Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

A freewheeling Detroit cop pursuing a murder investigation finds himself dealing with the very different culture of Beverly Hills.

Director:

Martin Brest

Writers:

Daniel Petrie Jr. (screenplay), Danilo Bach (story)

Stars:

Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Eddie Murphy	...	Axel Foley
Judge Reinhold	...	Det. Billy Rosewood
John Ashton	...	Sgt. Taggart
Lisa Eilbacher	...	Jenny Summers
Ronny Cox	...	Lt. Bogomil
Steven Berkoff	...	Victor Maitland
James Russo	...	Mikey Tandino
Jonathan Banks	...	Zack
Stephen Elliott	...	Chief Hubbard
Gilbert R. Hill	...	Inspector Todd
Art Kimbro	...	Det. Foster
Joel Bailey	...	Det. McCabe
Bronson Pinchot	...	Serge
Paul Reiser	...	Jeffrey
Michael Champion	...	Casey

Storyline

Detroit cop Axel Foley is delighted when he receives a surprise visit from his best friend Mikey Tandino, who lives in California. Not long after Mikey arrives in Detroit, Mikey is killed, right in front of Axel, by a man named Zack. Axel follows Zack to Beverly Hills, California, where Beverly Hills police department Lieutenant Andrew Bogomil assigns Detective Billy Rosewood and Rosewood's partner, Sergeant John Taggart, to keep an eye on Axel. Axel visits his friend Jenny Summers, who works in an art gallery. With Jenny's help, Axel discovers that Zack works for Jenny's boss, Victor Maitland, the man who owns the art gallery. Maitland is a drug kingpin who is using the gallery as a front, and Maitland had Zack kill Mikey after Maitland accused Mikey of stealing some of Maitland's bonds. With the help of Jenny, Billy, and Taggart, Axel does what he can to make sure Maitland and Zack won't kill any more people.

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Plot Keywords:

murder | drugs | police shootout | drug dealer | police brutality | 

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Taglines:

He's been chased, thrown through a window, and arrested. Eddie Murphy is a Detroit cop on vacation in Beverly Hills.

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 December 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Beverly Drive

Filming Locations:

2720 Grand River Avenue, Detroit, Michigan, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$14,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$15,214,805, 9 December 1984, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$234,760,478

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$81,600,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Eddie Murphy Productions, Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to Steven Berkoff in a UK newspaper interview, Sylvester Stallone quit the film because of disagreements about the orange juice for his trailer.

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Goofs

When Axel Foley checks into the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, he is given a room without being required to show any ID or provide a valid credit card. At the end of the movie, when Detective Taggart pays for Foley's stay, there is no cancellation of the prior credit arrangements made to secure the room.

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Quotes

Detective Rosewood: Everything he said about Maitland is right. Now he's kidnapped a woman and he's got her in this house.
Sergeant Taggart: Well, let's go in there and get her.
Axel Foley: What the fuck do you think I'm trying to do here?
Sergeant Taggart: You're not doing anything!

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Crazy Credits

Scott Murphy's character of Det. Owensby is misspelled as Det. Owenby in the credits.

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Alternate Versions

Also shown on TV in an alternate "less explicit" language version.

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Connections

Referenced in Bad Movie Beatdown: Pluto Nash (2009)

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Soundtracks

Gratitude
Written by Danny Elfman
Performed by Danny Elfman

User Reviews

Axel Foley: Eddie Murphy's best role

Beverly Hills Cop was a big hit in the 1980's. The film was loved by many action fans, as well as comedy fans and movie buffs at the time. It is still being admired by many people as one of the funniest cop movies ever made.

The thing I love about this movie is that Eddie Murphy was perfectly cast as the Axel Foley character. Originally, Sylvester Stallone was considered for the role. Thank God he wasn't! Eddie Murphy was perfect for the role, because he can be a clever cop, and can at the same time be very funny! Another great thing about Beverly Hills Cop is its smashing soundtrack. There are some great hit songs from the 1980's featured in the soundtrack, as well as an excellent musical score which can be heard throughout the movie (to me, the musical score is the Beverly Hills Cop "theme song").

Perhaps the only downside of Beverly Hills Cop is that it can be pretty slow in certain scenes. Hardcore action fans would probably be disappointed by this. But let's face it: Beverly Hills Cop is not an all-out mindless action movie. It is actually a clever comedy with elements of action present within.

To conclude, Beverly Hills Cop is arguably Eddie Murphy's best film since he fits the Axel Foley character perfectly. There are many funny scenes featuring Eddie Murphy that will have people laughing (even the action scenes can be cleverly funny)!

P.S: Look out for cameos by Paul Reiser, Bronson Pinchot, and Damon Wayans!