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Cops and Robbers (1973 film)
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Wikipedia article
'Cops and Robbers' is a 1973 crime comedy film directed by Aram Avakian with an original screenplay by Donald E. Westlake which Westlake subsequently expanded into a novel. The film stars Cliff Gorman as Tom and Joseph Bologna as Joe.
Plot
Cops and Robbers stars Cliff Gorman and Joseph Bologna as two New York City cops who turn to crime to fund an early retirement for each. They are neighbors and they are living an OK suburban life with homes, a swimming pool and families in a high-density community and they commute to work together. Both are working-class and looking for more money for a better lifestyle.
Well, one cop, Joseph Bologna as Joe, robs a liquor store while in uniform and literally walks away into the night. After that, he tells his friend and neighbor Tom, played by Cliff Gorman, and both ultimately realize that pulling off a big heist would get them out of a dangerous job and, since they are NYPD officers, it gives them a big advantage in whatever crime they choose to accomplish.
So, what do they do? They go to the mob!
Gorman goes to a mobsters house and asks what he would pay $2 million for them to steal. The gangster does some verbal jousting and finally tells Gorman about bearer bonds and that he would need to steal $10 million worth of them to earn the $2 million.
Its how they accomplish the heist and get the payoff that offers the clever details that make the movie. Here are some of Cops and Robbers neat twists:
First, after Gorman, who is in disguise, meets with the mobster, some of the gang try to follow him to find out his true identity. As they follow him up an escalator from the subway, a uniformed cop (Bologna) holds up the line after Gorman has passed. Of course, the gangsters dont realize at that moment that the two are together. By the time they get to the street, Gorman has disappeared, as has Bologna.
After deciding to rob a Wall Street brokerage during a tickertape parade for astronauts just back from space (the film is set in the early 1970s), they steal the bearer bonds, but then rip them up and throw them out a window as part of the parade celebration of a cascade of paper coming out of skyscraper windows. This idea is the key component to the whole robbery. They didnt have to worry about anyone finding the stolen bonds: The bonds no longer exist and the crime is reported by all the media that $12 million was stolen. Its the irony of the total reported, because the brokerage house executive robbed by the duo snagged $2 million for himself with no one the wiser, but the two crooked cops.
For transportation, the duo uses patrol units borrowed and then returned unnoticed from a police garage. Of course, both have uniforms (although Gorman is a plain-clothes detective) and fit both to their advantage, especially at the end when they make the pickup of the $2 million in Central Park in an area where only bicycles were allowed but so were police cars.
In the end, they survive the mobs trap in the park and get away with the $2 million, while the mobster is killed because he fouled up and lost the money to the two cops.
Cast
* Cliff Gorman as Tom
* Joseph Bologna as Joe
* Delphi Lawrence as Rich Lady
* Charlene Dallas as Secretary
* John P. Ryan as Pasquale "Patsy" Aniello
* Dolph Sweet as George
* Joe Spinell as Marty
* Shepperd Strudwick as Mr. Eastpoole
* James Ferguson as Liquor Store Clerk
* Frances Foster as Bleeding Lady
* Gayle Gorman as Mary
* Walt Gorney as Wino
* George Harris II as Harry
* Ellen Holly as Ms. Wells
* Randy Jurgensen as Randy
* Albert Henderson as Cop
Additional information
This film was also released under the following titles:
* Entimotatoi kleftes - Greece (transliterated ISO-LATIN-1 title)
* Flics et voyous - France
* Polcias e Ladres - Portugal
* Rosvot ja jeparit - Finland
* Se ci provi... io ci sto! - Italy
* Snutar som robbar - Sweden
* Treffpunkt Central Park - West Germany
* Unos policas muy ladrones - Spain
Reception
Roger Greenspun wrote a favorable review of the film for the 'New York Times'.
Soundtrack
The score was composed and conducted by Michel Legrand. The soundtrack was released exclusively on compact disc in August 2009.
Track List:
* Main Title (Cops and Robbers)
* The Sellers
* Uptown
* The Buyer
* Suburbia
* Downtown
* Wall Street
* Papa Joe, The Padrone
* The Caper
* The Lush Life
* The Chase
* The Sleep Song
* The Chase (alternate version)
See also
* List of American films of 1973
References
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