French Connection II (1975)

"Popeye" Doyle travels to Marseille to find Alain Charnier, the drug smuggler who eluded him in New York.

Director:

John Frankenheimer

Writers:

Alexander Jacobs (screenplay), Robert Dillon (screenplay)

Stars:

Gene Hackman, Fernando Rey, Bernard Fresson

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gene Hackman	...	Doyle
Fernando Rey	...	Alain Charnier
Bernard Fresson	...	Barthélémy
Philippe Léotard	...	Jacques (as Philippe Leotard)
Ed Lauter	...	General Brian
Charles Millot	...	Miletto
Jean-Pierre Castaldi	...	Raoul (as Jean - Pierre Castaldi)
Cathleen Nesbitt	...	'The Old Lady' / The Old Lady
Samantha Llorens	...	Denise
André Penvern	...	Bartender
Reine Prat	...	Young Girl on the Beach
Raoul Delfosse	...	Dutch Captain
Ham Chau Luong	...	Japanese Captain
Jacques Dynam	...	Inspector Genevoix
Malek Kateb	...	Algerian Chief (as Malek Eddine)

Storyline

New York narcotics detective Popeye Doyle follows the trail of the French connection smuggling ring to France where he teams up with the gendarmes to hunt down the ringleader.

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Plot Keywords:

organized crime | drug traffic | detective | sequel to best picture winner | american abroad | 

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Taglines:

THE FRENCH CONNECTION was only the beginning-THIS is the climax

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

In planning the climactic chase in which Doyle pursues Charnier across Marseilles, director John Frankenheimer wasn't aware that Gene Hackman suffered from knee problems. Despite this, Hackman went ahead and filmed the entire chase without a double, badly inflaming his knee by the time he was through. He has said that Doyle's expressions of pain and determination as the chase progressed didn't require much acting.

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Goofs

During the first bar scene, Popeye Doyle's drink goes from a small shot to a nearly full glass and back again during his attempted conversation with the French bartender.

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Quotes

Jimmy 'Popey' Doyle: I'd rather be a lamppost in New York than the King of France.

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: MARSEILLES

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Alternate Versions

For the first few showings of the film, it was approximately 8 minutes longer. 20th Century Fox took out a couple of scenes without director John Frankenheimer's consent. One scene involved Doyle and the girl who played beach volleyball. This footage has yet to be found, and was not included on the 2001 DVD release.

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Connections

Referenced in Ronin: Through the Lens with Director of Photography Robert Fraisse (1998)

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Soundtracks

La Marseillaise
(uncredited)
(aka "National Anthem of France")
Music by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle
Performed by the Band during the money exchange

User Reviews

Enjoyable film

I am Robin Moore, the author of The French Connection. I was paid the film rights for The French Connection, was on the set during the filming and at the Oscars when the award was presented.

When I was writing the French Connection Sonny Grosso and Eddie Eagan came down to Jamaica to my Blue Lagoon. While they were there Barry Sadler and his wife, Lavonia, joined us. Barry and I had written The Ballad of The Green Berets a few years previously.

I enjoyed The French Connection II, however, I spent a lot of time trying to get paid, but never succeeded. Sad. After the French Connection II came out a lawyer in NY got me to sign the rights to The French Connection over to his law firm so I wouldn't be able to get any money from anything that came after The French Connection. We writers are always getting burnt by the film industry!

I last saw Sonny Grosso in NY a couple of years ago. I took the two emergency cops (the ones who raised the flag at The World Trade Centre) to meet Sonny and they gave him a copy of their DVD.

ROBIN MOORE...

Robin Moore...

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

21 May 1975 (USA)

Also Known As:

French Connection II

Filming Locations:

France

Box Office

Budget:

$4,340,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$12,484,444

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$12,484,444

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1