Cops and Robbers

The story is a simple one, two of New York's finest decide to get rich by robbing ten million in bearer bonds, and then fencing them through the mafia. I didn't laugh once during this supposed caper comedy. I did however enjoy the film, and especially liked the supporting cast. The late Dolph Sweet and J.P. Ryan are standouts. The photography is another plus, with long engaging shots of New York City. The robbery itself is well done, but the exchange of the goods with Ryan's men in Central Park stretches believability to the limit. The ending seems quite abrupt, and while happiness reigns, it is doubtful, they could get away with it so easily. - MERK

I'm Born, raised - and still live in NYC.

Seeing this movie made me (like a lot of my fellow NYC'ers) pine for those days.

It was a great place to grow up - made you 'get with it' really fast.

I'd never heard of this film (and I know Mr. Gorman!), so, when it appeared last night on TCM, I recorded it.

What a find!

The sights and sounds bring back a lot of memories, as does even the film's stock, and the look. All pitch-perfect.

The acting's superb.

Instead of the (misguided) idea of using 'star' names, the producers and the director went for ACTORS - New York actors.

ANd that makes all the difference.

The leads, Cliff Gorman and Joseph Bologna are 2 schlubs - cops, who know they're stuck ion a treadmill.

They want SOME way to get out - to 'go sit on a beach,' and enjoy their lives.

So, through a meeting by happenstance, with a well-known Mafioso figure 'Pasquale Aniello' aka Patsy O'Neill, they think they've found a way to meet their goal.

Everyone in the cast is so New York, the director - Aram Avakian - is a born New Yorker, and it really does help give this film that true feel.

You can see it in such things like the ways the cops slouch.

The little touches - such as the annoying Muzak that plays in a couple of scenes - gives the humor (this IS a comedy) a real NYC feel. It's dry, it's got a 'been there,' jaded quality that is so typical.

I join the chorus in praising this little gem.

If it shows up - WATCH IT.

Cops and Robbers is an enjoyable, entertaining, and well-acted film. Directed by Aram Avakian, and starring Cliff Gorman and Joseph Bologna as two cops who decided to pull-off the "perfect crime".

Filmed in 1973, it's a trip down memory lane, capturing the grit and grime of New York City before it's "make-over" some twenty years later. Gorman and Bologna give their career best performances. Their interactions and conversations seem as real as can be. At no time what-so-ever, do you feel like these fine actors are acting.

The movie however is stolen by character actor John P. Ryan as mob-fence "Pastsy O'Neill". Ryan gives an academy award winning performance(he was never nominated), and you truly have sympathy for his character in the end.

A really fine work of film-making.

New York City cops Tom and Joe are in the mist of burn out. Why me syndrome eats at them in every way including getting in the wrong lane on the highway. They decide on a bold move to remove themselves from the relentless rat race by stealing and selling security bonds to the mob while remaining untraceable themselves.

Cops and Robbers is a very decent suspense comedy overachiever. Lack of star power works in its favor with Cliff Gorman and Joseph Bologna as the two rogue cops as non-descript everydays they ooze New York and are not required to perform acts of cool bravado to protect their careers. They are not master thieves, instead learning as they go along and it's this thin ice approach that gives the film it's well paced balance of humor and suspense.

Made during the Serpico era when the NYPD was swimming in corruption it's hard not to root for these dirty cops being squeezed on both sides. It may be a low rent sting but it does have the benefit of bluffing the audience deeper into the final moments than predictable outcomes reserved for superstars like Newman and Redford.

... which sounds like an odd combination of genres, but not really for the 1970s.

Joseph Bologna and Cliff Gorman star as two NYC cops who grow tired of seeing slimy characters grow rich while they can barely make ends meet for their families, so they decide to try a little heist for themselves. They don't want to pull any petty jobs..they want one great caper that will provide them new lives, but the problem is they don't really know what's involved or how to plan it, so they go (in disguise) to a mob boss who they know has skirted the law easily for years. He gives them the inside info on a Wall Street company, and the benefits of stealing bonds, which he will pay handsomely for. The day they choose? The day the Apollo 11 astronauts are given a ticker tape parade just downstairs from their target.

This is a crime/comedy..so needless to say, all does not go as planned, and their biggest worry isn't getting arrested for the actual crime, but for their problem delivering 'the goods' to the mob.

This was really a fun watch and much better than I anticipated. It is flat out a New York film and in no way is it 'Hollywood-ized'. It's true to the NYC of the early 70's..lots of corruption, chaotic arrests, the noise, the little messy shops on littered streets contrasted to the order and sterile space of the financial offices. The actors are NY too, and there is a natural feel to every performance from accents to body language. It's like a darkly funny crime caper set in a time capsule, and wonderfully watchable - not your usual cop movie.