Cops and Robbers

Cops and Robbers is an enjoyable, entertaining, and well-acted film. Directed by Aram Avakian, and starring Cliff Gorman and Joseph Bologna as two cops who decided to pull-off the "perfect crime".

Filmed in 1973, it's a trip down memory lane, capturing the grit and grime of New York City before it's "make-over" some twenty years later. Gorman and Bologna give their career best performances. Their interactions and conversations seem as real as can be. At no time what-so-ever, do you feel like these fine actors are acting.

The movie however is stolen by character actor John P. Ryan as mob-fence "Pastsy O'Neill". Ryan gives an academy award winning performance(he was never nominated), and you truly have sympathy for his character in the end.

A really fine work of film-making.

... which sounds like an odd combination of genres, but not really for the 1970s.

Joseph Bologna and Cliff Gorman star as two NYC cops who grow tired of seeing slimy characters grow rich while they can barely make ends meet for their families, so they decide to try a little heist for themselves. They don't want to pull any petty jobs..they want one great caper that will provide them new lives, but the problem is they don't really know what's involved or how to plan it, so they go (in disguise) to a mob boss who they know has skirted the law easily for years. He gives them the inside info on a Wall Street company, and the benefits of stealing bonds, which he will pay handsomely for. The day they choose? The day the Apollo 11 astronauts are given a ticker tape parade just downstairs from their target.

This is a crime/comedy..so needless to say, all does not go as planned, and their biggest worry isn't getting arrested for the actual crime, but for their problem delivering 'the goods' to the mob.

This was really a fun watch and much better than I anticipated. It is flat out a New York film and in no way is it 'Hollywood-ized'. It's true to the NYC of the early 70's..lots of corruption, chaotic arrests, the noise, the little messy shops on littered streets contrasted to the order and sterile space of the financial offices. The actors are NY too, and there is a natural feel to every performance from accents to body language. It's like a darkly funny crime caper set in a time capsule, and wonderfully watchable - not your usual cop movie.

New York City cops Tom and Joe are in the mist of burn out. Why me syndrome eats at them in every way including getting in the wrong lane on the highway. They decide on a bold move to remove themselves from the relentless rat race by stealing and selling security bonds to the mob while remaining untraceable themselves.

Cops and Robbers is a very decent suspense comedy overachiever. Lack of star power works in its favor with Cliff Gorman and Joseph Bologna as the two rogue cops as non-descript everydays they ooze New York and are not required to perform acts of cool bravado to protect their careers. They are not master thieves, instead learning as they go along and it's this thin ice approach that gives the film it's well paced balance of humor and suspense.

Made during the Serpico era when the NYPD was swimming in corruption it's hard not to root for these dirty cops being squeezed on both sides. It may be a low rent sting but it does have the benefit of bluffing the audience deeper into the final moments than predictable outcomes reserved for superstars like Newman and Redford.

Donold Westlake is a true American original. He wrote a number of great books on capers in the 70's including Bankjob and The Hot Rock. But his best screenplay is clearly Cops And Robbers which also benefits greatly from top notched performances and an effortless presentation of a tightly knit story. It is one of the few films from the period that has aged well and given the fact that it was never released during the VHS era (and rarely screened on television) it is a treat for those that missed it.

The DVD is nothing special (pan and scan without special features) but it captures the essence of the theatrical release and given the lack of close-ups it doesn't suffer a lot from being cropped. It captures the spirit of 70s morality without offending many. In summary, it remains a strangely uplifting "feel good" artifact of an era that generally feels more dated than the proceeding decade.

Two cops have had enough of the 'system' and decide on a high level robbery. This theme is presented in a somewhat light hearted manner. The film is an effective period piece of New York in the early Seventies. And of the work-a-day person in general.

The video (and current tv version) however...Whatever soulless bonehead was allowed to prepare this movie for video release should be thrown in a lake. The story line is still there. But apparently the plodding nature of the film prompted cutting and editing. Many scenes have been awkwardly shortened, re-mixed or completely removed. Hopefully an original copy still exists on the premium cable channels.