Odio a la ley

I have always been a great fan of books, novels written by Ed McBain, the most profilic and famous writter in terms of investigations and police procedural. He wrote fifty books about Steve Carella and his colleagues, cops like him in the 87th Precinct. Every crime books buff in the world knows Ed McBain, aka Evan Hunter, writer of BLACKBOARD JUNGLE. That said, I am not a great fan of William Berke's films, I watch them only because I crave for B movies, crime thrillers, adventures, horror...and Berke was also a prolific director. And this movie, adapted from Ed Mc Bain, as will be THE MUGGER, just after this one, also directed by Berke, this movie and THE MUGGER will be among the best that William Berke will offer us. Unfortunately by the end of his career. He died suddenly from a heart attack just after the editing of his last movie. The same tragic events occured in 1958 too, for two other directors, just after their last films were finished, before their releases: Fred S Sears and Kurt Neuman, what a coincidence. This movie doesn't have the Berke's trademark, on the contrary, it is very well made: characters, atmosphere, story, editing, everything very close to McBain's novel. Even to the heat - hot - atmosphere, with this gorgeous killed cop's widow who dreams only to undress because of the heat.... A must see, I assure you.

Cop Hater (1958)

This is no brilliant affair, but it's more enjoyable than you might expect. It centers around a precinct police station and a group of guys who are suddenly on a manhunt for a cop killer. While that part of the plot has its small moments, it's the interaction between these guys, including some honest fun banter (not tough guy stuff), that really works. And two or three of the main cops are good actors, holding their own.

There are women on the side, one a searing beauty of some sort (a bit exaggerated and stiff, but you get the idea when she's on), the other a sharp and stylish deaf and mute woman played by Ellen Parker. These types are obviously meant to be opposites, one sympathetic and modest, the other full of herself and untrustworthy.

There is a Latino gang that figures into play eventually, and that gets a little crazy in its own way. And the leader is Glenn Cannon, who went on to have a long career on t.v. This is his first movie and he's pretty terrific for his four minutes of fame.

Otherwise this is a conventionally filmed crime film. Don't expect a gritty or moody film noir, because it's not that. But do expect a well paced plot with some nice interpersonal stuff. Probably has more honesty to it than most crime movies of the time, which are pumped up with types and drama.

I gave COP HATER two stars for one reason: almost all of the male leads appear shirtless and unshaved, a feat unheard of in the hairless, sexless Fifties. As for the script, it wobbles erratically back and forth between sentimental garbage and cloying patronizing slang. The plot is a senseless mishmash of half-baked ideas. The women presented here are practically blow-up sex dolls. By the time the killer is revealed, you'll be tapping our toe and checking your watch.

Even longtime fans of Ed McBain's evergreen series of police procedurals set in the 87th Precinct may be startled to learn that they started out back in the1950s (and they're still coming). Cop Hater was the first of them to reach the big screen, in a bare-bones production directed by genre-movie veteran William A. Berke.

A heat wave has settled over The City (it's New York, but McBain never identifies it as such), bringing tempers to the flashpoint. An alarm clock wakes a cop for his midnight shift; when he descends into the soupy night, a shot fells him. The entire precinct mobilizes immediately - one of their own has been killed.

We encounter the familiar names of the Precinct's detectives (or some of them), most notably Steve Carella (here, Carelli), played by a young Robert Loggia; he's the bright cop engaged - not yet married - to the beautiful deaf-mute Teddy (Ellen Parker). His partner Maguire (Gerald O'Loughlin) has already tied the knot, but when he tries to keep cool in his undershorts to the whirr of a feeble fan, his wife (Shirley Ballard) brushes him off (`You're wet - oozing wet,' she sniffs).

When a second cop is gunned down in cold blood, attention turns to members of one of the gangs of young punks that were a fixture of post-war New York, but it's a dead end. Next, it's Maguire's turn to meet his very own dead end. Loggia, made indiscreet by too many `splashes' of Scotch to slake his thirst, tells his theories to a callow newspaper reporter and inadvertently puts Teddy in jeopardy....

Cop Hater gets the feel of the grimy streets and cramped apartments of a sweltering urban jungle just right (it also preserves the film debut of Jerry Orbach and very early appearances by Vincent Gardenia and Loggia). The puzzle of the murders may seem a little mechanical (it's a riff on Agatha Christie's The Alphabet Murders), and personalities don't emerge as vividly as we might like. But then this was early in the series, and McBain had only begun to sketch out the quirks of his recurring characters. McBain, of course, is the pseudonym of Evan Hunter (born Salvatore Lombino), who wrote the screenplays for Blackboard Jungle and The Birds. In Cop Hater, his anonymous City takes pride of place.

An Above Average B-Movie from the First 87th Precinct Novel from Prolific Author Ed McBain, born Salvatore Lombino, (aka Evan Hunter (The Blackboard Jungle) and at least a half dozen other pseudonyms).

This Late Entry in the Film-Noir/Police Procedural has Elements of Sexploitation.

With an Obvious Effort at Showcasing the Female Form in Sultry and Cute Poses from the Two Female Leads, Ellen Parker, Shirley Ballard. Both Contribute to the Movie's Cutting-Edge Look and Appeal.

The Film, with a Young Robert Loggia Chewing the Scenery in a Volatile Role as the Chief Investigator who Watches Helplessly as His Partner and Colleagues Fall One by One at the Hands of a Murderer who is Targeting "Cops".

The Low-Budget is Enhanced by Surreal Claustrophobic Sets and an Atmosphere of an Oppressing Big City Heat-Wave. The Tone Slowly Reaches the Boiling Point.

There are Outstanding Scenes...the Juvenile Gang Interrogation, the Reporter's Involvement, and the Two Female Roles are given Equal-Time to Make Their Presence More than Known.

The Cast all seem to be Involved and On the Mark.

The Reveal is a Shocker and is more Complex than the Usual B-Movie Stuff.

A Winner that is Languishing on the Fringes off its Ilk, but most People who have Seen it are more than Impressed at its Daring and Direct Take on the Genre.