Taglines: There are no rules and no holds barred when Popeye cuts loose!
The French Connection movie storyline. An action-packed, intense, gritty crime thriller filmed on location and based on a true story, starring two hard-nosed, vulgar New York City police cops who expose an international, heroin-smuggling operation based in Marseilles – headed by suave, elusive, mastermind crime boss Alain Charnier (Fernando Rey).
Passionate, tough, pushy, and unorthodox narcotics detective Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle (Hackman) recklessly and obsessively fights crime with partner Buddy Russo (Roy Scheider). With the breath-taking, famous elevated-railway scene of Doyle fearlessly chasing a runaway train – with Charnier’s henchman Pierre Nicoli (Marcel Bozzufi) in a borrowed car while narrowly dodging traffic and bystanders.
The French Connection is a 1971 American crime thriller film directed by William Friedkin. The screenplay, written by Ernest Tidyman, is based on Robin Moore’s 1969 non-fiction book The French Connection: A True Account of Cops, Narcotics, and International Conspiracy. It tells the story of New York Police Department detectives Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle and Buddy “Cloudy” Russo, whose real-life counterparts were Narcotics Detectives Eddie Egan and Sonny Grosso, in pursuit of wealthy French heroin smuggler Alain Charnier. The film stars Gene Hackman as Popeye, Roy Scheider as Cloudy, and Fernando Rey as Charnier. Tony Lo Bianco and Marcel Bozzuffi also star.
It was the first R-rated movie to win the Academy Award for Best Picture since the introduction of the MPAA film rating system. It also won Academy Awards for Best Actor (Hackman), Best Director (Friedkin), Best Film Editing, and Best Adapted Screenplay (Tidyman). It was nominated for Best Supporting Actor (Scheider), Best Cinematography and Best Sound Mixing. Tidyman also received a Golden Globe Award nomination, a Writers Guild of America Award and an Edgar Award for his screenplay. A sequel, French Connection II, followed in 1975 with Gene Hackman and Fernando Rey reprising their roles.
About the Story
In Marseille, an undercover police detective is following Alain Charnier (Fernando Rey), a wealthy French criminal who runs the largest heroin-smuggling syndicate in the world. The policeman is assassinated by Charnier’s hitman, Pierre Nicoli (Marcel Bozzuffi). Charnier plans to smuggle $32 million worth of heroin into the United States by hiding it in the car of his unsuspecting friend, French television personality Henri Devereaux (Frédéric de Pasquale).
In New York City, detectives Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle (Gene Hackman) and Buddy “Cloudy” Russo (Roy Scheider) are conducting an undercover stakeout in Brooklyn. After seeing a drug transaction take place in a bar, Cloudy goes in to make an arrest, but the suspect makes a break for it, cutting Cloudy on the arm with a knife. After catching up with their suspect and severely beating him, the detectives interrogate the man, who reveals his drug connection.
Later, Popeye and Cloudy go out for drinks at the Copacabana, where Popeye notices Salvatore “Sal” Boca (Tony Lo Bianco) and his young wife Angie (Arlene Farber) entertaining mob members involved in narcotics. They decide to tail the couple, and soon learn that the Bocas, who run a modest newsstand luncheonette, have criminal records: Sal for armed robbery and murder, and Angie for shoplifting. The detectives suspect that the Bocas, who frequent several nightclubs and drive expensive cars, are involved in some kind of criminal operation. They soon establish a link between the Bocas and lawyer Joel Weinstock (Harold Gary), who is part of the narcotics underworld.
Soon after, Popeye learns from an informant that a major shipment of heroin will arrive in the New York area. The detectives convince their supervisor, Walt Simonson (Eddie Egan), to wiretap the Bocas’ phones, and they use several ruses to obtain additional information. Popeye and Cloudy are joined in the investigation by a federal agent named Mulderig (Bill Hickman). Popeye and Mulderig dislike each other based on having worked together in the past, with Mulderig holding Popeye responsible for the death of a policeman.
After Devereaux’s vehicle arrives in New York City, Weinstock’s chemist (Pat McDermott) tests a sample of the heroin and declares it the purest he has ever seen, establishing that the shipment could make as much as $32 million on a half-million dollar investment. Boca is impatient to make the purchase—reflecting Charnier’s desire to return to France as soon as possible—while Weinstock, with more experience in smuggling, urges patience, knowing Boca’s phone is tapped and that they are being investigated.
Charnier soon realizes he has been observed since his arrival in New York. He “makes” Popeye and escapes, waving tauntingly on the departing subway shuttle. To avoid being tailed, he has Sal Boca instead meet him in Washington D.C., where Boca asks for a delay to avoid the police. Charnier, however, wants to conclude the deal quickly so he can return to France. On the flight back to New York, Nicoli offers to kill Popeye, but Charnier objects, knowing that Popeye would be replaced by another policeman. Nicoli insists, however, saying they will be back in France before a replacement is assigned.
The French Connection (1971)
Directed by: William Friedkin
Starring: Gene Hackman, Roy Scheider, Fernando Rey, Tony Lo Bianco, Marcel Bozzuffi, Ann Rebbot, Arlene Farber, Sonny Grosso
Screenplay by: Ernest Tidyman
Cinematography by: Owen Roizman
Film Editing by: Gerald B. Greenberg
Costume Design by: Joseph Fretwell
Set Decoration by: Edward Garzero
Music by: Don Ellis
Distributed by: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: October 9, 1971
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