Semiquincentennial Movie Project #11: Serpico

 

 

 

The Semiquincentennial  Movie Project is an ongoing celebration of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. During the course of this project your humble blogger is choosing a movie a week to represent each of the 50 states in the Union, as well as a movie scheduled for 4th of July weekend that will represent the nation's capitol, Washington D.C. The order of the weekly entries will coincide with the order of each state's entry into the fold (although, not necessarily coinciding with the date of their entry into said fold).

 

 

 

Week #10: New York -

 

The state of New York was established on July 26, 1788. 

Details about New York:

 

State bird: bluebird

State flower: rose

State tree: sugar maple

Additional historical trivia:

New York City, in the state of New York, was the nation's first capital; as such it was where the first President was sworn into office.

The state plays host to the "World's Largest Pancake Breakfast", due to the fact that the world's largest pancake griddle is in the state (28 feet in diameter... I'm hungry, but not THAT hungry...)

The 85 mile Delaware aqueduct is the longest tunnel in the world.  

New York City, of course, has many numerous landmarks and sites for pilgrimages. I won't inundate you with a lot of them, but Grand Central Station, Central Park, the United Nations and the Dakota (site of the killing of John Lennon) are among the "must-see" places in NYC.

Seven of the US Presidents can claim the state of New York as their birthplace, including the current one (as of this writing...)

As well as the many politicians you have heard of, the state was also the birthplace of numerous other celebrities: Carl Sagan, Mark Zuckerberg, Mike Tyson, Martin Scorcese, Robert DeNiro, as well as numerous bands that got their start in New York.... (for example: ever hear of KISS...?) 

Serpico (1973): 

 There are some interesting little tidbits of information revolving around the film production of "Serpico", based on the life of Frank Serpico as related in the book by Peter Maas, who was writing about a real police officer who fought against corruption in the NYPD back in the 60's. One of the most intriguing casting possibilities had Robert Redford and Paul Newman, fresh off of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, with Redford as Serpico and Newman as his cohort in the endeavor to eliminate the corruption. I think it's a good thing that Frank Serpico made an effort to dissuade the producers, otherwise we might not have the pair in their second iconic pairing, The Sting.

Also, originally there was an effort to try to get Sam Peckinpah to direct the picture. We might have had an entirely different picture if that had happened. Sidney Lumet was brought on board, a decidedly better director to portray the intrigue of the investigation, without the Peckinpah tendency towards violence. Also, Pacino as Serpico might not have happened because he was also considering taking on the role of Lenny Bruce in Lenny. 

Several fairly familiar faces made their roles in the film. Jack Kehoe, familiar to many as The Erie Kid in the aforementioned The Sting, played Tom Keough, one of Serpico's partners on the force, and his first introduction into the corruption in the department. Also John Randolph and Biff McGuire played Serpico's superiors. And don't miss James Tolkan, Principal Strickland in the Back to the Future films, (with a full head of hair, no less), made one of his early meatier appearances in film.  

The story, of course, follows Frank Serpico (Al Pacino) from a new recruit to his later career as an undercover cop. Early on he is under some pressure to get a haircut and a shave to make him look more like the standard cop, but he insists that his look makes him more readily fit in with the criminal faction if he keeps it.

 

His first introduction into some of the less than reputable side of the department involves him being with his first partner as a patrolman, and at a diner he finds that some of the public has been giving out free perks, in this case food, but instead of going with the flow and taking what the proprietor is willing to serve the pair for free, he insists on getting what he really wants to eat, and (ye Gods!) actually paying for it.

His first job as an undercover cop involves being given a bribe to basically look the other way at some crime. Serpico is a morally straight character and refuses to go along, and reports the bribe to his superiors. His insistence on following the legal path serves to make him a less than desirable member of his fellow police officers community, however.

He begins to fear for his life from said fellow officers, especially when he keeps trying to report the corruption. He transfers to another department and finds that the corruption is still prevalent in his new position. He makes several attempts to try to get the problem solved through the normal channels, but continually finds himself rebuffed and ignored, even by the commissioner. He pairs up  with a fellow straight-laced cohort, Bob Blair (Tony Roberts), who tries to help using his own connections. But blockades to his efforts keep cropping up, especially since even some of the higher-ups are in on the corruption.

 

The idealistic Serpico gradually becomes more jaded as the efforts to clean up the police force meet with resistance. Plus, he gradually becomes a persona non gratis among his fellow officers as he continually refuses to play along with the standard norm of operations. Eventually his efforts do garner some success, but at the cost of his having to appear as a witness on a grand jury investigation, which he initially doesn't want to have anything to do with.

The ultimate outcome is Serpico is shot while trying to perform a drug bust, and there is some evidence that the cops he was partnered with had some involvement in it.  Serpico does survive and the movie ends with a note that he subsequently resigned from the police force and moved to Switzerland.

 

As usual, I relate some of the details about the reception of the film. Rotten Tomatoes currently ranks the film as being 93% Fresh. It made a decent profit, having a $3.3 million budget, but bring in about $50 million at the box office in US and worldwide ticket sales. Pacino garnered an Oscar nomination for his performance, but as I have said in other reviews, Jack Lemmon's role in Save the Tiger took home the statuette. I don't think the Academy got it right on this one, although as I have also stated, I would have given Robert Redford in The Sting the award. Pacino was a loser along with Jack Nicholson in The Last Detail and Marlon Brando in Last Tango in Paris to Lemmon, either of which was better.

Serpico also got a nod for Best Screenplay from Another Medium (Maas' book). Here too it lost, this time for The Exorcist (book by William Peter Blatty, and there's a film I have never worked up the courage to watch..). Also in competition for the Award were The Last Detail (book by Darryl Ponicsan; a great story, check it out!), The Paper Chase (book by James Bridges) and Paper Moon (book by Alvin Sargent). 

The film is a dramatic portrayal of a real person, and thus an intriguing look at the persistence of one man to buck the system. I doubt I would have had the courage to go through the lengths that Frank Serpico did to get the system exposed, although I have to say I would be just as reluctant to dirty myself and my personal commitment to not delve into the seamier side of the office politics.

So, I say Serpico is well worth a look. Especially if you are as big a fan of Pacino the actor as I am.

Well, folks, this review came in a bit late, but I still made it under the wire of the week. Almost didn't. Had some health issues earlier. Also, a note, next week's review won't be up Sunday, either. But I hope to get back on track by the following week.

Drive safely, folks.

Quiggy