The early to mid 70's saw a boom of detective films and in 1973 The Laughing Policeman, directed by Stewart Rosenberg, was released as a hard hitting whodunnit.
The film begins with a horrific machine gun wielding mystery man opening fire on a public bus in San Francisco. Once the police are on the scene they are especially shocked to see among the victims one of their own killed in the slaughter. The fallen officer was a partner of Jake Martin, played by Walter Matthau. The story focuses on detectives Martin and Leo Larsen, played by Bruce Dern, as they hit the underbelly of San Francisco searching for suspects of this crime. Matthau vacillates between taciturn and belligerent and plays Jake Martin as a man who has seen a lot and is affected by little. Bruce Dern plays Larsen with a kind of energy and zeal. He is both tough and wise-cracking. The two play off each other quite effectively.
Louis Gossett Jr has a role as a detective and his character is quite strong and intuitive. You really get a feel for San Francisco's dark side in this picture. All kinds of shady characters are sought after and shook down, however if you aren't paying attention closely you may find yourself lost with the twists and turns of the plot. The case is finally solved and the mystery man revealed, but I will leave it at that.
Finally, as an honorable mention Paul Koslo has a small role in this as, what else a shady drug dealer? Koslo is a favorite character actor of mine and I enjoy seeing him in films.
Overall this is a good film, but you must stay with it or it may lose you. Fun to see Matthau play non comedic roles, and Bruce Dern is damn good. No laughing, just a complex and intense story.
The film begins with a horrific machine gun wielding mystery man opening fire on a public bus in San Francisco. Once the police are on the scene they are especially shocked to see among the victims one of their own killed in the slaughter. The fallen officer was a partner of Jake Martin, played by Walter Matthau. The story focuses on detectives Martin and Leo Larsen, played by Bruce Dern, as they hit the underbelly of San Francisco searching for suspects of this crime. Matthau vacillates between taciturn and belligerent and plays Jake Martin as a man who has seen a lot and is affected by little. Bruce Dern plays Larsen with a kind of energy and zeal. He is both tough and wise-cracking. The two play off each other quite effectively.
Louis Gossett Jr has a role as a detective and his character is quite strong and intuitive. You really get a feel for San Francisco's dark side in this picture. All kinds of shady characters are sought after and shook down, however if you aren't paying attention closely you may find yourself lost with the twists and turns of the plot. The case is finally solved and the mystery man revealed, but I will leave it at that.
Finally, as an honorable mention Paul Koslo has a small role in this as, what else a shady drug dealer? Koslo is a favorite character actor of mine and I enjoy seeing him in films.
Overall this is a good film, but you must stay with it or it may lose you. Fun to see Matthau play non comedic roles, and Bruce Dern is damn good. No laughing, just a complex and intense story.