The Laughing Policeman

12/20/19731h 52m

Theatrical Release (US)

~ This movie is so real it makes every other movie in this town look like a movie. ~

Overview:

When a gunman opens fire on a crowded city bus in San Francisco, Detective Dave Evans is killed, along with the man he'd been following in relation to a murder. Evans' partner, Sgt. Jake Martin, becomes obsessed with solving the case.

Director:

Stuart Rosenberg

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$2,280,000.00

Revenue:

$1,700,000.00

Key words:

san francisco, california
mass murder
murder
killer

Cast

Walter Matthau

~ as ~

Sgt. Jake Martin SFPD

Bruce Dern

~ as ~

Insp. Leo Larsen SFPD

Louis Gossett Jr.

~ as ~

Insp. James Larrimore SFPD

Albert Paulsen

~ as ~

Henry Camerero

Anthony Zerbe

~ as ~

Lt. Nat Steiner SFPD

Val Avery

~ as ~

Insp. John Pappas SFPD

Cathy Lee Crosby

~ as ~

Kay Butler

Mario Gallo

~ as ~

Bobby Mow, Snitch

Joanna Cassidy

~ as ~

Monica, Beth's Roomate

Frances Lee McCain

~ as ~

Prostitute

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

t
talisencrw
Written 9 year(s) ago
8
From the early-70's zenith of crime and police-centered films, 'The Laughing Policeman' deserves credit, respect and recognition as a fine, gritty, accurate work that shows the way real officers interact and go through their work-days and solve crimes. Walter Matthau, mostly known for his astute comedic touch, is excellent, as is Bruce Dern, who's promoted to an uneasy partnership with Matthau, when the latter's partner, who was on vacation yet took an unsolved case home with him, is at the wrong place at the wrong time, part of a brutal mass murder on board a bus. The well-directed script shows how alienated a good policeman is from his family, how hated he is by most of the community, and the blind alleys and dead ends he has to go through in order to solve the case, and have it hold up in a court of law. It's 'Dirty Harry' or the 'French Connection' films done honestly, not as a fever dream of wish fulfillment from the policeman's perspective (though I must admit I love those too!)...