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 No.1 Best-Seller

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

The cast includes five individuals who have been nominated for an acting Oscar: Charles Durning, Louis Gossett Jr., Randy Quaid, James Woods and Burt Young. Durning and Woods are the only two who have been nominated twice (all the others only once). Woods is the only one to have been nominated in the Lead Actor category. Gossett is the only one to have won.

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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

Referenced in From Corleone to Brooklyn (1979)

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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

Read the book

This is not a bad adaptation of Wambaughs book until the end. For some reason someone decided the movie needed an up-beat ending and blew the black ending of the book.

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

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1