Police connection

Being a huge fan of gritty New York films from the 70s and 80s, I was quite excited to chance upon this film. Starring Robert Duvall, a stalwart of this era, and involving an angry cop in 70s NYC, I had my aims set high. Unfortunately, aside from some nice footage from the era, this felt to be a waste of time.

Robert Duvall is a racist, grizzled cop, suspended from the force after a suspect falls off a roof whilst escaping arrest. Following his suspension, his partner Gigi turns up dead in Brooklyn with his throat cut. Turns out that Gigi had been doing some sneaky deals relating to a shipment of arms going to Puerto Rico.

Badge 373 was notable for upsetting some of the Puerto Rican community, who had called for the film not to be released. Duvall's character is unpleasant, racist and not at all sympathetic, however, the Puerto Rican characters are mainly made up of hoodrats, petty criminals, crime bosses and junkie hookers, often Caucasians in brown make-up, and none at all redeemable. In the film's defence, the scene where Duvall visits a 'libra Puerto Rico!' rally does give valuable screen time to portray the pressures and frustrations that mainland US Puerto Ricans were facing at that time, and I get the feeling from this that the director did not intend to make a racist film, possibly even sympathetic towards Puerto Ricans, but just made an incredibly clumsy effort at portraying racial relations at that time.

Coming from the year that gave us Serpico and The Seven-Ups, Badge 373 also feels very dated, even in comparison to Bullitt or Point Blank some 5 years earlier. The soundtrack and Batman-style fight scenes hark back to family friendly 60s TV shows like Dragnet or The Untouchables, the bus chase scene, for some the highlight of the film was well conceived, but is just goofy in practice, more reminiscent of one of the Smokey And The Bandit films.

Badge 373 is a rather embarrassing watch, especially for Duvall who was in his prime as an actor at this time. Strictly only for genre completists.

Based on the true story of officer Eddie Egan,, who also has a small part in this movie,, I found it to be urban gritty, and to the point,, after he get's suspended from the force for causing the death of a bad guy,, he takes up bartending part time.. he later find out that his partner was viciously gunned down,, now he must take action 'Dirty Harry" style,, he sets out on a mission with only one thing in mind,, get the man or men that killed his partner,, the bad guys are led by a character named "Sweet William" , and now the battle is on good vs. evil,, sure this isn't gonna win any awards by no stretch of the imagination and certainly pales compared to the French Connection,, but this is a movie worthwhile of you're time.

Useless to say that this crime drama is a pure product of the seventies, any idiot and not even a movie buff, could confirm. Everything here, everything is connected to the seventies style: dialogues, music, haircuts, subject, violence, everything. Robert Duvall, as in THE OUTFIT, is excellent in this role inspired by DIRTY HARRY and also FRENCH CONNECTION. I often confound this film with SEVEN UPS, I don't know why.... It is fast paced, gritty, violent, how could it be else? I like this film very much and am very happy to see it once more. I read the novelization written by Mike Roote, the same guy who did the same with SCORPIO.

I really tried to like this movie. In fact, I was excited to get it for a number of reasons: Robert Duvall, an Eddie Egan vehicle, and it being an early 1970's cop movie filmed in New York City. Many of the things I like. But I was sorely disappointed. I just don't follow the attraction to this film. In the wake of such Seventies superstar films like 'Dirty Harry', 'The French Connection', and 'Shaft' among others ('The Seven-Ups' is a great example of a lesser known film but equally as exciting), 'Badge 373' is a slow-moving, poorly acted, long, uninspiring, and less than memorable movie which surprisingly detours half-way through. Duvall is at best fair and Egan is painful in watching him deliver his robotic lines. Direction by Howard Koch is unimaginative and dark in many areas. A fairly exciting chase sequence involving a NYC transit bus along with a decent performance by Verna Bloom as Duvall's long suffering girlfriend, some noticeable non-PC slurs and a decent aerial view of lower Manhattan gives this movie its only credibility.

In a film about a man who's in the film playing the best friend of himself, it's an unashamedly affectionate apology for life and antics of Mr French Connection Eddie Egan. In fact the portrayal of the man himself by the man himself played in front of him becomes so uncomfortably assertive I started to feel like I should leave the room, that perhaps the movie would rather be on its own.

Still with all that love on show it should come as no surprise it's a racist, sexist and somewhat tedious police procedural with its morality clasped somewhat firmly (ahem) with Duvall's contempt with everyone and everything that's not Cop and meting out punishment for being less mortally challenged than his God-spot.

While the aforementioned TFC was an prescient existential nightmare about the USA's damaged ego and rightly lauded, Badge presents a throwback to Fritz Lang's The Big Heat when one man can make a difference like a proto John McLean without the wisecracks, and was justly ignored as fable.