Mulholland Falls (1996)

In 1950's Los Angeles, a special crime squad of the LAPD investigates the murder of a young woman.

Director:

Lee Tamahori

Writers:

Peter Dexter (story) (as Pete Dexter), Floyd Mutrux (story)

Stars:

Nick Nolte, Melanie Griffith, Jennifer Connelly

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nick Nolte	...	Max Hoover
Melanie Griffith	...	Katherine Hoover
Chazz Palminteri	...	Elleroy Coolidge
Michael Madsen	...	Eddie Hall
Chris Penn	...	Arthur Relyea
Treat Williams	...	Colonel Nathan Fitzgerald
Jennifer Connelly	...	Allison Pond
Daniel Baldwin	...	McCafferty
Andrew McCarthy	...	Jimmy Fields
John Malkovich	...	General Thomas Timms
Kyle Chandler	...	Captain
Ed Lauter	...	Earl
Larry Garrison	...	Perino's Maitre d'
Chelsea Harrington	...	Lolita
Johnna Johnson	...	Bar Woman

Storyline

This film is about the adventures of a 1940's special anti-gangster police squad in Los Angeles, the infamous 'Hat Squad.' The four members of this squad are big, tough, no-nonsense cops who don't hesitate to break the law, if it suits their purposes. When a local woman is murdered, their investigation turns up the fact that she had been romantically linked to several prominent men and had secret films taken of her liaisons. Since one of those men is the powerful U.S. Army General at the head of the then-new Atomic Energy Commission and another is the (married) leader of the Hat Squad, complications ensue. The FBI even gets involved in an attempted cover-up.

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Plot Keywords:

neo noir | murder | military | 1950s | breasts | 

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Taglines:

The power of love vs. the love of power

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexuality, violence and language

Details

Official Sites:

MGM's Official Site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 April 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Abuso de poder

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Studios - 5800 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$29,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,306,221, 28 April 1996

Gross USA:

$11,526,099

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$11,526,099

Company Credits

Production Co:

Largo Entertainment, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Polygram Filmed Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

DTS DTS-Stereo

Color:

Black and White (home movie sequences) Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The story based the film's four detectives on the real life LAPD foursome known as the Hat Squad. As portrayed in the film, the LAPD leadership empowered them and the larger "Gangster Squad", subsequently renamed the "Intelligence Division", to specifically interdict the movement of East Coast organized crime into Los Angeles. The actual LAPD units allegedly used tactics commensurate with the level necessary to counter and repulse organized crime groups.

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Goofs

Col. Fitzgerald wears the insignia of the 31st Infantry Division on his left sleeve, denoting his current assignment. While this division was activated during the Korean War, it was comprised of National Guard units from the SE United States. They were assigned to Camp Atterbury, IN, never in Nevada or California, trained replacements, and were not involved in any atomic tests.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Perino's Maitre d': Good evening, gentlemen can I check your hats, please?

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Mulholland Falls/Sunset Park/The Truth About Cats and Dogs/I Shot Andy Warhol/Wings of Courage (1996)

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Soundtracks

Mr. Anthony's Boogie
Written by Ray Anthony and George Williams
Performed by Ray Anthony

User Reviews

Pretty good cop thriller (spoilers within).

Looking at the four stern faces of the suited men on the cover, you'd think this was yet another movie about gangsters. But it isn't. Fans of another fantastic period cop drama, L.A. Confidential, should enjoy this film, as they are quite similar in theme. Like Russle Crowe's hard-edged cop character in L.A. Confidential, the four cops in this movie, do what they must to dispense justice. Despite their violent methods, they are nonetheless vigilante about justice.

Unorthodox and often unethical Los Angeles cops, Max Hoover (Nick Notle), Elleroy Coolige (Chaz Palminteri), Eddie Hall (Mike Madsen), and Arthur Relyea (Chris Penn), do what they can from keeping the trash from moving into the city. Tossing gangsters down Mullholland Falls, the symbolic dumping site for the exiled criminals, and tearing up coke dealers and pimps with a handy black jack, these cops don't take crap. (It should be interesting enough at this point to see both Penn and Madsen not playing their usual roles as sadistic gangsters).

The four cops are preoccupied with a new investigation after Max's former lover, Allison Pond (Jennifer Connelly), is discovered dead in a development yard. The case tests Max's limits on the ability to sift out the suspects and overcome whatever obstacles stand in his way of justice. At first, it seems as though this is just another story in which the villain turns out to be zealous leaders of the mafia who go to all ends to get what they wants (usually a profit venture). But that is not the case here. Max and the gang find themselves going up against the government and military, implicating Atomic Energy Commissioner (John Malkovich) and an eager Colonel (Treat Williams), to find out what is what that Allison was involved with that lead to her death. The movie takes place during the 1940s around New Mexico's White Plains nuclear testing site, and makes some challenges to the ethics of nuclear testing.

This movie has a tremendous cast, even in minor roles. Nick Nolte does a fantastic job, as does John Malckovich in the role of the dreamy, dying Atomic Energy Commissioner.

I also compare this film to L.A. Confidential because it seemed like some of the settings (and even the arrangement of scenes) are very similar to those used in the former. For example, Max Hoover's house (especially the living room and bedroom) looked almost identical to the one where Kevin Spacey and Danny DeVito break into the house in the beginning to bust up a minor "pot party." The bedroom looked much like that one for Kim Basinger's house as well. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the same people involved in Mullholland Falls likewise worked on L.A. Confidential.

It isn't your traditional cop drama/political thriller because of the nature of the main characters. They don't always play by the rules, but in the end, they are the good guys. And, it's got a good finale.