Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Nostalgia Central
    Banner
    • Home
    • Blog
      • Lists
      • Playlists
    • Television
      • Shows by Decade
        • 1950s Television
        • 1960s Television
        • 1970s Television
        • 1980s Television
        • 1990s Television
      • Shows by Genre
        • Comedy
        • Drama
        • Kids TV
        • Variety
        • News & Sport
        • Advertisements
      • Shows by Country
        • UK TV
        • USA TV
        • Australia & NZ TV
        • Canada TV
        • Europe TV
        • Japan TV
      • Shows A to K
        • Shows A
        • Shows B
        • Shows C
        • Shows D
        • Shows E
        • Shows F
        • Shows G
        • Shows H
        • Shows I
        • Shows J
        • Shows K
      • Shows L to Z
        • Shows L
        • Shows M
        • Shows N
        • Shows O
        • Shows P
        • Shows Q
        • Shows R
        • Shows S
        • Shows T
        • Shows U
        • Shows V
        • Shows W
        • Shows X
        • Shows Y
        • Shows Z
      • Shows 0 to 9
    • Music
      • Music by Decade
        • 1950s Music
        • 1960s Music
        • 1970s Music
        • 1980s Music
        • 1990s Music
      • Music A to K
        • Music A
        • Music B
        • Music C
        • Music D
        • Music E
        • Music F
        • Music G
        • Music H
        • Music I
        • Music J
        • Music K
      • Music L to Z
        • Music L
        • Music M
        • Music N
        • Music O
        • Music P
        • Music Q
        • Music R
        • Music S
        • Music T
        • Music U
        • Music V
        • Music W
        • Music X
        • Music Y
        • Music Z
      • Music 0 to 9
      • Genres
      • Music on Film & TV
      • One-Hit Wonders
      • Online Radio
    • Movies
      • Movies by Decade
        • 1950s Movies
          • Movies 1950
          • Movies 1951
          • Movies 1952
          • Movies 1953
          • Movies 1954
          • Movies 1955
          • Movies 1956
          • Movies 1957
          • Movies 1958
          • Movies 1959
        • 1960s Movies
          • Movies 1960
          • Movies 1961
          • Movies 1962
          • Movies 1963
          • Movies 1964
          • Movies 1965
          • Movies 1966
          • Movies 1967
          • Movies 1968
          • Movies 1969
        • 1970s Movies
          • Movies 1970
          • Movies 1971
          • Movies 1972
          • Movies 1973
          • Movies 1974
          • Movies 1975
          • Movies 1976
          • Movies 1977
          • Movies 1978
          • Movies 1979
        • 1980s Movies
          • Movies 1980
          • Movies 1981
          • Movies 1982
          • Movies 1983
          • Movies 1984
          • Movies 1985
          • Movies 1986
          • Movies 1987
          • Movies 1988
          • Movies 1989
        • 1990s Movies
          • Movies 1990
          • Movies 1991
          • Movies 1992
          • Movies 1993
          • Movies 1994
          • Movies 1995
          • Movies 1996
          • Movies 1997
          • Movies 1998
          • Movies 1999
      • Movies A to K
        • Movies A
        • Movies B
        • Movies C
        • Movies D
        • Movies E
        • Movies F
        • Movies G
        • Movies H
        • Movies I
        • Movies J
        • Movies K
      • Movies L to Z
        • Movies L
        • Movies M
        • Movies N
        • Movies O
        • Movies P
        • Movies Q
        • Movies R
        • Movies S
        • Movies T
        • Movies U
        • Movies V
        • Movies W
        • Movies X
        • Movies Y
        • Movies Z
      • Movies 0 to 9
    • Pop Culture
      • Fads
      • Toys & Games
      • Fashion
      • Decor
      • Food & Drink
      • People
      • Radio
      • Technology
      • Transport
    • Social History
      • 1950s Year by Year
      • 1960s Year by Year
      • 1970s Year by Year
      • 1980s Year by Year
      • 1990s Year by Year
      • Events
    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Movies»Movies by Decade»1970s Movies»Movies 1971
    Movies 1971 Movies F 5 Mins Read

    French Connection, The (1971)

    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email

    The French Connection dramatised the case of real-life New York detective Eddie Egan (the Popeye Doyle character) and his partner Salvatore ‘Sonny’ Grosso (the Buddy Russo character), who not only acted as technical advisers but also appeared in small roles in the film. It also re-wrote the rule book on cops and robbers movies.

    First was the inclusion of narcotics officer “Popeye” Doyle (Gene Hackman) – a blueprint for characters who became commonplace on TV shows like NYPD Blue and Hill Street Blues.

    From his constant drinking and racial slurs to his shocking shooting in the back of an escaping felon, he managed to polarise the audience. This was after all a real human being, with all of his bad points laid out for analysis.

    Hanging out at an Eastside bar after work, ‘Popeye’ and ‘Cloudy’ notice suspiciously large sums of money being flashed by crooked playboy Sal Boca (Tony Lo Bianco), and on a long-shot decide to tail him through the icy winter night.

    At about 7 o’clock in the morning, they witness a drug drop at a corner store that soon puts them in hot pursuit of French drug boss Alain Charnier (Fernando Rey).

    With the help of French actor Henri Devereaux (Frederic De Pasquale), Charnier intends to flood the practically bone-dry New York drug market – a plan Doyle and Russo (who give the Frenchmen the labels “Frog One” and “Frog Two” while tailing them) will stop at nothing to foil.

    Nobody is willing to believe the allegations of the two cops – and with good reason. Not only does the fanatic Doyle have a reputation that precedes him among the city’s scum, but his dubious crime-fighting methods have also tarnished his name among fellow officers and his superiors.

    This, however, all proves of no consequence when the two detectives locate Devereaux’s car – an opulent Lincoln Continental which seems to be peculiarly overweight . . .

    The shoot took place over five weeks on location during the harsh New York winter of 1970 and 1971, forcing both cast and crew to battle against often sub-zero temperatures. And much of the energy that sparks the film to life is the result of brilliant improvisation.

    Hired on the basis of only two films (The Night They Raided Minsky’s and The Boys In The Band), director William Friedkin made the studio nervous, and rightly so.

    frenchconnection_833

    The maverick director soon proved to be a nightmare, prone to intense fits of rage which, while shocking at the time, were only a taste of what was to come on the set of The Exorcist (1973).

    For all his hollering and insults, though, the tension that Friedkin brought to the set paid off – the movie took Best Film and Best Director at the 1971 Academy Awards – and is splashed across the screen every time Hackman grits his teeth and hisses in the face of a perp (Hackman won the Best Actor Oscar).

    In Popeye Doyle, we feel sympathy for this awkward pig of a man – simply because his flaws are believable, much like everything else in The French Connection.

    The famous car-pursuing-train chase in which we see Doyle in a Pontiac sedan chasing French drug smuggler Pierre Nicoli (Marcel Bozzufi) in an elevated subway carriage was initially added to the screenplay simply as a way to up the commercial ante – Producer Philip D’Antoni felt that the reason Bullitt  (1968) had done so well was because of the hair-raising car chase through the streets of San Francisco and insisted there be one in this film as well.

    Friedkin obliged, deciding to violate traffic laws rather than prearrange to have the street blocked off in order to add to the naturalism and almost documentary feel of the film.

    frenchconnectionFriedkin staged the action in Brooklyn’s Bensonhurst in one continuous take with wildman stunt driver Bill Hickman driving some 26 blocks at 90 mph, narrowly missing real-life pedestrians in the name of unadulterated excitement.

    The movie ends with an almost surreal sequence. We watch as a forlorn Doyle stumbles aimlessly into the darkness until he disappears completely. A lone shot is suddenly heard, but we are left with no answers as to who plugged whom or why.

    It is an intriguingly obscure conclusion that even goes unexplained in the 1975 John Frankenheimer sequel The French Connection II, a piece that would prove to be yet another undisputed milestone in police drama.

    The French Connection was a huge hit, reaping $26.3 million in US rentals before it played out, plus $12 million in foreign sales and $2 million in television sales.

    Detective Jimmy ‘Popeye’ Doyle
    Gene Hackman
    Detective Buddy ‘Cloudy’ Russo
    Roy Scheider
    Alain Charnier
    Fernando Rey
    Sal Boca
    Tony Lo Bianco
    Pierre Nicoli
    Marcel Bozzuffi
    Henri Devereaux
    Frederic De Pasquale
    Bill Mulderig
    Bill Hickman
    Mrs Marie Charnier
    Ann Rebbot
    Joel Weinstock
    Harold Gary
    Angie Boca
    Arlene Farber
    Commander Walt Simonson
    Eddie Egan
    Bill Klein
    Sonny Grosso

    Director
    William Friedkin

    Related Posts

    • Villain (1971)
      Villain (1971)
      A bloated Richard Burton is in rare high spirits as vicious homosexual mob boss and protection racketeer Vic Dakin, whose…
    • Shinbone Alley (1971)
      Shinbone Alley (1971)
      A year before the release of the X-rated Fritz the Cat, American moviegoers were subjected to the strangeness of the…
    • Fist of Fury (The Chinese Connection) (1972)
      Fist of Fury (The Chinese Connection) (1972)
      Bruce Lee plays Chen Zhen, the former student of a revered teacher at a Hong Kong martial arts school. When…
    • Fourteen Hours (1951)
      Fourteen Hours (1951)
      The title of this 1951 drama tells you how long a distressed man (Richard Basehart) stands on a 15th-floor window…
    • Dusty and Sweets McGee (1971)
      Dusty and Sweets McGee (1971)
      "There was Red Herring, Woo-Woo, the Weird Beard and Tip, an everyday Dope Fiend who knew Nancy Wheeler when she…
    • Falcon and The Snowman, The (1985)
      Falcon and The Snowman, The (1985)
      This convoluted spy thriller stars Timothy Hutton as college dropout Christopher Boyce who obtains US secrets and - with his…
    • Taking Of Pelham One, Two, Three, The (1971)
      Taking Of Pelham One, Two, Three, The (1971)
      "You're trapped like rats in an underground tunnel. Your every exit is covered by sharpshooters. You've got a million dollars…
    • Freedom (1982)
      Freedom (1982)
      Ron (Jon Blake) is an unemployed young man in 1980s Australia, with poor prospects but rich fantasies. On a whim,…

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleFinian’s Rainbow (1968)
    Next Article First Men In The Moon (1964)

    Comments are closed.

    NC Radio Player
    Search the site
    Nostalgia Central has been a labour of love since 1998. The site carries no advertising, and I rely on donations to help with running costs and to keep the site running for your entertainment and education.

    If you find the site informative or enjoyable, please consider a donation – no matter how small.
    Thank you so much. Enjoy your trip in the time machine!
    You may also like

    • French Connection II, The (1975)
      French Connection II, The (1975)
      John Frankenheimer's sequel to The French Connection (1971) may be less believable than its predecessor, but it's still a cracking thriller.…
    • Shinbone Alley (1971)
      Shinbone Alley (1971)
      A year before the release of the X-rated Fritz the Cat, American moviegoers were subjected to the strangeness of the…
    • Fist of Fury (The Chinese Connection) (1972)
      Fist of Fury (The Chinese Connection) (1972)
      Bruce Lee plays Chen Zhen, the former student of a revered teacher at a Hong Kong martial arts school. When…
    • French Lieutenant's Woman, The (1981)
      French Lieutenant's Woman, The (1981)
      Lyme Regis, Dorset, 1867: Charles Smithson (Jeremy Irons), a Victorian gentleman recently engaged to the daughter of a wealthy businessman,…


    Nostalgia Central covers the period 1950 to 1999 and contains some words and references which reflect the attitudes of those times and which may be considered culturally sensitive, offensive or inappropriate today.
    Copyright © 1998, 2023 Nostalgia Central. Run by volunteers. Funded by donations.
    • About Nostalgia Central
    • Contact
    • FAQ

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.