Here Come The

Burt Reynolds + Raquel Welch = Dynamite

Fuzz treads the line between raucous comedy and gut-churning melodrama. Based on an "87th Precinct" novel by Ed McBain (aka Evan Hunter), the film stars Burt Reynolds and Jack Weston as, respectively, detectives Steve Carella and Meyer Meyer. Their current assignment is to bring in Deaf Man (Yul Brynner), a mad bomber who has been targeting politicians. A subplot concerning a couple of punks who get their kicks by setting fire to sleeping winos is dramatically justified by the main storyline, but it was this element that caused a lot of trouble for the producers of Fuzz when a pair of real-life teenagers decided to imitate the film. On a lighter note, Raquel Welch co-stars as Detective Eileen McHenry, who is obliged to go undercover -- and under covers -- with fellow officer Bert Kling (Tom Skerritt). And as a bonus, viewers are treated to Burt Reynolds' first "drag" scene.


Fuzz is a 1972 American action comedy film directed by Richard A. Colla and starring Burt Reynolds, Yul Brynner, Raquel Welch, Tom Skeritt, and Jack Weston.
The screenplay was written by Evan Hunter, based on the 1968 novel of the same name that was part of the "87th Precinct" series he wrote under the name Ed McBain. Dave Grusin composed the film's soundtrack score.
Unlike the series 87th Precinct, which is set in a fictional metropolis based in New York City, Fuzz is set and was shot on location in Boston, Massachusetts.


In Boston, on October 2, 1973, 24-year-old Evelyn Wagler, after running out of fuel, was walking back to her car with a two-gallon can of gasoline. Six teenagers dragged her into an alley and forced her to pour gasoline on herself. She complied, and was then set on fire by the teenagers. The teenagers walked away laughing. Wagler was white, and the youths were black, and this murder occurred during a racially tense period in Boston history. After the incident, the press reported that Fuzz had aired the previous weekend, and the perpetrators may have re-enacted the fictional arson attack portrayed in the movie. The case was never solved.[1]
In Miami, on October 20, 1973, 38-year old Charles Scales, a homeless person sleeping outdoors behind an abandoned building, was approached by a group of teenagers, doused with gasoline, and set on fire. Two other homeless people were also attacked in the same incident, but fortunately escaped. A homeless person that survived stated the teenagers “Were laughing and throwing gas and striking matches” at them.[2] The film Fuzz was mentioned in the news reports about the killing, as the attack completely mimicked the movie’s plot. Both the perpetrators and victims were black, ruling out the motivation for the murder may have been racial in nature.
The incidents led to a careful review by network Standards and Practices and a general public feeling that violence on television was inspiring violence in real life. Networks had to curb their violence throughout the decade as a result, and Fuzz got pulled temporarily from TV movie blocks until it returned in its uncut version to cable years later.


Release Date: July 12, 1972


Distrib: United Artists