''Badge 373'' is a 1973 American
neo noir crime
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...
thriller film
Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...
inspired, as was ''
The French Connection'', by the life and career of
Eddie Egan
Edward R. Egan (January 3, 1930 – November 4, 1995) was an American actor and former police detective. He was the subject of the nonfiction book '' The French Connection'' and its 1971 film adaptation.
Life
Edward R. Egan was born in Queens ...
, here called "Eddie Ryan". The film, which has a screenplay by journalist
Pete Hamill
Pete Hamill (born William Peter Hamill; June 24, 1935August 5, 2020) was an American journalist, novelist, essayist and editor. During his career as a New York City journalist, he was described as "the author of columns that sought to capture th ...
, was produced and directed by
Howard W. Koch
Howard Winchel Koch (April 11, 1916 – February 16, 2001) was an American producer and director of film and television.
Life and career
Koch was born in New York City, the son of Beatrice (Winchel) and William Jacob Koch. His family was Jewish. ...
, and stars
Robert Duvall
Robert Selden Duvall (; born January 5, 1931) is an American actor and filmmaker. His career spans more than seven decades and he is considered one of the greatest American actors of all time. He is the recipient of an Academy Award, four Gold ...
as Ryan, with
Verna Bloom
Verna Frances Bloom (August 7, 1938 – January 9, 2019) was an American actress.
Career
On Broadway, Bloom portrayed Charlotte Corday in '' The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Chare ...
,
Henry Darrow
Henry Darrow (born Enrique Tomás Delgado Jiménez; September 15, 1933 – March 14, 2021) was an American character actor of stage and film known for his role as Manolito "Mano" Montoya on the 1960s television series ''The High Chaparral''. In ...
and Eddie Egan himself as a police lieutenant.
The film was not successful, either at the box office or with the critics.
Plot
Eddie Ryan (
Robert Duvall
Robert Selden Duvall (; born January 5, 1931) is an American actor and filmmaker. His career spans more than seven decades and he is considered one of the greatest American actors of all time. He is the recipient of an Academy Award, four Gold ...
), a tough, no-nonsense, abrasive and racist Irish
NYPD
The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
cop, has to turn in his badge after scuffling with a
Puerto Rica
Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to:
Places
*El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain
*Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines
*Puerto Colombia, Colombia
*Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela
*Puerto Galera, Orient ...
n suspect who then falls to his death from a rooftop, but that doesn't stop him from heading out on a one-man crusade to find out who killed his partner of three years, Gigi Caputo (Louis Cosentino), all the while neglecting his new live-in girlfriend, Maureen (
Verna Bloom
Verna Frances Bloom (August 7, 1938 – January 9, 2019) was an American actress.
Career
On Broadway, Bloom portrayed Charlotte Corday in '' The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Chare ...
). Ryan's search leads him to Puerto Rican drug kingpin Sweet Willie (
Henry Darrow
Henry Darrow (born Enrique Tomás Delgado Jiménez; September 15, 1933 – March 14, 2021) was an American character actor of stage and film known for his role as Manolito "Mano" Montoya on the 1960s television series ''The High Chaparral''. In ...
), and a shipment of guns for Puerto Rican ''
independentistas''.
Cast
*
Robert Duvall
Robert Selden Duvall (; born January 5, 1931) is an American actor and filmmaker. His career spans more than seven decades and he is considered one of the greatest American actors of all time. He is the recipient of an Academy Award, four Gold ...
as ''Eddie Ryan''
*
Verna Bloom
Verna Frances Bloom (August 7, 1938 – January 9, 2019) was an American actress.
Career
On Broadway, Bloom portrayed Charlotte Corday in '' The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Chare ...
as ''Maureen''
*
Henry Darrow
Henry Darrow (born Enrique Tomás Delgado Jiménez; September 15, 1933 – March 14, 2021) was an American character actor of stage and film known for his role as Manolito "Mano" Montoya on the 1960s television series ''The High Chaparral''. In ...
as ''William Salazar'' a.k.a. ''Sweet William''
*
Eddie Egan
Edward R. Egan (January 3, 1930 – November 4, 1995) was an American actor and former police detective. He was the subject of the nonfiction book '' The French Connection'' and its 1971 film adaptation.
Life
Edward R. Egan was born in Queens ...
as ''Lt. Scanlon''
*
Felipe Luciano
Felipe Luciano (born 1947, East Harlem, New York City) is a poet, community activist, journalist, media personality, and politician. He is of Afro-Puerto Rican heritage. He is known for his significant involvement in both the Young Lords Party an ...
as ''Ruben''
*Tina Cristiani as ''Mrs. Caputo''
*Marina Durell as ''Rita Garcia''
*Chico Martinez as ''Frankie Diaz''
*Jose Duval as ''Ferrer''
*Louis Cosentino as ''Gigi Caputo''
*
Luis Avalos
Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archai ...
as ''Chico''
*Nubia Olivero as ''Mrs. Diaz''
*Sam Schacht as ''Assistant D.A.''
*Edward F. Carey as ''The Commissioner''
*"Big" Lee as ''Junkie in casino''
*Duane Morris as ''Gay in casino''
*John Marriott as ''Superintendent''
*Joe Veiga as ''Manuel (Botica
icProprietor)''
*Mark Tendler as ''Harbor Lights bouncer''
*Robert Weil as ''Hans''
*
Rose Ann Scamardella
Rose Ann Scamardella (born July 20, 1947) is a former anchorwoman of WABC-TV's ''Eyewitness News'' in New York City, and the inspiration for Gilda Radner's character "Roseanne Roseannadanna" on ''Saturday Night Live''.
Biography
Rose Ann Scamar ...
as ''Herself''
*
Pete Hamill
Pete Hamill (born William Peter Hamill; June 24, 1935August 5, 2020) was an American journalist, novelist, essayist and editor. During his career as a New York City journalist, he was described as "the author of columns that sought to capture th ...
as ''Reporter''
*Larry Appelbaum as ''Copo at toll booth''
*
John McCurry
John McCurry (born June 24, 1957) is an American musician and composer, a guitarist, songwriter and singer based in New York City. He has worked with many well-known musical artists, including Chicago, Cyndi Lauper, Billy Joel, David Bowie, Al ...
as ''Bus driver''
*Bob Farley as ''Patrolman''
*
Tracey Walter
Tracey Walter (born November 25, 1947) is an American character actor. He has appeared in more than 170 films and television series.
Life and career
Walter was born and grew up in Jersey City, New Jersey, as the son of a truck driver. He has a ...
as ''Delivery boy''
*John Scanlon, Jimmy Archer,
Ric Mancini
Enrico P. Mancini (April 16, 1933 – May 26, 2006) was an American film and television actor. He played Mayor Cobb in the 1985 film '' Friday the 13th: A New Beginning''. He also played Sal in the 1974 film '' The Gambler'' and Steve in the 19 ...
, Mike O'Dowd as ''Tugboat crew''
*Robert Miano, Pompie Pomposello, Hector Troy as ''Sweet William's hoods''
*Miguel Alejandro, Harry Collazo, Damian Colon as ''Ruben's gang''
*
Johnny Pacheco
Juan Pablo Knipping Pacheco (25 March 1935 – 15 February 2021), known as Johnny Pacheco, was a Dominican musician, arranger, composer, bandleader, and record producer who in the 1970s became one of the leading exponents of salsa as well in t ...
& his Orchestra as ''Band at Carorrojeno's''
*
Orestes Matacena as ''Drug Dealer''
*
Jimmy Walker
James John Walker (June 19, 1881November 18, 1946), known colloquially as Beau James, was mayor of New York City from 1926 to 1932. A flamboyant politician, he was a liberal Democrat and part of the powerful Tammany Hall machine. He was forced t ...
as ''Drunk on stairs''
Cast notes:
* Journalist
Pete Hamill
Pete Hamill (born William Peter Hamill; June 24, 1935August 5, 2020) was an American journalist, novelist, essayist and editor. During his career as a New York City journalist, he was described as "the author of columns that sought to capture th ...
, who wrote the screenplay, has a bit part as a reporter named Pete, in the sequence of Gigi's wake, while
WABC-TV
WABC-TV (channel 7) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station maintains studios in the Lincoln Square neig ...
anchorwoman
Rose Ann Scamardella
Rose Ann Scamardella (born July 20, 1947) is a former anchorwoman of WABC-TV's ''Eyewitness News'' in New York City, and the inspiration for Gilda Radner's character "Roseanne Roseannadanna" on ''Saturday Night Live''.
Biography
Rose Ann Scamar ...
, later the inspiration for
Gilda Radner's ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...
'' character "
Roseanne Roseannadanna
Roseanne Roseannadanna is a character created and portrayed by Gilda Radner on ''Weekend Update'' in the early seasons of ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL''). She was the segment's consumer affairs reporter who, like an earlier Radner character Em ...
", plays herself in a cameo appearance.
*
Dominican salsa
Salsa most often refers to:
* Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments
* Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music
* Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music
Salsa or SALSA may also refer to:
...
bandleader and cofounder/musical director of Fania Records
Johnny Pacheco
Juan Pablo Knipping Pacheco (25 March 1935 – 15 February 2021), known as Johnny Pacheco, was a Dominican musician, arranger, composer, bandleader, and record producer who in the 1970s became one of the leading exponents of salsa as well in t ...
& his Orchestra makes a cameo appearance in the opening nightclub sequence.
[Stafford, Jef]
"Badge 373" (TCM article)
/ref>
Production
''Badge 373'' was shot on location on the streets of New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
. At one point, in what film writer Jeff Stafford calls a deliberate attempt to recall the car-chase scene from '' The French Connection'', which was also based on the exploits of Eddie Egan
Edward R. Egan (January 3, 1930 – November 4, 1995) was an American actor and former police detective. He was the subject of the nonfiction book '' The French Connection'' and its 1971 film adaptation.
Life
Edward R. Egan was born in Queens ...
, Robert Duvall as police detective Eddie Ryan attempts to chase down suspects in their car by hijacking a city bus, the 14th Street crosstown. The chase does not follow actual Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
geography, and passes locations including the West 125th viaduct and a meatpacking
The meat-packing industry (also spelled meatpacking industry or meat packing industry) handles the slaughtering, processing, packaging, and distribution of meat from animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and other livestock. Poultry is generally ...
plant, and a branch of the record store King Karol
King Karol was a New York City, New York-based record store chain founded by Ben Karol and Phil King in 1952.[Link ...]
at 460 West 42nd Street. Locations for other scenes include the Manhattan Bridge, with the World Trade Center
World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association.
World Trade Center may refer to:
Buildings
* List of World Trade Centers
* World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...
's Twin Towers in the background, and the FDR Drive, with the United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
headquarters visible.
On August 10, 1973, Paramount Pictures rejected a demand by the Puerto Rican Action Coalition to withdraw the film for what the coalition called the movie's racism
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonis ...
.
Crew
*Director: Howard Koch
*Producer: Howard Koch
*Screenplay: Pete Hamill
Pete Hamill (born William Peter Hamill; June 24, 1935August 5, 2020) was an American journalist, novelist, essayist and editor. During his career as a New York City journalist, he was described as "the author of columns that sought to capture th ...
*Music composed and conducted by: J.J. Jackson
*Director of photography: Arthur J. Ornitz
*Editor: John Woodcock
*Associate producer: Lawrence Appelbaum
*Assistant to the producer: Irwin Yablans
Irwin Yablans (born July 25, 1934) is an American independent film producer and distributor known for his work in the horror film industry. His brother, Frank Yablans, was also a producer.
Life and career
Yablans was born to a Jewish family i ...
*Inspired by the exploits of: Eddie Egan
Edward R. Egan (January 3, 1930 – November 4, 1995) was an American actor and former police detective. He was the subject of the nonfiction book '' The French Connection'' and its 1971 film adaptation.
Life
Edward R. Egan was born in Queens ...
*Art director: Philip Rosenberg
*Costumes: Frank Thompson
*Second unit director: Michael Moore
*Production manager: Jim DiGangi
*1st assistant director: Michael P. Petrone
*2nd assistant directors: Robert Grand, Gerrold T. Brandt, Jr.
*Technical advisor: Eddie Egan
Edward R. Egan (January 3, 1930 – November 4, 1995) was an American actor and former police detective. He was the subject of the nonfiction book '' The French Connection'' and its 1971 film adaptation.
Life
Edward R. Egan was born in Queens ...
*Script supervisor: Roberta Hodes
*Casting: Bernie Styles
*Set decorator: Edward Stewart
*Set dresser: Gary Brink
*Hair stylist: Vern Caruso
*Property master: Al Griswold
*Costumer: George Newman
*Special effects: Conrad Brink
*Sound recording: Dennis Maitland
*Re-recording: John Wilkinson
Controversy
Puerto Ricans picketed the film claiming it was discriminatory against that group.
Critical response
The critical reaction to ''Badge 373'' was generally negative. In ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', Roger Greenspun
Roger Greenspun (December 16, 1929 – June 18, 2017) was an American journalist and film critic, best known for his work with ''The New York Times'' in which he reviewed near 400 films, particularly in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and for '' ...
pointed out the biases of the film: "All of the evil is perpetrated by Puerto Ricans, either innocent but violent revolutionaries who run around shouting 'Puerto Rico Libre!' or the uninnocent but equally violent nonrevolutionaries who manipulate them. Against such forces, Eddie the hard-nosed cop has only the instincts of his personal bigotry to guide him. And invariably the instincts of his personal bigotry turn out to be right. ... less you care to hate Puerto Ricans (or Irish cops) I don't see how the movie can have anything for you". ''Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' called it "a ploddingly paced police meller with racist and fascist undertones ... Producer Howard W. Koch,doubling as director, demonstrates no visual style or energy and even allows the several obligatory chase sequences to dribble into tedium." Roger Ebert of the ''Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago ...
'' was positive, giving the film three stars out of four and calling it "a tough movie with some interesting things to say about cops-and-robbers morality." Gene Siskel of the ''Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...
'' gave the film half of one star out of four, writing that it played "like a Mad magazine
Mad, mad, or MAD may refer to:
Geography
* Mad (village), a village in the Dunajská Streda District of Slovakia
* Mád, a village in Hungary
* Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport, by IATA airport code
* Mad River (disambiguation), several ...
parody" of ''The French Connection'', "only the filmmakers aren't kidding." Kevin Thomas of the ''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'' wrote, "In short, Hamill has turned out a hack script. The result is a potboiler movie that, if anything, patronizes rather than illuminates its working-class hero despite the authenticity with which Duvall, always a fine actor, invests him." Gary Arnold of ''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' called it "a dull, shoddy spinoff" of ''The French Connection'', adding that "Duvall's cop is a little cruder than Hackman's, and he also seems less capable. The lack of any originality in the characterization is a little embarrassing: 'Badge 373' seems to think it's different because Duvall insults Puerto Ricans, whereas Hackman insulted Negroes." John Gillett of ''The Monthly Film Bulletin
''The Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 to April 1991, when it merged with ''Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those with a ...
'' compared ''Badge 373'' unfavorably to ''Dirty Harry
''Dirty Harry'' is a 1971 American neo-noir action thriller film produced and directed by Don Siegel, the first in the ''Dirty Harry'' series. Clint Eastwood plays the title role, in his first outing as San Francisco Police Department (SFP ...
'' in that "unlike Siegel, Koch fails to put his hero's activities in any kind of perspective; and even though the violence is kept in check, its ambiguities leave a somewhat repellent taste. All in all, another deeply divided and scarcely reassuring addition to the movies' composite portrait of the American police force."
See also
* List of American films of 1973
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...
References
External links
*
*
*
*
Original trailer
{{Howard W. Koch
1973 films
1970s crime thriller films
1970s English-language films
American crime thriller films
American police detective films
Films about the French Connection
Films directed by Howard W. Koch
Films set in New York City
Films shot in New York City
Paramount Pictures films
1970s American films