Main Cast: Alan Arkin, James Caan, Loretta Swit, Jack Kruschen, Mike Kellin
Release Year: 1974
Country: US
Run Time: 112 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Freebie (James Caan) and the Bean (Alan Arkin) are a pair of San Francisco cops. Red Meyers (Jack Kruschen) is the mobster whom Freebie and the Bean would like to see behind bars -- or, failing that, six feet under. Nothing stands in the way of the cops' pursuit of Meyers, meaning that private property is given quite a going-over in this picture. The film's most memorable scene finds Freebie and the Bean crashing their car into a poor schnook's living room. TV favorites Loretta Swit and Valerie Harper play the only female roles worth mentioning. The racist and sexist humor in Freebie and the Bean may not go over as well today as it did in the politically incorrect early '70s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
This unusual but kinetic fusion of comedy and action has been consistently scorned by critics over the years, but has won a cult following thanks to its blend of raucous humor and stylish filmmaking. Robert Kaufman's story line is self-consciously complicated to keep audiences guessing, but eventually delivers an impressive set of twists at its finale. However, its best attribute is its snappy dialogue; the verbal sparring matches between James Caan and Alan Arkin are full of hilariously profane interplay, and an interrogation-style showdown between Arkin and Valerie Harper near the end give the film its funniest (and most unexpectedly touching) moment. Freebie and the Bean also benefits from inspired work by leads Caan and Arkin. They give their characters the maniacal energy necessary to make their over-the-top excesses work, yet add some human shadings that give them unexpected depth. Both also deliver the comedy angle of the script with style. Arkin shines in a rare role that allows him to be aggressive and Caan shows an uncanny sense of comic timing. Behind the camera, Richard Rush keeps the zany events rolling at a carefully modulated pace that gives the actors room to breathe, but also fills the screen with kind of hardcore slapstick antics rarely seen outside a Tex Avery cartoon. The highlight is a crazed car chase that climaxes with the heroes' car crashing into the upper floor of an apartment building. On the downside, Freebie and the Bean's taboo-trashing sense of humor has something to offend virtually every brand of politically correct viewer, and the virulent racist and sexist attitudes of its antihero protagonists are likely to offend many. Despite this tone, Freebie and the Bean remains a well-made blend of comedy and action for viewers with skins thick enough to endure its savage sense of humor. ~ Donald Guarisco, All Movie Guide
Valerie Harper - Bean's Wife; Maurice Argent - Tailor; Ted Duncan - Chicken Truck Driver; Robert H. Harris - Michigan Phil; Thomas Huff - Bellboy; Whitey Hughes - Broder; Paul Koslo - Whitey; Linda Marsh - Freebie's Girl; Alex Rocco - District Attorney; Jerry Walter - Salesman; Kathryn Witt - Whitey's Girl; Eddy Donno - Bag Man; John Garwood - Chauffeur; Gary Kent - Ambulance Attendant; Frank Orsatti - Laundry Truck Driver; Marvin Walters - Policeman; Gary Johnson - Liquor Truck Driver; Christopher Morley - Transvestite; John Powers - Dentist
Credit
Hilyard M. Brown - Art Director, Chris Seitz - First Assistant Director, Richard Rush - Director, Franz Steininger - Editor, Frederic Steinkamp - Editor, Michael S. McLean - Editor, Floyd Mutrux - Executive Producer, Dominic Frontiere - Composer (Music Score), Laszlo Kovacs - Cinematographer, Tony Ray - Producer, Richard Rush - Producer, Ruby Levitt - Set Designer, Barry Thomas - Sound/Sound Designer, Robert Kaufman - Screenwriter
Key scenes were shot on location in San Francisco in early 1973 at Candlestick Park then home of the Major League BaseballSan Francisco Giants and now that of the National Football League's San Francisco 49ers. One memorable chase sequence was filmed on the now-demolished Embarcadero Freeway, which ends with Caan and Arkin's car crashing into an apartment building next to the freeway. After the car lands in an elderly couple's bedroom, where they were watching television, Caan and Arkin exit the car and nonchalantly walk out of the apartment. The husband remarks, "Television is getting too violent."
Plans to distribute the film in early 1974 were shelved due to concerns about competition with Peter Hyams' similar Busting. Freebie and the Bean was finally issued as a Christmas release, and became a substantial box office success.
A short-lived television series based on the film and sharing its title, starring Tom Mason and Hector Elizondo in the title roles, was broadcast on CBS on Saturday nights at 9:00 PM in December 1980 and January 1981.
The film was finally released on DVD in 2009 through Warner Home Video's Warner Archives label.
