The Laughing Policeman

I had seen this film in the theaters when it came out and always tried to see it when it was on tv. Mathau and Dern are two cops on a murder case and it was fine film. I always looked for movies directed by Stuart Rosenberg after I saw Cool Hand Luke and this is one of the many of his films which I own. Quick delivery and no defects with the dvd. Very satisfied.

I had hoped the DVD had subtitles since I have a hearing problem. I could not tell if it did, but I have not seen the film in years and wanted to watch it again and add it to my collection. It does not have captions and that is OK. The quality of the image is very good. There are a few points in the film where screen freezes, then jitters, and finally continues. Not a big deal and it may be my equipment; I have no way of knowing what causes this. Far more interesting to me is that I liked this movie years ago and now it seems very dated, clumsy in the dialogue, and Jake Martin, the main character, is very different from the detective in the novel. This has nothing to do with the seller, but is a comment on how the movie was produced and directed. I read, and still have, all of the Martin Beck novels, and this one is a very good book. For some reason, the screenwriter decided to make the protagonist a weak person. Both Walter Matthau and Bruce Dern play terribly flawed men who are bumbling idiots more than being serious detectives.

20th Century Fox's "THE LAUGHING POLICEMAN" (1973) was a grand crime-drama for Walter Matthau, almost rivaling another San Francisco cop, Dirty Harry, but keeping on a focused story about a deranged mass-murderer shooter who leaves his handy work on a city bus filled with bullet-ridden corpses! with a cast headed by Bruce Dern, Louis Gossett Jr, and Cathy Lee Crosby, one year before her debut as "Wonder Woman" on ABC Movie Of The Week in March 1974 gave "THE LAUGHING POLICEMAN" one of the most strongest and violent crime dramas in 70s cinema, but one year before the United Artists/Palomar Pictures release, "THE TAKING OF PELHAM 1 2 3" that Matthau also starred in, that was an even bigger and higher hit! no laughter in this movie, but strong violence that is not for the faint of heart! look for appearances by Anthony Zerbe ("THE OMEGA MAN") and Joanna Cassidy ("BLADE RUNNER") which also co-star in this Stuart Rosenberg directed thriller, along with noted character actor Albert Paulsen ("THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE") as the mass shooter. I rated this 1973 movie five-stars for its gritty, no-nonsense realism in movie crime dramas, and a change of venue for Walter Matthau, after "CHARLEY VERRICK" ( 1973)

This is a complex story, but is carried off well by all actors in this movie, especially Walter Matthau and Bruce Dern. Both are powerful good actors. The story line at first was hard to follow, but after watching it and paying attention to the story it is super.

This is a great movie has a gritty feel to it and demonstrates police procedure during the early 1970s. The only drawback is the lack of closed-caption, otherwise a superb movie.

A little confusing, but surprisingly adult for the early '70s. Leaves a few things unresolved, however; was the killer a psycho to start with, or did he lose it from being followed -or as is hinted- did he go insane due to the threat of being outed as gay? Did Bruce Dern actually go on a "date" with gay nurse Johanna Cassidy? Did Matthau ever confront his 15-year old son after seeing him attending a live sex show in a seedy North Beach theatre? And why was Matthau so possessive of his partner's girlfriend (Kathy Lee Crosby)? But these are minor quibbles in an overall fine police drama. Shows a grittier side of San Francisco than the Dirty Harry films and manages to keep the viewer's interest even given the somewhat convoluted storyline.

BOTTOM LINE: Movie has its fans, but for my money, if you want to see comedy legend Walter Matthau in a dramatic role then pick up THE TAKING OF PELHAM 123 or the equally superior CHARLIE VARRICK. Both are worlds above this pedestrian effort. Nice hi-def transfer. THOUGHTS: I wanted to like this flick as I am a lifelong fan of the lovable, irascible, eternally frumpy, often grumpy Walter Matthau, whether he's playing it straight or yucking it up. I didn't hate it, but in the end I just couldn't get into this film. Not sure why. I much prefer PELHAM and CHARLIE VARRICK - both made around the same time - but that's just me. To each his own. Cast is good and the film is well made; just wasn't my cup of tea. And if you’ve never seen Matthau in a non-comedy role don’t worry, he’s terrific. He's no Clint Eastwood, but Matthau can be a nail-biting SOB with the best of them. I’m actually surprised that he didn’t do more drama. He's quite good here. I suppose he was more or less typecast and eventually just gave in, sticking with comedy for the rest of his career since it was what he was best known for by most audiences. THE BLU-RAY: A solid transfer from Kino Lorber. Not sure what some folks are grumbling about. The picture is decent, with proper grain and clean-looking for the most part, while the soundtrack is level and clear, devoid of static, hissing or other audio defects. No bonus content, which is another strike against buying this, but is typical of most K-L releases.

Excellent movie protraying San Francisco and it's police department members. A lot of scenes were filmed on location on SF's gritty streets. Quite a few extras in the movie were actually working SF police officers. It is a great movie to see what SF and it's police department was like in the late 1960s.