What this film exposes about undercover vice cops can't be seen on your television set.

...only at a movie theatre!


Peter Hyams made his feature-film directing debut with this clumsily paced crime film concerning two Los Angeles vice-squad detectives. Michael Keneely (Eliott Gould) is the swaggering non-conformist and Patrick Farrel (Robert Blake) is the cocky follower. The two cops live for their work and spend most of their time busting call girls, massage parlor employees, and homosexuals. Keneely and Farrel eventually come to the conclusion that every criminal act in Los Angeles is due to the efforts of crime lord Carl Rizzo (Allen Garfield). The boys begin to harass Rizzo to the point of distraction, but their singular attempts to arrest Rizzo cause them to become the targets of, not only the criminal population, but the police force as well.

The film is episodic, depicting the two vice-squad detectives teaming on several different cases, with varying degrees of success. The focus changes to them trying to bust one man, an LA crime kingpin named Carl Rizzo (Allen Garfield), whom they believe to be responsible for much of the criminal activity they have been investigating.

The film is extremely cynical, strongly implying that crime does pay ... and that the biggest criminals in society are corrupt politicians and businessmen who will never be punished for their crimes. The film ends with an unusual soundtrack flashforward. While we see Gould attempting to arrest a powerful figure who will ultimately walk free, we also hear something which hasn't happened yet: Gould's character quitting the police force and applying for a civilian job.

Busting is similar to the movie Freebie and the Bean, although the latter was more comedic and was actually delayed in release so the two films would not directly compete. Busting did not do as well at the box office as Freebie and the Bean, arguably due to its more cynical style and tone.

Vice detectives Michael Keneely, bad cop (Elliott Gould), and Patrick Farrel, good cop (Robert Blake), want to nail crime kingpin Carl Rizzo (Allen Garfield), but the suits upstairs want the streets cleared of petty criminals and homosexuals. Yeah, homosexual activity is a crime in this movie; it's 1974. This explains Gould's gigantor moustache, the snappy plainclothes-cop duds, and the presence of Antonio Fargas (soon to be "Huggy Bear" in television's acclaimed Starsky & Hutch) in this unremarkable but still interesting (in a time-tunnel/not-That '70s Show kinda way) attempted-noir gritty cop-dramedy set in everybody's favorite City of Angels. Fresh off his starring chopper-copper role in Electra Glide in Blue, Blake moved right into television after this one. You'll see why.

Michael Keneely and Patrick Farrel are partners on the L.A. vice-squad. Most of their work involves busting call girls, employees in massage parlors, and homosexuals. After working this detail for some time, they come to the conclusion that crime boss Carl Rizzo is responsible for most of the crime in Los Angeles, and begin to harass him mercilessly. Unfortunately, this makes them not only the targets of the entire criminal population in the city, but of the police department, too.

Release Date: February 22, 1974


Distrib: United Artists