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:

The boys are back in town. Nick Nolte is a cop. Eddie Murphy is a convict. They couldn't have liked each other less. They couldn't have needed each other more. And the last place they ever expected to be is on the same side. Even for... 48 HRS

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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

Included among the American Film Institute's 2000 list of the 500 movies nominated for the Top 100 Funniest American Movies.

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Goofs

There is most likely no way a battery would stay good for three years only being charged once per month. Once a battery goes through 7 cycles of running all the way down it is shot. About the only way a battery would stay good this long is if it were a modern day battery on a trickle (constant) charger. Very doubtful the car would have started after 3 years without a full charge anyway.

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Quotes

Jack: You switch from an armed robber to a pimp, you're all set.
Reggie: a-HA, HA... hooo!

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Connections

Referenced in Backstage at Disney (1983)

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Soundtracks

48 HRS.
Written and recordings produced by Brian O'Neal

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.