Themes: Murder Investigations, Rogue Cops, Serial Killers
Main Cast: Dave Belrose, Walter Matthau, Bruce Dern, Louis Gossett, Jr., Albert Paulsen, Anthony Zerbe
Release Year: 1973
Country: US
Run Time: 111 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Stuart Rosenberg's taut police thriller, based on the Martin Beck novel by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahlöö, concerns a serial killer who is targeting bus riders. When a bus full of innocent commuters are killed on a San Francisco street, Jake Martin (Walter Matthau) is assigned to track down the killer. Jake has a personal stake in the killings because his partner was one of the victims. Teamed up with new partner Leo Larsen (Bruce Dern), Jake investigates the back alleys of San Francisco to find the serial killer. The trail leads to a tour of the underbelly of the city's gay subculture. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
Review
In many ways, The Laughing Policeman is the antithesis of the kind of cop-movie action thriller Clint Eastwood was perfecting with his Dirty Harry film series during the 1970s. This film is an entirely different ball of wax, downplaying action sequences and escapist thrills in favor of a realistic portrayal of police work. The storyline presents an unusually plausible detective scenario that is filled with dead ends, unexpected strokes of luck, and plenty of sleazy individuals trying to make a tragedy work in their favor. Screenwriter Tom Rickman presents the episodic scenario with skill, peppering it with plenty of profanely witty dialogue and believable street-level characters. Walter Matthau and Bruce Dern do an excellent job of creating flawed but humane policemen who often sacrifice the quality of their personal lives in their quest to solve crimes. Louis Gossett also turns in strong work an especially streetwise fellow cop. Stuart Rosenberg directs the film with a non-obtrusive sense of style, keeping the overall story low-key and gritty but bringing some flair to standout sequences like the opening machine-gun mass murder. All in all, The Laughing Policeman might be a bit too grim and languid for viewers who prefer action-oriented police dramas, but genre aficionados are likely to appreciate the film's no-nonsense portrayal of police work. ~ Donald Guarisco, All Movie Guide
Anthony Costello - Dave Evans; Val Avery - Pappas; Shirley Ballard - Grace Martin; Joanna Cassidy - Monica; James V. Christy - Avakian; Cathy Lee Crosby - Kay Butler; Warren Finnerty - Ripple; John Francis - Insp. Russo; Leigh French - Porno Cashier; Wayne Grace - Insp. Tom Brennan; Louis Guss - Niles; William Hansen - Schwermer; Clifton James - Maloney; Paul Koslo - Haygard; Lavelle Roby - Receptionist; Gregory Sierra - Vickery; Jonas Wolfe - Collins; Matt Clark - Coroner; Mario Gallo - Bobby Mow; David Moody - Pimp; Joseph E. Bernard - Avakian's Brother; Lee McCain - Prostitute; Dawn Frame - Martin's Child; Dave Belrose - Ralph Martin
Credit
Mike Moder - First Assistant Director, Stuart Rosenberg - Director, Bob Wyman - Editor, Charles Fox - Composer (Music Score), David M. Walsh - Cinematographer, Stuart Rosenberg - Producer, Doug von Koss - Set Designer, Jerry Jost - Sound/Sound Designer, Theodore Soderberg - Sound/Sound Designer, Tom Rickman - Screenwriter, Per Wahlöö - Book Author, Maj Sjowall - Book Author
The story is transplanted from Stockholm to San Francisco. In the film, homosexual businessman Henry Camarero shoots a busload of passengers, including off-duty police detective Dave Evans, who is following Camarero's associate Gus Niles in search of information linking Camarero to the murder of his wife, Teresa, two years earlier. Evans was the partner of Det. Jake Martin on that case, who, obsessed with it, returns to it after many dead-end leads in the bus massacre investigation; Niles was killed on the bus as well, and Niles helped Henry cover Teresa Camarero's murder. Defying the orders of his police superior (Anthony Zerbe), Det. Martin and his new partner Leo Larsen (Bruce Dern) seek, find, and smoke out Camarero, leading to a chase and a confrontation with him aboard another bus.
Roseanna (1967) ·The Laughing Policeman ·Mannen på taket · The Unfinished Dinner · Der Mann, der sich in Luft auflöste · Beck - De gesloten kamer · Roseanna (1993) · Brandbilen som försvann · Polis polis potatismos! · Mannen på balkongen · Polismördaren ·Stockholm Marathon
