Busting

Dir: Peter Hyams

1974

*****

It’s bizarre to think that Peter Hyams serious yet comedic buddy cop thriller would be the inspiration for television classic Starsky & Hutch as it really isn’t anything like it. The hugely underrated Freebie and the Bean starring Alan Arkin and James Caan famously stepped aside and prolonged its release once the producers got wind that there was another buddy cop film on the roster but again, the two films aren’t really alike at all. Freebie and the Bean was the first comedy action film that featured buddy cops in the way we still see today, but Busting was slightly different. It features two buddies – who are both partnered detectives – but it’s not quite the madcap or over the top film as most films that it influenced. There is an essence of M*A*S*H, not only because it stars the charismatic Elliott Gould, but because there was an irreverence about it that most cop films just didn’t have. Our two main characters do seem funny in their irreverent, contemptuous and disrespectful personas but as the story progresses, we see that the corrupt system that they work under is worth nothing more than contempt and scorn, they are the good guys, even though they come across as arrogant and couldn’t care less. The chemistry between Elliott Gould and Robert Blake is fantastic, one of the most overlooked partnerships in film. Their portrayal of two vice squad detectives shows just how ridiculous their jobs really were at the time and how they weren’t ever really allowed to exercise or execute their powers anyway. When trying to take down seedy nightclub owners, pimps and drug-dealers, there would always be a High Court Judge or Police Commissioner involved who would sweep everything under the carpet in case their wives would find out. So when Keneely (Gould) and Farrell (Blake) go after LA’s kingpin Carl Rizzo against orders, they soon find themselves in an impossible situation and out on a limb with no back up. The comedy element comes from the chemistry between Keneely and Farrell – Gould and Blake. Before this most cop films would have partners at odds with each other or lone-wolves. Gould and Blake’s repertoire convinces the audience that they are old friends who are completely in tune with one another. An upbeat, ‘comedy’ scene with be followed by a serious shoot-out, the stunts aren’t huge but they always have a realistic consequence – bystanders get shot, speeding cars crash and when someone is shot, they die in an unpleasant manner. It was fresh because for the first time on film it was real. Director Peter Hyams made a TV movie that did well and found himself inundated with offers – Busted being the feature he favoured the most. He later said of the research "like a journalist, I went around to New York, Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles and spoke with hookers, pimps, strippers and cops and DAs. Every episode in the film was true.” It is clear that Serpico, which came out the previous year, was a huge influence on the feel of the film, the overall message and the different way that cop films looked at the system. It’s funny to think that Keneely and Farrell were originally going to be played by Peter Boyle and Ron Leibman. As much as I like both actors, I can’t help but think their casting would be against what the film really sets out to achieve. Boyle made Crazy Joe instead (the fictionalised story of mobster Joseph Gallo) and Leibman went on to make The Super Cops (a true story about two cops influenced by Batman and Robin – written by Lorenzo Semple Jr who also wrote for the Batman television series). Funnily enough, both those film were also said to influence Starsky & Hutch – again, I don’t see it personally. The film didn’t do very well at all and is only really loved by the few people who have seen its limited release since. Apart from the fact it stars the brilliant Elliott Gould and Robert Blake, it also features cult favorite Sid Haig and a spectacular ambulance chase. It’s hugely influential, and along with the brilliant Freebie and the Bean, began a genre that is still enjoyed today – although few have bettered them. An overlooked gem of a film.