Flics et voyous

One night a New York City cop on the beat (Joe Bologna) goes into a liquor store and holds it up just to see if he could get away with it, and he does. The next day while caught in a traffic jam at the Long Island Expressway/Cross Island Parkway interchange, he brags to his partner (Cliff Gorman) about it, and from that point on, it's all about the money for the two of them. All to the cool mellow '70's soundtrack by Michael LeGrande, Jacques Wilson and Candy Tate.

Using a cops standard salary, and the economy as an excuse to justify it, they decide that if they're going to end their crime spree, they should make a hit so big, they won't have to rob anyone anymore. But the question is who? And the answer comes in the form of a round-up of some mobsters from New Jersey lead by crime family boss Pasquale Aniello (John P. Ryan). After they make bail, the two cops decide to approach the boss under the guise of an offer to pull a job for them. As it turns out, the mob wants to get them to rob some bearer bonds from a financial firm on Wall Street during a parade for the Apollo 11 Astronauts, then make an exchange with the mobsters in Central Park. The firm they rob cooperates with them, but as it turns out, they're not entirely so squeaky clean either.

This movie was released in 1973, but was shot in 1972 and evidently takes place in 1969. This skewed time-line seems to be the biggest flaw on the movie, not to mention a 1972 Plymouth Fury NYPD Special suddenly becoming another car a couple of times. The familiar landscape to those of us from the New York Tri-State area especially during that era, makes it worth seeing. I actually remember catching the end of this on some weekend afternoon on WNEW Channel 5 during the scene where Joe Bolonga and Cliff Gorman are hassled by a bunch of bicyclists in Central Park and Joe throws a middle finger at them... UNCENSORED!! This was from back in the day when local TV stations existed and were willing to show obscure movies at odd hours. The movie has been on my mind from time to time ever since. I'm glad I got myself a copy.

"Cops and Robbers" is an engagingly offbeat caper comedy, written by Donald E. Westlake, about two cops, Tom (Cliff Gorman) and Joe (Joe Bologna) who succumb to the temptation of corruption. They've come to believe that it isn't worth putting their lives on the line for the meager pay that they receive. They strike a deal with a mobster, Pasquale Aniello (the wonderful John P. Ryan) to serve as their fence while they go and steal $10 million in bearer bonds from a securities firm, using a parade as their cover.

Westlake infuses his script with a truly unpredictable sensibility and clever dialogue, brought to life by actors Gorman and Bologna whose bantering is believable. You can buy into the friendship of these two dissatisfied Average Joes. Director Aram Avakian keeps things moving along at a good clip, and he and his two talented leads milk each and every scene for its humorous potential. One can't help but wonder how our "heroes" are going to think their way out of the various situations in which they find themselves. One scene that will strike viewers as being rather original is when the car Tom and Joe are driving is surrounded by aggressive cyclists.

This also works as another irresistible time capsule of the city of NYC during the 1970s, a decade when it fared very well on the silver screen. The sights and sounds are a pleasure to take in, and the music by Michel Legrand and cinematography by David L. Quaid are prominent assets.

The supporting cast is a pleasure to watch, especially Ryan, Shepperd Strudwick as Mr. Eastpoole, and the beautiful Ellen Holly as Ms. Wells; there are noteworthy bits by the likes of Frances Foster, Martin Kove, Delphi Lawrence, Nino Ruggeri, Dolph Sweet, Richard Ward, and Joe Spinell in the role that officially "introduced" him.

The interesting finish to this movie juxtaposes happy and sad endings, and we can't help but feel some sympathy for one of the characters. This is clearly not a very well known film, which is unfortunate, but hopefully I and others can help it to gain some more fans. It's a funny, breezy, quirky little piece of work and doesn't overstay its welcome.

Seven out of 10.

I'm Born, raised - and still live in NYC.

Seeing this movie made me (like a lot of my fellow NYC'ers) pine for those days.

It was a great place to grow up - made you 'get with it' really fast.

I'd never heard of this film (and I know Mr. Gorman!), so, when it appeared last night on TCM, I recorded it.

What a find!

The sights and sounds bring back a lot of memories, as does even the film's stock, and the look. All pitch-perfect.

The acting's superb.

Instead of the (misguided) idea of using 'star' names, the producers and the director went for ACTORS - New York actors.

ANd that makes all the difference.

The leads, Cliff Gorman and Joseph Bologna are 2 schlubs - cops, who know they're stuck ion a treadmill.

They want SOME way to get out - to 'go sit on a beach,' and enjoy their lives.

So, through a meeting by happenstance, with a well-known Mafioso figure 'Pasquale Aniello' aka Patsy O'Neill, they think they've found a way to meet their goal.

Everyone in the cast is so New York, the director - Aram Avakian - is a born New Yorker, and it really does help give this film that true feel.

You can see it in such things like the ways the cops slouch.

The little touches - such as the annoying Muzak that plays in a couple of scenes - gives the humor (this IS a comedy) a real NYC feel. It's dry, it's got a 'been there,' jaded quality that is so typical.

I join the chorus in praising this little gem.

If it shows up - WATCH IT.

... 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.