Badge 373
Encyclopedia
Badge 373 is a 1973 crime
thriller film inspired, as was The French Connection
, by the life and career of Eddie Egan
, here called "Eddie Ryan". The film, which has a screenplay by journalist Pete Hamill
, was co-produced and directed by Howard Koch
, and stars Robert Duvall
as Ryan, with Verna Bloom
, Henry Darrow
and Eddie Egan himself as a police lieutenant.
The film was not successful, either at the box office or with the critics.
), a tough, no-nonsense, abrasive and racist Irish cop, has to turn in his badge after scuffling with a Puerto Rican 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
). Ryan's search leads him to Puerto Rican drug kingpin Sweet Willie (Henry Darrow
), and a shipment of guns for Puerto Rican independenistas
.
Cast notes:
. 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
, 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
geography, and passes locations including the West 125th viaduct and a meatpacking plant, and a branch of the record store King Karol
at 460 West 42nd Street
. Locations for other scenes include the Manhattan Bridge
, with the World Trade Center
's Twin Towers in the background, and the FDR Drive
, with the United Nations
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
.
Crime film
Crime films are films which focus on the lives of criminals. The stylistic approach to a crime film varies from realistic portrayals of real-life criminal figures, to the far-fetched evil doings of imaginary arch-villains. Criminal acts are almost always glorified in these movies.- Plays and films...
thriller film inspired, as was The French Connection
The French Connection
The French Connection or French Connection may refer to:* French Connection, an infamous 1960s-70s drug trafficking scheme* The French Connection , a 1969 non-fiction book about the drug trafficking scheme...
, by the life and career of Eddie Egan
Eddie Egan
Edward Walter "Eddie" Egan was a New York City Police Department detective whose exploits were the subject of a book and movie, both entitled The French Connection...
, here called "Eddie Ryan". The film, which has a screenplay by journalist Pete Hamill
Pete Hamill
Pete Hamill is an American journalist, novelist, essayist, editor and educator. Widely traveled and having written on a broad range of topics, he is perhaps best known for his career as a New York City journalist, as "the author of columns that sought to capture the particular flavors of New York...
, was co-produced and directed by Howard Koch
Howard Koch (screenwriter)
Howard E. Koch was an American playwright and screenwriter who was blacklisted by the Hollywood movie studio bosses in the 1950s.-Early Years:...
, and stars Robert Duvall
Robert Duvall
Robert Selden Duvall is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and a BAFTA over the course of his career....
as Ryan, with Verna Bloom
Verna Bloom
Verna Bloom is an American actress. She co-starred in the 1973 film High Plains Drifter with Clint Eastwood and the 1974 made for TV movie Where Have All The People Gone? with Peter Graves and Kathleen Quinlan...
, Henry Darrow
Henry Darrow
Henry Darrow is a prolific Puerto Rican-American character actor of stage and film. Darrow is probably best remembered for his role as Big John Cannon's teasing brother-in-law, and Buck Cannon's favorite ranch hand, and best friend, Manolito Montoya, in the 1960s television series The High...
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 DuvallRobert Duvall
Robert Selden Duvall is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and a BAFTA over the course of his career....
), a tough, no-nonsense, abrasive and racist Irish cop, has to turn in his badge after scuffling with a Puerto Rican 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 Bloom
Verna Bloom is an American actress. She co-starred in the 1973 film High Plains Drifter with Clint Eastwood and the 1974 made for TV movie Where Have All The People Gone? with Peter Graves and Kathleen Quinlan...
). Ryan's search leads him to Puerto Rican drug kingpin Sweet Willie (Henry Darrow
Henry Darrow
Henry Darrow is a prolific Puerto Rican-American character actor of stage and film. Darrow is probably best remembered for his role as Big John Cannon's teasing brother-in-law, and Buck Cannon's favorite ranch hand, and best friend, Manolito Montoya, in the 1960s television series The High...
), and a shipment of guns for Puerto Rican independenistas
Puerto Rican independence movement
The Puerto Rican independence movement refers to initiatives throughout the history of Puerto Rico aimed at obtaining independence for the Island, first from Spain, and then from the United States...
.
Cast
- Robert DuvallRobert DuvallRobert Selden Duvall is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and a BAFTA over the course of his career....
as Eddie Ryan - Verna BloomVerna BloomVerna Bloom is an American actress. She co-starred in the 1973 film High Plains Drifter with Clint Eastwood and the 1974 made for TV movie Where Have All The People Gone? with Peter Graves and Kathleen Quinlan...
as Maureen - Henry DarrowHenry DarrowHenry Darrow is a prolific Puerto Rican-American character actor of stage and film. Darrow is probably best remembered for his role as Big John Cannon's teasing brother-in-law, and Buck Cannon's favorite ranch hand, and best friend, Manolito Montoya, in the 1960s television series The High...
as William Salazar a.k.a. Sweet William - Eddie EganEddie EganEdward Walter "Eddie" Egan was a New York City Police Department detective whose exploits were the subject of a book and movie, both entitled The French Connection...
as Lt. Scanlon - Felipe LucianoFelipe LucianoFelipe Luciano is an American poet, community activist, journalist, media personality, and politician. He is of Puerto Rican heritage....
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 AvalosLuis AvalosLuis Avalos is a Cuban character actor. He has made numerous film and television appearances, most notably in the 1970s children's television show, The Electric Company...
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 [sic] Proprietor)
- Mark Tendler as Harbor Lights bouncer
- Robert Weil as Hans
- Rose Ann ScamardellaRose Ann ScamardellaRose Ann Scamardella 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:...
as Herself - Pete HamillPete HamillPete Hamill is an American journalist, novelist, essayist, editor and educator. Widely traveled and having written on a broad range of topics, he is perhaps best known for his career as a New York City journalist, as "the author of columns that sought to capture the particular flavors of New York...
as Reporter - Larry Appelbaum as Copo at toll booth
- John McCurry as Bus driver
- Bob Farley as Patrolman
- Tracey WalterTracey WalterTracey Walter is an American character actor. He has appeared in over 100 films and television shows.-Life and career:Walter was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, the son of a truck driver....
as Delivery boy - John Scanlon, Jimmy Archer, Ric Mancini, 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 Pachero & his Orchestra as Band at Carorrojeno
' s
Cast notes:
- Journalist Pete HamillPete HamillPete Hamill is an American journalist, novelist, essayist, editor and educator. Widely traveled and having written on a broad range of topics, he is perhaps best known for his career as a New York City journalist, as "the author of columns that sought to capture the particular flavors of New York...
, who wrote the screenplay, has a bit part as a reporter named Pete, in the sequence of Gigi's wake, while WABC-TVWABC-TVWABC-TV, channel 7, is the flagship station of the Disney-owned American Broadcasting Company located in New York City. The station's studios and offices are located on the Upper West Side section of Manhattan, adjacent to ABC's corporate headquarters, and its transmitter is atop the Empire State...
anchorwoman Rose Ann ScamardellaRose Ann ScamardellaRose Ann Scamardella 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:...
, later the inspiration for Gilda RadnerGilda RadnerGilda Susan Radner was an American comedian and actress, best known as one of the original cast members of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, for which she won an Emmy Award in 1978.-Early life:...
's Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
character "Roseanne RoseannadannaRoseanne Roseannadanna"Roseanne Roseannadanna" was one of several recurring characters created by Gilda Radner who appeared in the Weekend Update segments of the early seasons of the NBC comedy television show, Saturday Night Live. Like Radner's earlier character, Emily Litella, Roseanne was brought in to give editorial...
", plays herself in a cameo appearance. - DominicanDominican RepublicThe Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
salsaSalsa musicSalsa music is a genre of music, generally defined as a modern style of playing Cuban Son, Son Montuno, and Guaracha with touches from other genres of music...
bandleader Johnny Pachero & his Orchestra makes a cameo appearance in the opening nightclub sequence.
Production
Badge 373 was shot on location on the streets of New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. At one point, in what film writer Jeff Stafford calls a deliberate attempt to recall the car-chase scene from The French Connection
The French Connection
The French Connection or French Connection may refer to:* French Connection, an infamous 1960s-70s drug trafficking scheme* The French Connection , a 1969 non-fiction book about the drug trafficking scheme...
, which was also based on the exploits of Eddie Egan
Eddie Egan
Edward Walter "Eddie" Egan was a New York City Police Department detective whose exploits were the subject of a book and movie, both entitled The French Connection...
, 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
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
geography, and passes locations including the West 125th viaduct and a meatpacking plant, and a branch of the record store King Karol
King Karol
King Karol was a New York City, New York-based record store chain founded by Ben Karol and Phil King.Extant prior to 1971, lasting through at least 1984, and defunct for some time by 1993, King Karol was one of New York's "largest [and most] comprehensive" music stories.Aside from its main branch...
at 460 West 42nd Street
42nd Street (Manhattan)
42nd Street is a major crosstown street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, known for its theaters, especially near the intersection with Broadway at Times Square. It is also the name of the region of the theater district near that intersection...
. Locations for other scenes include the Manhattan Bridge
Manhattan Bridge
The Manhattan Bridge is a suspension bridge that crosses the East River in New York City, connecting Lower Manhattan with Brooklyn . It was the last of the three suspension bridges built across the lower East River, following the Brooklyn and the Williamsburg bridges...
, with the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
's Twin Towers in the background, and the FDR Drive
Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive
The Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive is a freeway-standard parkway on the east side of the New York City borough of Manhattan...
, with the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
headquarters visible.
On August 10, 1973, Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
rejected a demand by the Puerto Rican Action Coalition to withdraw the film for what the coalition called the movie's racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
.
Crew
- Director: Howard KochHoward Koch (screenwriter)Howard E. Koch was an American playwright and screenwriter who was blacklisted by the Hollywood movie studio bosses in the 1950s.-Early Years:...
- Producer: Howard Koch
- Screenplay: Pete HamillPete HamillPete Hamill is an American journalist, novelist, essayist, editor and educator. Widely traveled and having written on a broad range of topics, he is perhaps best known for his career as a New York City journalist, as "the author of columns that sought to capture the particular flavors of New York...
- 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 YablansIrwin YablansIrwin Yablans is an American independent film producer and distributor known for his work in the horror film industry.-Biography:...
- Inspired by the exploits of: Eddie EganEddie EganEdward Walter "Eddie" Egan was a New York City Police Department detective whose exploits were the subject of a book and movie, both entitled The French Connection...
- Art director: Philip RosenbergPhilip RosenbergPhilip Rosenberg is an American production designer and art director. He has won an Academy Award and was nominated for another in the category Best Art Direction.-Selected filmography:...
- Costumes: Frank ThompsonFrank ThompsonFrank Thompson, Jr. was a Democratic Party politician from New Jersey. Thompson represented in the United States House of Representatives from 1955 to 1980....
- 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 EganEddie EganEdward Walter "Eddie" Egan was a New York City Police Department detective whose exploits were the subject of a book and movie, both entitled The French Connection...
- 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