The Laughing Policeman

"This movie is so real it makes every other movie in this town look like a movie."

1973 1h 52m EN

😐

6.2

MID

🥫

59%

ROTTEN

⭐

6.4

IMDB

★6.2TMDB · 79🥫59%Rotten Tomatoes★6.4IMDB · 3,380

CrimeDramaThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When a gunman opens fire on a crowded city bus in San Francisco, Detective Dave Evans is killed, along with the man he'd been following in relation to a murder. Evans' partner, Sgt. Jake Martin, becomes obsessed with solving the case.

“This movie is so real it makes every other movie in this town look like a movie.”

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Cast

Walter Matthau
Sgt. Jake Martin SFPD
Bruce Dern
Insp. Leo Larsen SFPD
Louis Gossett Jr.
Insp. James Larrimore SFPD
Albert Paulsen
Henry Camerero
Anthony Zerbe
Lt. Nat Steiner SFPD
Val Avery
Insp. John Pappas SFPD
Cathy Lee Crosby
Kay Butler
Mario Gallo
Bobby Mow, Snitch

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Stuart Rosenberg
Writers: Thomas Rickman, Stuart Rosenberg
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $2.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 75% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

53 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Stuart Rosenberg, shot by David M. Walsh. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Charles Fox. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Bob Wyman shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Walter Matthau and Bruce Dern and Louis Gossett Jr. carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "This movie is so real it makes every other movie in this town look like a movie.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Stuart Rosenberg directs. David M. Walsh behind the camera. Charles Fox scores. Bob Wyman cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $2.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Earned back only 75% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
353 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Directed by Stuart Rosenberg, shot by David M. Walsh. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Charles Fox. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Bob Wyman shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Walter Matthau and Bruce Dern and Louis Gossett Jr. carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "This movie is so real it makes every other movie in this town look like a movie.".
9IMDB entry: tt0070292 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Only 79 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
11Classified under 9 themes, including "hells angels", "san francisco, california", "mass murder", "murder".

The technical file

Cinematography: David M. Walsh
Original score: Charles Fox
Editing: Bob Wyman
Makeup / hair: Jack Wilson
Sound: Theodore Soderberg
Runtime: 112 min · 1h 52m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $2,280,000
Box office: $1,700,000
Return: 75% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Laughing Policeman (1973)
Rotten Tomatoes: 59% 🥫 Rotten
IMDB rating: 6.4/10 · 3,380 votes
MPAA: R

Also by

Stuart Rosenberg

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Community reviews

What people are saying

talisencrw2016-01-18
★ 8/10
From the early-70's zenith of crime and police-centered films, 'The Laughing Policeman' deserves credit, respect and recognition as a fine, gritty, accurate work that shows the way real officers interact and go through their work-days and solve crimes. Walter Matthau, mostly known for his astute comedic touch, is excellent, as is Bruce Dern, who's promoted to an uneasy partnership with Matthau, when the latter's partner, who was on vacation yet took an unsolved case home with him, is at the wrong place at the wrong time, part of a brutal mass murder on board a bus. The well-directed script shows how alienated a good policeman is from his family, how hated he is by most of the community, and the blind alleys and dead ends he has to go through in order to solve the case, and have it hold up in a court of law. It's 'Dirty Harry' or the 'French Connection' films done honestly, not as a fever dream of wish fulfillment from the policeman's perspective (though I must admit I love those too!)...

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