Badge 373

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.

Badge 373 is an excellent movie that features Duvall at his best. He's better in this outing than he was in Let's Get Harry and Falling Down, which were also, arguably, some of Duvall's best works (that some could say were ruined by bad direction and a bad supporting cast). Not this time, though! The writing and direction are brilliant. The pace is a little bit too slow for an early 70s "cop" flick, but it's still above-average and a good find. Check it out and be amazed.

"When a man's partner is killed...You're supposed to do something about it"...Sam Spade..."The Maltese Falcon"

Do Something Duvall Does.

It Takes the Defrocked Cop to the Underbelly of the Puerto Rican Community in New York City that is Rife with Talk of Revolution in the Homeland.

Robert Duvall, in His First Starring Role, is a Powerhouse of Politically Incorrect Racist Rants and Fearless Behavior as He Bulldozes through Crime Gangs and Crime Lords.

It's a Dour Movie that Strips Away any Pretension of Police Hero-Worship.

A Movie so Bleak and Uncomfortable that it was Pummeled even on its Release-Date as so Offensive, in 1973, that Few Found it anything but Deplorable.

Viewed Today, it is Curious bit of Moviedom that Marks its Territory with Brutal, Unlikeable Human-Beings.

Be it Cop or Thug.

That Makes the Movie a Cringe-Fest of Unfettered, Unpleasant , Post-Code "New Hollywood".

There is a Second-Act Chase Scene, Featuring a Public Transit Bus, Full of Terrified Passengers.

The Ex-Cop Exploits it for Personal Satisfaction with No Regard for the Innocent Lives.

He, seemingly, is so UN-Aware that He Giggles with Glee.

This Makes the Movie more of a Cartoon than a Gritty Neo-Noir.

There are Other Things that are Over-the-Top.

Like the Comic-Book Villain with a Huge In-Your-Face Mustache and Sunglasses.

This is a Guilty-Pleasure at Best.

Watching Duvall and All Taking the Zeitgeist of the Crime Film Renaissance and Going So Far as to be Ridiculous.

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.

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.