48 Hrs. (1982)

A hard-nosed cop reluctantly teams up with a wise-cracking criminal temporarily paroled to him, in order to track down a killer.

Director:

Walter Hill

Writers:

Roger Spottiswoode, Walter Hill

Stars:

Nick Nolte, Eddie Murphy, Annette O'Toole

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nick Nolte	...	Jack Cates
Eddie Murphy	...	Reggie Hammond
Annette O'Toole	...	Elaine
Frank McRae	...	Haden
James Remar	...	Ganz
David Patrick Kelly	...	Luther
Sonny Landham	...	Billy Bear
Brion James	...	Kehoe
Kerry Sherman	...	Rosalie
Jonathan Banks	...	Algren
James Keane	...	Vanzant
Tara King	...	Frizzy
Greta Blackburn	...	Lisa
Margot Rose	...	Casey
Denise Crosby	...	Sally

Storyline

Oddball cop and tough guy, Jack Cates is the only survivor of a cop shooting and in hunting down the murderer collects Reggie Hammond from jail for 48 hours. Hammond is oddly motivated to help. The killer is searching for his stash of cash. Cates and Hammond who have the Black-white, cop-crook thing to work out make surprisingly good partners as they navigate through the city looking for their suspect.

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Plot Keywords:

cop | partner | revenge | tough guy | police shootout | 

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Taglines:

When a tough cop has a cool convict as a partner and 48 hrs to catch a killer, a lot of funny things can happen in . . . 48 HRS. [Australia Theatrical]

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 December 1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

48 Hours

Filming Locations:

Pacific Mutual Carriage House, 544-570 S Grand Ave, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,369,868, 12 December 1982, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$78,868,508

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures,Lawrence Gordon Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo (4 channels)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Gregory Hines was the first choice to play Reggie Hammond but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts with The Cotton Club (1984). In fact, Eddie Murphy later confessed that he was the "fourth or fifth" choice for the part. Other actors considered for the role included Richard Pryor, the late Howard E. Rollins Jr. and a young Denzel Washington.

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Goofs

When Billy Bear is driving the truck in the opening scene the license plate is barely attached. When we see the truck moments later, it is attached securely.

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Quotes

[Shaking down a redneck, Reggie pulls a wad of money from his pocket]
Reggie: Man, you loaded here. What the fuck's this?
Redneck: Tax refund!
Reggie: Bullshit! You're too fuckin' stupid to have a job!

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Connections

Featured in Paramount Pictures Promotional Sampler Laserdisc (1992)

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Soundtracks

TORCHY'S BOOGIE
By Ira Newborn

User Reviews

A seriously edgy and explosive thriller.

A seriously edgy and explosive thriller about an untidy yet tenacious San Francisco cop, Jack Cates (Nick Nolte), who must take Reggie Hammond (Eddie Murphy), an ultra-cocky convict with him and search around the city for a brutish cop-killer, Ganz (James Remar)and his nearly out-spoken Indian accomplice, Billy Bear (Sonny Landham) and take them down in less than forty-eight hours. What made me enjoy the movie is the trust and respect that the Murphy and Nolte characters begin to show, even there are moments where they want to pound each other's head in. In addition to Nolte and Murphy (who's in his film debut), Remar is pretty good here despite having a limited amount of screen time. The photography of the city by Ric Waite is well, excellent and the skillful direction by Walter Hill can't go unnoticed. "48 Hrs." may not look as well-crafted as "The French Connection", but Hill sure knows how to make something memorable out of nothing.