The French Connection (1971)

Starring: Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider
Grade: Classic

Can anyone explain to me the ongoing running gag between this film and its sequel of the line, “You still picking your feet in Poughkeepsie”? This is an inside joke I don’t think I’ll ever get.

Summary

In Marseille, France a police detective follows drug kingpin Alain Charnier (Fernando Rey). In an alley, the detective is gunned down by one of Charnier’s hitmen Pierre Nicoli (Marcel Bozzuffi).

In Brooklyn, New York detectives Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle (Hackman) and his partner Buddy “Cloudy” Russo (Scheider) wait outside of a bar for two suspects. Doyle is dressed as Santa Claus and entertains some kids outside as Russo gets a hot dog. Soon after, Doyle signals to Russo, so Russo goes in and tries to apprehend them. He stops one guy, but the other guy, Willie, runs right out the front door. Doyle and Russo pursue him on foot, with Russo getting cut by him early on. Eventually, they catch Willie, and he gives up a name. Back in France, Charnier tells another guy how they need to extend the piers so they can load more cargo. He goes home to his wife, and they exchange gifts, with his wife gifting him a coat to wear on his trip to America. Back in New York, Doyle catches up with Russo and convinces him to go out to the bar, though Russo isn’t really feeling it. While hanging out, Doyle mentions to Russe how he thinks a couple of the people at a specific table are suspects involved in drugs, with one guy in particular catching his eye. He knows something is up. Going off Doyle’s hunch, they tail the guy and the woman he’s with all over New York City. They follow him through the early parts of the morning too. The guy starts to catch on and he switches cars, but Doyle and Russo watch it all. Eventually, they see him deliver some newspapers at convenience store “Sal and Angie’s” and nothing comes of it.

Still in France, Charnier meets with Pierre Nicoli, and they wait for TV star Henri Devereaux (Frédéric de Pasquale). Nicoli isn’t so sure about the idea, but Charnier insists on it because Henri is a celebrity. Because of this, he is pretty much allowed to travel anywhere freely. Just then, Henri shows up and accepts Charnier’s proposition.

In New York, Doyle and Russo are on a stakeout of Sal and Angie’s. Russo lets Doyle in on everything he found out about the suspect they tailed. His name is Sal Boca (Tony Lo Bianco). Before, he was picked up on suspicion of armed robbery. Three years ago, he tried to hold up Tiffany’s and could have gotten two and a half years to five, but they wouldn’t prosecute. In addition, they are pretty sure he’s responsible for pulling off a contract on a guy named DeMarco. His girlfriend is Angie (Arlene Farber). She drew a suspended sentence for shoplifting a year ago. They run Sal and Angie’s together, and they’ve had it for a year and a half. Doyle wonders how in the hell he’s paying for drinks at Chez and owns two cars if he’s only pulling in seven grand a year, but Russo says the LTD’s in his wife’s name. Plus, one of the cars belongs to his brother Lou, a trainee at the garbage man’s school on Ward’s Island. Lou did time for assault and robbery. As Doyle and Russo continue to talk, they are interrupted by the appearance of a black Cadillac showing up next to Sal and Angie’s. It has New Jersey plates. Eventually, Russo goes in and flirts with Angie, as we see Sal go into a private meeting with the men. Later, they check out another building that Sal goes to three times a week. Apparently, the building is clean.

Don Ameche even lives there.

However, Joel Weinstock (Harold Gary) lives in the building as well, a guy who’s a major buyer in the world of narcotics. Later, Doyle and Russo go into some bar they pop into from time to time to check everyone for illegal drugs. Most of the patrons there have something on them. Doyle takes a bunch of the drugs he finds on the bar, mixes it with a beer, and dumps it on the counter. He arrests two guys and makes them wait in two separate phone booths until he’s done with the place. Then, he takes another guy into the bathroom looking for information. It turns out that this guy is actually an informant for Doyle, and they have a pleasant conversation in the midst of the chaos. The guy doesn’t know Sal or Angie, but he has been hearing of a massive shipment coming in a week or so that can be a game changer for everyone. He doesn’t know who’s bringing it though. To keep the charade up, Doyle punches his informant (asking him where he wants it first), so it looks like they still fought. Then, Doyle leaves with Russo and the two he arrested. Back at the department, Doyle and Russo go to Captain Walt Simonson (Eddie Egan) to get backing in their pursuit of Sal and Weinstock, but Simonson doesn’t believe there’s enough evidence in Doyle’s hunch to be more than entrapment. He gives the two credit for leading the Narcotics Bureau in arrests every year but still criticizes them for the lack of notable people they bring in. They fully believe in this case though, so Simonson relents. They ask for a wiretap on the store and the house.

As Henri Devereaux is about to head over to New York to much fanfare from the press, Russo is told by Simonson they got the wiretaps and have 60 days from the judge for them. FBI agents Mulderig (Bill Hickman) and Klein (Sonny Grosso) will sit in and make all the buys. They have to be informed of everything that goes down. Simonson asks if Mulderig knows Doyle, and he concurs, saying that one of his “brilliant” hunches cost a good cop his life. Russo tells him to shove it and leaves the room. Because of this, Simonson goes over to Mulderig and tells him to cool it down and to give Doyle a chance, saying that if he has any problems to come to him instead. Meanwhile, Doyle is at a bar and gets drunk as hell. He drives, picks up some girl who was riding her bike while he was driving, and is so out of it that he can’t even answer the door when Russo comes to pick him up. Russo uses his key to get in and finds the half-drunk Doyle in his bed right after fucking this girl. Russo lets him know that they got the warrants but also have the feds watching in. Meanwhile, Charnier is in New York and is told about the five auto graveyards there and how each handles a thousand cars a month. Those that aren’t claimed are auctioned there. Most of the cars were involved in crimes or were abandoned. They sit in on an auction and the guy who is with Charnier explaining all of this tells him that Lou is their buyer. Following this, Lou buys a car for $25. Later, Doyle and Russo listen in on the wiretap recording and hear about a planned meet-up. The next day, they drive with Mulderig in the backseat, who antagonizes Doyle the entire time. They try to tail some car but get too far behind in traffic and lose the guy. They call in to Klein though, and he spots him.

Sal is walking the streets in the open and is followed by the entire group from separate locations. They all stand far enough away where it’s not too obvious, but they all have an eye on him. When it’s Russo’s turn, he runs and follows Sal into a building, bumping into Charnier, Sal, and Nicoli. When the three exit the building, Doyle follows Charnier. Eventually, Charnier and Nicoli go to a restaurant, with Doyle and Russo watching from across the street. Following this, Doyle follows Charnier to his hotel and asks the clerk about him. That night, Doyle meets up with Russo and Mulderig in a car. Though he still doesn’t know who Charnier is, he knows the man is aware of Doyle’s following him. Klein is watching Nicoli and apparently, Nicoli had a hooker sent up to his room. They think Sal is sleeping elsewhere. Mulderig tells Doyle to get some sleep because he looks like shit, but Doyle is now determined on getting to the bottom of this. Though Mulderig doesn’t seem to think they have anything, it’s very clear that this hunch of Doyle’s is correct. All of these shady characters are involved in this huge drug shipment. However, he doesn’t realize how hard it will be to catch them and neither does anyone else.

My Thoughts:

Many cinephiles and moviegoers alike argue over what era of film truly is the “Golden Age”. Though it’s hard to say when certain eras begin and end, as it changes with whoever you talk to, the decade of the 70s and the “New Hollywood” movement is the flag bearer of premier moviemaking in my eyes. With movies like The French Connection leading the charge, it’s hard to argue against it. Being another visionary filmmaker coming out of the New Hollywood movement of darker and more realistic stories depicted in film, the underrated William Friedkin’s direction of this iconic cop thriller was everything it needed to be to change the world of police-centric movies. Gone were the one-dimensional, “white knight” protagonists and do-gooders of yesteryear that defined decades like the 1950s. The French Connection is a stunningly visceral portrayal of detectives in the gritty streets of New York City, the acts of aggression, violence, and law-breaking from both sides, and the grimy, graphic look on what the real job entails. It’s not just an action movie. It’s a groundbreaking film that changed the course of the genre, and the Academy recognized this feat immediately upon release.

As soon as those end credits came onto the screen, everyone in attendance knew they just watched something special.

In arguably his greatest role, Gene Hackman leads the film as the morally corrupted Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle, a detective based on real-life cop Eddie Eagan (who plays Captain Walt Simonson in the film no less). Doyle is as tough as nails, a total badass, and a no-nonsense cop fully invested in his job. Cleaning up the streets has become his only and everyday focus, and it’s made him a rougher person in all aspects of his life. When I say this, I don’t just mean professionally, as we see him womanizing and drinking when not at work. It doesn’t affect his job performance, but it shows how he doesn’t really care about things outside of work. Being a detective is the only thing he takes seriously, and when he’s focused on a potential criminal, he will do anything to catch them. With Doyle though, it’s hard to say if he’s all about justice, or if he just loves the art of the game and gets fixated on every suspect that has this displeasure of crossing paths with him. On one hand, Doyle and his partner Russo lead the Narcotics Bureau in arrests every year, but it’s their job and they seem to enjoy it. There’s a certain high they get (Doyle especially) in chasing and beating down criminals that it becomes a hunger for the character in a way. Early on in the first act, we see the two interact following a long day at the department. Russo wants to go home, but Doyle takes him out to the Copacabana. Is it because Doyle likes a drink and a good time similar to any other hardass cop? Partially, but as soon as Doyle locks eyes on some suspicious characters, he changes gears in an instant and the entire night is now focused on his hunch that these people are up to something illegal. In doing so, he forces his loyal partner and friend in Russo to lock in right away, though he’s not nearly as invested as Doyle gets right off the bat.

This is what separates the two as friends and personalities but also what makes them the team they are. The trust the more subdued Russo has in Doyle shows why they work so well together, and it’s a trust Russo has with Doyle to the bitter end, even when Doyle looks like he’s incorrect or has gone too far in the wrong direction. When it’s revealed how many arrests the two get every year, it makes sense considering how well they interact with each other and how Doyle is when put into certain situations. Doyle can drink and have a good time, but when crime is a possibility, he jumps at the opportunity to nab someone and he’s better than most because of his relentlessness. He’s got this personal drive inside him much like Dirty Harry, another iconic cop film that came out three months later.

What a year 1971 was for film, right? The French Connection, Dirty Harry, Shaft, A Clockwork Orange, Bananas, Get Carter, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, etc.

Insane.

Regardless, Doyle’s drive is what makes him such a good detective. Unfortunately, this unstoppable “drive” he has, has led him into several tragic scenarios. Many of the cops on the force are aware of Doyle’s “hunches” and how his reckless, breakneck style doesn’t always yield the greatest results. FBI Agent Mulderig is forced to work with Doyle and Russo and the first thing he brings up about Doyle is how he cost an innocent cop his life with one of his “hunches”, a reputation following him in French Connection II. So, despite how much of a badass cop he looks like to the viewer, he doesn’t command the respect of the others he works with. In fact, he seems to get more respect out of the suspects he deals with rather than his peers on the force because of his style. In this boy’s club of law enforcement, everyone looks at the ill-tempered Doyle as a hazard who brings chaos along with him. It doesn’t deter us however because we know how hypothesizing comes with the territory of being a cop. Sometimes, you’re wrong, but you have to take chances here and there to catch the criminals walking the streets. If no one takes these chances, the city would be much worse off than it already is. This is why we give someone like Doyle a pass and get annoyed with someone like Mulderig right off the bat because we are very aware how difficult this job is, reminding us why only a select few get into law enforcement and accept the stresses that come with it, including how it changes you as a person.

As we find out, it has turned Popeye into a skeptical and quarrelsome person with no off switch.

It’s also possible that Doyle just likes having the authority as well. It’s hard to say with Popeye because of how he interacts with his surroundings and how the New York City landscape has made him this cynical, racist, violent detective who keeps an eye on everyone and everything that seems out of the ordinary. In true 1970s fashion and going along with what was surely the environment of this job at the time, Doyle profiles at every turn and assumes the worst from most people. A lot of the times in grimy NYC, he turns out to be right, as drug-related incidences were at an all-time high during the time period, giving the always pessimistic Doyle vindication. Gene Hackman absolutely nails the lead role as a tone-setting character for the ages. In doing so, he compliments the aggressive, documentary-like style to The French Connection to a necessary degree to make sense of the aggressive behaviors of the characters, why they react the way they do, and the immersing landscapes they are forced to be involved in because of their jobs, which only highlights the scummy environment of their lifestyles. With the way it’s handled by William Friedkin and Hackman as the focused lead, the film feels more than a movie about the adventures of Det. Jimmy Doyle in New York. Instead, it’s an authentic, in-depth look inside of the lives of inner-city detectives trying to stop an unknown drug kingpin on their own and to their best of their abilities.

Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle is universally agreed upon as one of the greatest movie heroes of all time, despite his behavior, his constant law-breaking in search of law breakers, his womanizing, his outright racist statements when in search of criminals, and his outspokenness regarding the lifestyles of those he chases. He’s a good cop but a flawed person. It’s archetype as old as time, but Hackman’s Jimmy Doyle can be argued as quite possibly the best version of them all.

The depiction of detective work is as real as it gets too, with elongated sequences of stakeouts, tailing and trying to be as discreet as possible, and investigating crime scene evidence purely because a cop is guessing to the best of his ability. A perfect example of the latter is the absolutely captivating sequence regarding the inspection of the car. Though it’s a mundane task of a cop and a regular part of the job, it’s as engrossing as it gets due to excellent direction by Friedkin. Scenes like these not only add to the realism of the film, but they bring you in even further to the world Friedkin is trying to present to us. Despite how normal these actions are in regular cop movies today, his approach to the look and style of his groundbreaking film gives off a level of anticipation that hasn’t been duplicated since. None of these scenes involve fights or shootouts. It’s just built-in suspense with the cops doing their regular jobs trying to capture experienced criminals in the act. With the obvious exception of the car chase scene that will always be The French Connection‘s legacy, Doyle’s tailing of Charnier in their first encounter was one of the best sequences of the film. It shows the chess match Doyle is involved in, coming to the realization that the “big fish” they are chasing is much smarter than anticipated. At this point in the film, no one knows who Charnier is, only becoming “Frog One” after basic conjecture of our veteran detectives who can tell he’s the real target. This is why Doyle tries to be the lead in tailing him and Charnier’s elusiveness surprises Doyle in the moment.

Mind you, Doyle knows the streets like the back of his hand, but what makes things so exciting (and difficult), is Doyle assuming he hasn’t been spotted, as he works tirelessly in trying to keep the perfect amount of distance from Charnier, while still trying to figure out where he’s going. Even with the little amount we know about Charnier, we know he’s been doing this for ages, especially with how he comments early on how he’s never done an honest job in his life (paraphrasing but this is basically what he said). He’s a little bit older, but he’s extremely wealthy and sharper than any of the basic criminals Doyle and Russo are used to. His presence in New York gives them a huge shot at proving themselves in a big-time way, and they have the right mindset, but Doyle’s eagerness is his undoing, as we see on many occasions in the film. During his tailing of Charnier, he follows him to the subway station at a quick pace after almost losing him. It’s clear that Charnier is privy of his presence but wants to be sure. He jumps in and out of the subway, acting as if he’s changing his mind. Then, he does it again to trick Doyle once the other subway comes by. Being too aggressive in his approach and showing his cards a little too early, Charnier tricks Doyle and gets back on the subway in the midst of the back-and-forth, showing the audience and Doyle that this isn’t some regular NYC criminal. This is an intelligent kingpin who has done this for years and won’t go down easy. In an excellent feather in the cap to the sequence, Charnier can’t help but wave at Doyle, acknowledging he knew he was being followed, as well as saying “I win”.

Without saying a word, Charnier gets under our skin just like that. By then, the audience is begging for Doyle to bring him down, especially because he was made to look like such a fool and knew it. Even though Charnier is very much ahead of the NYPD at this point, what keeps things on equal footing is Charnier admitting Doyle is the problem that is stopping his deal with Sal. He can get past Sal’s inexperience in being the “mastermind” behind this deal and the difficulty of the transportation of the drugs, but Doyle’s persistence has stayed in the head of Charnier, further legitimizing the legend of the character despite their limited interactions. This is also something that carries on to the film’s sequel when his eyes glance to see Doyle in the distance all those years later. Just as a detective has to be the judge of character in their job, Charnier is just as good at this comparatively and knows Doyle is someone who will be a problem. He never has a one-on-one conversation with our hero or his partner. In fact, they don’t trade any dialogue at all in this film, but this rivalry is heated and is masterfully controlled from a suspense standpoint. Charnier knows they can’t move forward with Doyle in the picture, so the unphased Nicoli chalks it up as a non-issue, promising to kill him. Charnier doesn’t think this is the best idea, but Nicoli has a good point in saying that once a new detective will be assigned to take over, they will be back in France without a care in the world.

Of course, this sets up the chase sequence that is among the greatest of all time. Once Nicoli botches his assassination attempt in a park and a civilian is hit, Doyle chases Nicoli, but he gets on a train just in time. In a rage, the determined Doyle commandeers a car and drives after the train through the busy city streets in a daylight chase. Highlighted by Owen Roizman’s absorbing cinematography and POV shots from Doyle’s car escaping and causing accidents left and right in pursuit of our tertiary villain, we watch as we cut in and out of the hitman holding the driver of the train hostage to miss the stop Doyle plans on reaching. When I used the term “groundbreaking” in my opening of the review, I mean it. This magnificent sequence will guarantee to have you on the edge of your seat. Adding to this, Friedkin chooses to go with all natural sounds in this electric sequence. In doing so, it again pulls you into the realism of the situation to where you feel like a bystander to the action. You see the franticness of Doyle and his determined nature, as he chases Nicoli by his lonesome with no time to spare because catching the bastard will be the only way to be kept on special assignment (the scene before it had the higher-ups deem their pursuit a failure), and the desperation exuding from Popeye has us glued to screen. It’s all accompanied by the sounds of the car, the trains, the gunshots, and the screams as we cut back-and-forth between both characters and their “live and in progress” chase and it’s absolutely unforgettable, ending on a character-defining moment to end the scene in climactic-fashion, showing us how far Doyle is willing to go in pursuit of the opposition.

Roy Schieder was very underrated as well. Offsetting Doyle’s aggressive nature was Scheider’s straightforward portrayal of Russo, Doyle’s partner and willing participant in all of their endeavors. He’s loyal to his friend and trusts him no matter what, but Schieder’s calming presence helps ground Hackman’s Doyle right when it’s needed. Without Russo, it seems as though Doyle would go fully off the rails on any given moment, but he jumps in at just the right time to put things back on track (though sometimes he’s a tad too late). Though Doyle will always be the one getting the fanfare, these two are a great cinematic team just as well.

Schieder knew how to pick them, didn’t he? The man was on fire in the 70s.

The French Connection is an extraordinary achievement in filmmaking, showing us the rare time in which every major aspect of creating the movie came together in a perfect storm of storytelling. Regarding the technical aspects, its Academy Award winning direction, the magnificent cinematography, and eerie score by Don Ellis, it encapsulated the mood and tension of every scene, and the performances from our lead actors is a fantastic showcase of the new era of realism in film we were about to walk into. From a story aspect, it’s a fast-paced, engrossing thriller that epitomizes what a cop film should always strive to be. It’s a presentation of the lives of NYC detectives coming face to face with a true adversary, how encompassing the lives of law enforcement individuals can be, how “hero” cops aren’t what we used to portray them to be, how brutal both sides of the law can be and why cynicism is so prevalent when looking at how to stop crime, and to the shock of moviegoers from the older era of Hollywood, how the naked truth of real-life crime isn’t like the days of John Wayne saving the day. Sometimes, our heroes don’t win and there’s not a damn thing we can do about it.

The French Connection is still one of the best of its era, genre, and of all time. It’s a masterclass in filmmaking.

Fun Fact: Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Caan, Robert Mitchum, Lee Marvin, Jackie Gleason, Peter Boyle, Rod Taylor, and journalist Jimmy Breslin were all considered for Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle.