The French Connection (1971)
Cloudy with a chance of Popeye
Bonjour! Are you bummed the Olympics are over and hoping to recapture the magic? This… won’t do that, but hey: allow yourself to take a break from talking in a French accent and sharing memes about world-class athletes being silly and cozy up to the 1971 crime thriller The French Connection. Did you see the beautiful coastal city of Marseilles featured in Olympic soccer games and think to yourself “Wow, I wish there was a movie where I could go there for the first ten minutes but then spend the rest of the time in a polar opposite city like Brooklyn?” Well boy howdy: do we have the movie for you!
Previews
What, if anything, did we know about this coming attraction before we watched it?
Ellen: Before the Post-Credits Scene in our last post, I thought this was a romance, so I’m coming in fresh!
Tyler: More like The Fresh Connection amirite? I’ve heard it referred to in passing on Unspooled since they covered it in their first season (Episode #5) while covering the AFI’s Top 100 List, but I know next to nothing about it. I think there’s a crime involved?
Plots & Feelings
This one’s pretty self-explanatory.
Short Version (courtesy of IMDb): A pair of NYPD detectives in the Narcotics Bureau stumble onto a heroin smuggling ring based in Marseilles, but stopping them and capturing their leaders proves an elusive goal.
Long Version (modified from Wikipedia and formatted to fit your screen):
The dissonant, unsettling tones of the intro music shepherd the audience into Marseilles, France where hitman Pierre Nicoli is standing on a street corner eating the thickest slice of pizza found outside Detroit. He pauses only long enough to murder the policeman who was following his boss in a heroin-smuggling syndicate: Alain Charnier. The kingpin has big plans to bring $32 million1 worth of heroin into the US by hiding it in the car of local actor and unsuspecting himbo Henri Deveraux.
Meanwhile in Brooklyn, detective Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle and Buddy “Cloudy” Russo are on the vice squad, resorting to elaborate schemes to catch small-time drug offenders because the big fish have been quiet. The boys suspect something big must be coming, so when they go out for after-work drinks at the Copacabana2, a table that just reeks of drug dealers catches their eye. Sal Boca and his wife Angie are entertaining known mobsters, and so our desperate detectives follow them all night, quite literally looking for trouble.
Tyler: One such elaborate scheme involved Popeye dressing up as Santa Claus outside a bar and subsequently chasing after a suspect in his getup, which was quite the visual. After catching him, he went on to scream at the guy asking if he’s been “picking his feet in Poughkeepsie,” something I only learned later (from the aforementioned Unspooled episode) was an example of an actual police tactic: after reading a suspect their Miranda rights, the idea was a form of good-cop/bad-cop routine where one officer would ask a random/unanswerable question before their partner would follow up with something more specific in hopes of the suspect incriminating themselves. Not that I necessarily need things spoon-fed to me (unless we’re watching Tenet), but this example of hyper-realism didn’t make a lick of sense to me while watching.
Popeye and Cloudy manage to make all kinds of tenuous underworld connections to the Bocas, including ties to lawyer Joel Weinstock, whom the cops have been trying to establish as an underworld figure for years. They know a shipment is coming soon, and they manage to convince their superiors to set up a wiretap on the Boca’s phones. The catch is that they’re joined by federal agents Mulderig and Klein. We get a montage of some classic wiretap shenanigans, with the cops listening to various non-pertinent conversations.
Tyler: We should also mention that at one point there’s an actually-pertinent conversation in which the people on the phone are just wildly specific about where and when to meet. I don’t know if this was before wiretapping technology was widely-known, or was supposed to show how confident the drug dealers were, but all I could think about was how the cops from The Wire would’ve killed for something that straightforward.
Meanwhile, Henri’s car and the rest of the Frenchmen have arrived! Boca is ready to make the heroin purchase ASAP, but Weinstock urges patience, knowing they’re being watched. Popeye at one point tails Charnier through the streets and to the subway, where an oh-so-casual cat and mouse game leads to Charnier getting away. He’s so intent on escaping, in fact, that he buys a flight to Washington D.C. just to meet with Boca! The American wants to delay the deal to avoid the police, but Charnier is trying to get this done quickly. On the flight back, Pierre offers to just eliminate Popeye, arguing that even if he’s replaced, they’ll be back in France before that happens. The boss is not into it, but Pierre goes ahead and sets up a sniper rifle on Popeye’s roof anyway! He kills an innocent bystander while trying to shoot Popeye and flees. The detective pursues on foot and then via a commandeered car, resulting in terrifying driving POV shots. Popeye eventually shoots Pierre in the back (which would be considered murder today), giving us our movie poster.
Ellen: The subway scene is excellent, where both cop and crook are fully aware of one another but unwilling to give up the game, and so they keep switching back and forth until Charnier finally gets the upper hand.
Tyler: The whole car chase scene is also really well done, with Popeye driving like an absolute lunatic underneath the elevated train tracks to try and keep up with the sniper. The franticness of the driving (and accompanying camera work) plus the car-versus-train dynamic feels somehow… fresh? Or maybe I’ve just seen too many (read: all) Fast & Furious movies.
The higher-ups are not pleased with the lack of progress, and one of them levels a dig at Popeye: “Last time you were dead certain, we ended up with a dead cop.” They manage to determine a connection to Henri’s car, however, and stake it out all night. Once impounded in the police garage, Popeye, Cloudy, and the mechanic take it apart piece by piece. They seem to come up empty, and Cloudy goes back to basics, looking at the car’s stats. Turns out: it’s 120 lbs heavier than when it left France! They remove the rocker panels and discover bags upon bags of heroin. Henri, meanwhile, has arrived at the garage and is furiously demanding his property back. Since they ripped the original to shreds, the cops substitute a look-alike car and send Henri on his way. The actor delivers it to Charnier and rage-quits the whole operation3.
Charnier drives to an old factory where an international array of goons await to make the deal. The heroin is transferred, and fat stacks of cash take up the same hiding place in a different car. They all take a moment to congratulate each other before Charnier and Boca drive off, only to hit a large police blockade! They throw that shit in reverse back to the factory. The cops follow, and a shootout ensues! Boca dies pretty quickly, and most of the other men surrender. Popeye, Cloudy, and Mulderig give chase. Cloudy is methodically checking each room and taking cover, whereas Popeye just barrels through. This method proves problematic, because he sees a figure, fires his gun, and kills Mulderig! Undaunted, he pursues Charnier into a room offscreen, and we hear a single shot.
Title cards describe the fates of various characters: Weinstock was indicted, but his case was dismissed for "lack of proper evidence"; Angie Boca received a suspended sentence for an unspecified misdemeanor; Lou Boca (Sal's brother, an accessory to the handoff) received a reduced sentence; Devereaux served four years in a federal penitentiary for conspiracy; and Charnier was never caught. Popeye and Cloudy were transferred out of the narcotics division and reassigned.
Tyler: The ending and title cards are just absolute gut punches.
Ellen: I didn’t realize these were real people until then, and I really just wanted it to end on the ambiguous gunshot.
Intermission
Even though ILTBTA is free, please indulge us further and enjoy this quick “advertisement.”
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Wiki-Wiki-Whaaat?
Love a good Wikipedia rabbit hole in search of some fun facts? Us too.
The French Connection’s Wikipedia page has some interesting facts and anecdotes that we recommend you read through, but here are a few of our favorites:
The French Connection is (loosely) based on a 1969 nonfiction book of the same name by author Robin Moore about a real-life heroin smuggling scheme. Fun fact that should surprise no one: the Corisican gang that initially led the entire operation was protected by the CIA and French intelligence services in exchange for working to prevent French communists from controlling the Port of Marseilles.
Tyler: Another banner victory against communism.
Moore first gained acclaim from his 1965 book The Green Berets, which followed an Army Special Forces group on a deployment to South Vietnam. Using a connection to Harvard classmate Robert Kennedy (Senior, not Brain-Wormed Junior), Moore was first allowed access to the Special Forces, then went through their training (at the behest of an Army general) to better understand them. He was the first civilian ever to participate in the intense training program.
In addition to serving as a technical advisor on the film, Detective Eddie Egan (the real-life Popeye) played the role of movie-Popeye’s supervisor Simonson. Egan’s exploits were further portrayed in the 1973 film Badge 373 (with Robert Duvall portraying Egan) and the 1986 TV movie Popeye Doyle (starring Ed O’Neill).
A litany of actors were considered for the role of Popeye before director William Friedkin (whom we first met in our post on The Exorcist) eventually agreed with the studio’s original choice of Gene Hackman. Paul Newman, Jackie Gleason, Peter Boyle, Jimmy Breslin (a New York journalist with zero acting experience), Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Lee Marvin, James Caan, Robert Meachum, and Rod Taylor were all considered and/or turned down the role.
Tyler: What in the world is the logic behind casting a journalist with no acting experience as a police detective?
The character of Cloudy was based on Egan’s partner Sonny Grosso, with his nickname acting as a joke on his name and a reflection of his pessimistic attitude. Grosso went on to serve as a technical advisor for The Godfather and became a TV and movie producer, heavily influencing the role of the technical advisor in police procedurals.
Ellen: I did assume that his “cloudy” demeanor was due to being assigned to a loud jerk who was constantly dragging him all over town.
Fernando Rey, the Spanish actor who portrayed the French drug-dealer Alain Charnier, was cast essentially by accident. After being impressed by a Spanish actor in a small role in a French film, director William Friedkin asked his casting director to find the actor. The casting director instead accidentally found Rey, who had been in several other movies by that same director. Rey apparently killed the audition, and by the time the intended actor was located, they discovered that he spoke neither French nor English, so Rey kept the role of Charnier.
A pretty well-regarded sequel, French Connection II, was released in 1975, with Gene Hackman and Fernando Rey returning as Popeye and Charnier, respectively. The film is a fictional tale, set four years after the first movie, that follows Doyle as he continues his chase for Charnier in Marseilles.
Al Copeland, founder of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, claims that he named his restaurant after Popeye Doyle. He also facetiously said that his chain doesn’t have an apostrophe in it because he was “too poor” to afford one.
In lieu of making this section even longer, if you want more fun facts about The French Connection (such as that the director had to bribe the MTA to film on the train), the twice-aforementioned Unspooled episode has a ton more interesting facts and tidbits about the film.
Oscar NomNomNomz
Since we all know a movie is nothing without the food and drink it incorporates.
It’s now time to award the Oscar for Best Snacktor in a Supporting Role5. And the nomnomnominees are:
A thick-crust slice of pizza in Marseilles
A squirt of ketchup (in homage to the various blood stains)
Just one (or maybe several) drinks at The Copacabana
A horrible cup of bodega coffee you spill out immediately whilst on a stakeout
And the Oscar goes to … the squirt of ketchup! Unfortunately, we have dipped some french fries in the ketchup, so we will accept this award on its behalf.
Fill In The Blank
How did we really feel about The Academy nominating this?
Ellen: I’d like to tear apart The Academy’s car, but then replace it with a look-alike. The things I enjoyed about the movie were in spite of itself: it was an interesting story, but it did very little to bring the audience along; it built incredible tension, but did so in part with relentless shouting, honking, and a crazy musical score; it painted a portrait of a stop-at-nothing cop trying to get the job done, but provided no balances to his racist and somewhat unhinged tactics. My favorite parts were nearly silent, such as the subway scene and some visual gags as the police tailed the criminals, and I’d happily just watch that insane car chase on mute. While in the end I come down on the side of being glad to have seen it, I don’t think I’m missing anything in the universe where I haven’t.
Tyler: I’d like to wait patiently as The Academy tears apart a car to prove this is a great film, while simultaneously not being sure but also sensing that it’s right. Given the high praise The French Connection received from The Academy (five Oscars, including Best Picture, on eight nominations) and the AFI (a top 100 film of all-time), I think I was expecting to be a little more immediately wowed by this than I ultimately was. That being said, upon further reflection (and, you know, being forced to write this section) I came to appreciate the gritty realism of it that seems to exemplify much of the celebrated movies from the 70s that we’re watching. (Thankfully this is set in the winter so there’s no sweatiness to the realism a la Dog Day Afternoon). And while that realism cuts both ways (car chase: good! Confusing and often hella racist cops: bad!), it was still an entertaining thrill that literally kept me guessing until the very end that you get the impression influenced lots of movies that came after it.
Let The Credits Roll
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Post-Credits Scene
Get a sneak peek at the next ILTBTA installment.
Are you ready for some footballlllllll?!?! To celebrate the upcoming kickoff of the 2024 NFL season (which begins September 5th), our next post will focus on the 1978 sports fantasy comedy-drama Heaven Can Wait (not to be confused with the Heaven Can Wait we’ve already covered). Starring and co-directed by Warren Beatty, Heaven Can Wait follows an NFL quarterback who accidentally gets taken to heaven by an overeager guardian angel. It can be watched for free with an Amazon Prime Video subscription or rented everywhere else.
Until then, enjoy some New York Connections!
That’s over $236 million in today’s international schemes!
Sounds like my ex-wife!
Spelling deliberate for legal purposes, stop asking questions, narc
Results tabulated and certified by the accountants at Ernst & Yum™.
I remember watching this movie just a few years ago as ‘something I should watch’. I also remember not caring much for it. I found myself just slogging through until it got to the car chase - because I heard it was not to be missed! Oh well.
I’m excited for Heaven Can Wait and praying it has aged well.