. The undertakers. Vito, was played by Tony Lo Bianco who did a great job, as good as Roy Schneider, Buddy the head of 7 Ups cop, whom he informed and exploited. What ever happened to Tony Lo Bianco, he seemed like a Pacino shoe in, good looking and talented? What it did have was a great NYC backdrop to a simple crime story. Locations that were bleak and dehumanizing without being a sociological study. It had a simple plot that involved this kidnapping scheme where one of Buddy's cop got accidentally involved, literally accidentally dragged in then accidentally shot dead. Since Buddy and his 7 ups are a hot dogs unit, both the NYPD Brass and mobsters thought he was involved, since the kidnappers masqueraded as plain clothes cops to lure the mobsters into compliance. Obviously the mobsters figured they had lawyers and rights to protect them from normal police. Even the mobsters were plain, old and ugly, no Godfather royalty or Soprano hipness here.

It is a good basic movie with a standout chase scene between two 70's d Pontiacs. Even the cars were plain and economical, not even a GTO or a Trans Am, like the acting and the story. In the days of Batman uber-hype or "24" levels of intensity doomsday scenarios, this movie reminds us that less is better. It should be shown to movie screen writers and directors as a caveat not to dazzle, amuse then ultimately insult us with stunts, gadgets and clown psychotic behavior galore.