ActionCrimeThriller

The French Connection

- Doyle is bad news—but a good cop.

Tough narcotics detective 'Popeye' Doyle is in hot pursuit of a suave French drug dealer who may be the key to a huge heroin-smuggling operation.

Release Date : 1971-10-09

Language :EnglishFrench

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : D'Antoni ProductionsSchine-Moore Productions20th Century Fox

Production Country : United States of America

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : Jimmy Doyle

Original Name : Gene Hackman

Gender : Male

Character Name : Buddy Russo

Original Name : Roy Scheider

Gender : Male

Character Name : Alain Charnier

Original Name : Fernando Rey

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sal Boca

Original Name : Tony Lo Bianco

Gender : Male

Character Name : Pierre Nicoli

Original Name : Marcel Bozzuffi

Gender : Male

Character Name : Devereaux

Original Name : Frédéric de Pasquale

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mulderig

Original Name : Bill Hickman

Gender : Male

Character Name : Marie Charnier

Original Name : Ann Rebbot

Gender : Male

Character Name : Weinstock

Original Name : Harold Gary

Gender : Male

Character Name : Angie Boca

Original Name : Arlene Farber

Gender : Female

Character Name : Simonson

Original Name : Eddie Egan

Gender : Male

Character Name : La Valle

Original Name : André Ernotte

Gender : Male

Character Name : Klein

Original Name : Sonny Grosso

Gender : Male

Character Name : Lou Boca

Original Name : Benny Marino

Gender : Male

Character Name : Chemist

Original Name : Patrick McDermott

Gender : Male

Character Name : Pusher

Original Name : Alan Weeks

Gender : Male

Character Name : Informant

Original Name : Al Fann

Gender : Male

Character Name : Police Mechanic

Original Name : Irving Abrahams

Gender : Male

Character Name : Police Sergeant

Original Name : Randy Jurgensen

Gender : Male

Character Name : Motorman

Original Name : William Coke

Gender : Male

Character Name : "Baldy" (uncredited)

Original Name : Charles McGregor

Gender : Male

Reviews

CinemaSerf

@Geronimo1967

2024-09-01

Though he's not top-billed here, I found it's Fernando Rey who delivers best in this brutal and authentic-looking story of trans-Atlantic drug smuggling. Popeye (Gene Hackman) and his pal Russo (Roy Scheider) are detectives in New York determined to bring down a network of cocaine importers who are bringing the lucrative white powder in from Marseille. They suspect that it's Charnier (Rey) who is masterminding the whole enterprise, but they can't pin anything down on him. He hides in plain sight, clad in cashmere with a distinctive hat and dining in fine establishments - but always beyond their grasp. He almost teases the increasingly frustrated policemen who stray ever closer to the line as they try to apprehend him. Will either of them ever crack? Hackman is on great form as the exasperated cop and the drip-roast effect of the plot development from director William Friedkin makes that even more potent, especially when coupled with the flagrant nonchalance of his quarry, with a powerful score from Don Ellis and one of the best city car chases you'll ever see on a big screen. Scheider does enough, and there are also quite a few effective supporting contributions from the likes of Ann Rebbot as Mme. Charnier and from the odious henchman "Nicoli" (Marcel Bozzuffi). Gradually we are exposed to the ruthlessness of both sides as the stakes become higher, life becomes cheap, and the denouement again offers us a degree of palpable realism as no simple or convenient solutions are provided. It's a quickly paced and gritty representation of life amidst a culture of addiction, dependency and quite a fair degree of innovation that's still as strong today as it was in 1971.