''Report to the Commissioner'' is a 1975 American

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

film based on James Mills' 1972 novel. It involves a rookie cop (

Michael Moriarty Michael Moriarty (born April 5, 1941) is an American-Canadian actor and jazz musician. He received an Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award for his first acting role on American television as a Nazi SS officer in the 1978 mini-series ''Holocaust'' ...

) in the

New York City Police Department 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 ...

who is assigned a special

missing person A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are unknown. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accident, crime, de ...

case, which in fact is meant to be a

wild-goose chase Wild-goose chase or wild goose chase may refer to: * A pursuit of something unattainable or non-existent, such as in a fool's errand or snipe hunt * '' The Wild Goose Chase'', a comedy stage play written by John Fletcher and first published in 16 ...

to back up an

undercover To go "undercover" (that is, to go on an undercover operation) is to avoid detection by the object of one's observation, and especially to disguise one's own identity (or use an assumed identity) for the purposes of gaining the trust of an indi ...

female police officer's role as the girlfriend of a drug dealer. The film was

directed Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

Milton Katselas Milton George Katselas (December 22, 1933 – October 24, 2008) was an American director and producer of stage and film, as well as a Hollywood acting instructor and coach who trained under Elia Kazan and Lee Strasberg at the acclaimed ''Act ...

and features a musical score by

Elmer Bernstein Elmer Bernstein ( '; April 4, 1922August 18, 2004) was an American composer and conductor. In a career that spanned over five decades, he composed "some of the most recognizable and memorable themes in Hollywood history", including over 150 origi ...

. The script is by two Oscar-winning screenwriters,

Abby Mann Abby Mann (December 1, 1927 – March 25, 2008) was an American film writer and producer. Life and career The son of Russian-Jewish immigrants, Mann was born as Abraham Goodman in Philadelphia. He grew up in East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. D ...

(''

Judgment at Nuremberg ''Judgment at Nuremberg'' is a 1961 American epic courtroom drama film directed and produced by Stanley Kramer, written by Abby Mann and starring Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, Maximilian Schell, Werner Klemperer, Marlene Dietr ...

'') and

Ernest Tidyman Ernest Ralph Tidyman (January 1, 1928 – July 14, 1984) was an American author and screenwriter, best known for his novels featuring the African-American detective John Shaft. He also co-wrote the screenplay for the film version of '' Shaft'' w ...

('' The French Connection''). It marked

Richard Gere Richard Tiffany Gere ( ; born August 31, 1949) is an American actor. He began in films in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in '' Looking for Mr. Goodbar'' (1977) and a starring role in ''Days of Heaven'' (1978). He came to prominence with ...

's film debut.

Plot

Beauregard "Bo" Lockley (

), long-haired and thoughtful, is a new type of undercover detective in the New York Police Department. He is assigned to find a missing young woman (

Susan Blakely Susan Blakely is an American actress and model. She is best known for her leading role in the 1976 ABC miniseries '' Rich Man, Poor Man'', for which she received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama. Blakely also has ...

), but is not told she is actually an undercover officer, whose latest assignment is to get close to a heroin dealer, Thomas 'Stick' Henderson ( Tony King), upon whom the department has long been wanting to get the goods. Lockley finds her living with the dealer in the Times Square area of New York City. Frustrated by his presence, as it jeopardizes her assignment, she arranges to meet with Lockley the following morning. But when she misses the appointment he goes to where she and Henderson are living, and in the confused shoot-out that follows Lockley accidentally shoots her dead. Lockley chases Henderson through the streets and into the Saks Fifth Avenue department store, and the two end up trapped in an elevator between floors, holding guns on each other. The two men bond during the fruitless negotiations that follow, and after some time agree to try to get away through the trapdoor in the ceiling of the elevator. However the entire area is surrounded by heavily armed police, who shoot Henderson dead. Lockley's and the policewoman's superior officers, determined to save their careers, scramble to come up with a story that would be minimally embarrassing to the department. They claim that Lockley, the woman and the dealer were involved in a lovers’ triangle and that Lockley shot her out of jealousy.

Cast

- Bo Lockley *

Yaphet Kotto Yaphet Frederick Kotto (born Frederick Samuel Kotto; November 15, 1939 – March 15, 2021) was an American actor known for numerous film roles, as well as starring in the NBC television series '' Homicide: Life on the Street'' (1993–1999) as ...

- Richard 'Crunch' Blackstone *

- Patty Butler *

Héctor Elizondo Héctor Elizondo (born December 22, 1936) is an American character actor. He is known for playing Phillip Watters in the television series ''Chicago Hope'' (1994–2000) and Ed Alzate in the television series '' Last Man Standing'' (2011–2021) ...

- Captain D'Angelo * Tony King - Thomas 'Stick' Henderson * Michael McGuire - Lt. Hanson *

Edward Grover Edward D. Grover (October 23, 1932 – November 22, 2016) was an American film, stage and television actor. He was perhaps best known for playing Tony Baretta's supervisor Lieutenant Hal Brubaker in the American detective television series ''Bar ...

- Captain Strichter *

Dana Elcar Ibsen Dana Elcar (October 10, 1927 – June 6, 2005) was an American television and film character actor. He appeared in about 40 films as well as on the 1980s and 1990s television series ''MacGyver'' as Peter Thornton, MacGyver's immediate ...

- Chief Perna *

Bob Balaban Robert Elmer Balaban (born August 16, 1945) is an American actor, author, comedian, director and producer. He was one of the producers nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture for ''Gosford Park'' (2001), in which he also appeared. Balab ...

- Joey Egan (as Robert Balaban) *

William Devane William Joseph Devane (born September 5, 1939) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Greg Sumner on the primetime soap opera '' Knots Landing'' (1983–1993) and as James Heller on the Fox serial dramas '' 24'' (2001–2010) and '' ...

- Asst. D.A. Jackson *

Stephen Elliott Stephen Elliott may refer to: Entertainment *Stephen Elliott (actor), (1918–2005), American actor * Stephen Elliott (author) (born 1971), American author and activist Sport *Steve Elliott (footballer, born 1958), English footballer *Steve Ellio ...

- Police Commissioner *

- Billy *

Vic Tayback Victor E. Tayback (January 6, 1930 – May 25, 1990) was an American actor. He is known for his role as Mel Sharples in the film '' Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore'' (1974) and the television series '' Alice'' (1976–1985). The latter earned him ...

- Lt. Seidensticker * Albert Seedman - Detective Schulman *

Mark Margolis Mark Margolis (; born November 26, 1939) is an American actor. He is known for playing Alberto "The Shadow" in '' Scarface'', Antonio Nappa in '' Oz'', and Hector Salamanca in '' Breaking Bad'' and ''Better Call Saul''. His performance in ''Break ...

- Bartender (uncredited) *Noelle North - Samantha

External links

* * {{Milton Katselas 1975 films 1975 crime drama films American crime drama films Fictional portrayals of the New York City Police Department Films about the New York City Police Department Films scored by Elmer Bernstein Films based on American novels Films based on crime novels Films set in New York City United Artists films 1970s English-language films Films directed by Milton Katselas 1970s American films

Plot

Cast

See also

External links