The Choirboys (1977)

A group of Los Angeles cops decide to take off some of the pressures of their jobs by engaging in various forms of after hours debauchery.

Director:

Robert Aldrich

Writers:

Joseph Wambaugh (novel), Christopher Knopf (screenplay)

Stars:

Charles Durning, Louis Gossett Jr., Perry King

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Charles Durning	...	Spermwhale Whalen
Louis Gossett Jr.	...	Calvin Motts
Perry King	...	Baxter Slate
Clyde Kusatsu	...	Francis Tanaguchi
Stephen Macht	...	Spencer Van Moot
Tim McIntire	...	Roscoe Rules
Randy Quaid	...	Dean Proust
Chuck Sacci	...	'Father' Sartino
Don Stroud	...	Sam Lyles
James Woods	...	Harold Bloomguard
Burt Young	...	Scuzzi
Susan Batson	...	Sabrina
Cheryl Smith	...	Tammy
Claire Brennen	...	Carolina Moon
Gene Chronopoulos	...	Card Player

Storyline

A disparate group of Metro Los Angeles police officers - the rank and file - bond over their commonality of being brothers in blue despite their differences. The other thing they all seem to need is a venue to blow off some steam together, what they collectively call "choir practice": after hours piss ups, usually in public, where they again can relieve the pressures of the work day. Despite their brotherhood, not all their lives they feel they can share with each other in the overwhelming sense of what it means to be a real man in this environment. A few weeks in their lives and a few choir practices later are shown, when three of the younger officers, Baxter, Lyles and Bloomguard - the latter two who served together in Vietnam - are temporarily assigned to night duty in Vice under the leadership of Sgt. Scuzzi, who they always assumed was the janitor; as young Proust tries to mitigate the negative effects of his unabashedly blowhard, redneck and bigoted partner, Roscoe out on the ...

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Plot Keywords:

pantyhose | black pantyhose | female stockinged legs | bikini | police station | 

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Taglines:

From the Outrageous Best-Seller ... The Wildest, Toughest, Funniest Cops ... Ever

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

James Woods has the distinction of appearing in three filmed adaptations made from novels by Joseph Wambaugh. The others being The Black Marble (1980) and The Onion Field (1979).

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Goofs

When Sgt. Yanov reads roll call at the beginning of the movie, he calls out 16 names, but their are 26 men in the room.

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Quotes

Harold Bloomguard: Greetings and Hallucinations, Sergeant Yanoff.

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Connections

Featured in Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003)

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Soundtracks

I've Got a Crush on You
Music by George Gershwin
Lyric by Ira Gershwin
Performed by Vic Tayback
Published by New World/Harms
[Zoony sings the song in the public men's room]

User Reviews

Definitely a cop's movie

Before you go on to complain about this movie, you need to realize it was filmed 30 years ago. I was 1 year old when this movie came out and I have grown up around cops.

I have very little doubt these antics used to go on but now they are left as a part of history.

How do you expect a group of guys with a high school diploma, Vietnam war service and a thankless job to behave? Have you ever gotten off work so late the bars are closed but you want to blow off some steam about the things that happened to you? Where do you go when the bars are closed? Just as Blazing Sadles could not be filmed today, I don't think you could film this movie either. I doubt society or departments approved of this behavior but I am certain a blind eye was turned. Now since the Rampart scandal, Rodney King and other incidents nobody can do this anymore.

If you want to try to understand why this movie is funny, try doing a Google search for, "Why cops hate you"

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Vietnamese Spanish

Release Date:

23 December 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Choirboys

Filming Locations:

Bronson Canyon, Griffith Park - 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$6,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lorimar Productions, Airone Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1