The Super Cops

The Super Cops (1974)

Runtime: 90 minutes

Directed by: Gordon Parks

Starring: Ron Leibman, David Selby, Sheila Frazier, Pat Hingle

From: MGM

Here is a pretty obscure movie that I’ve heard about at various places for years now and it sounded interesting to me but I was never able to find it, as it has only gotten a pair of REALLY low-quality DVD releases in its history and it was even hard to find on DVD. One rumor for it being so hard to find is that the title characters are referred to a few times as Batman & Robin and well, that’s a copyrighted term and if you don’t know, the 60’s Batman show will probably never be officially released for reasons unclear (but speculated to be one of a few things) and for all anyone knows, similar things could be involved here. Or maybe it’s something else. I mean, I have no idea why MGM doesn’t have the rights to it anymore, for example.

Anyhow… this movie is based on a true story-that was a book before the movie-of a pair of detectives in New York City (David Greenberg and Robert Hantz) who rose through the ranks while being honest the entire time and dealing with a corrupt police department by doing things their way, no matter what. I don’t know if they ever ran into and dealt with Frank Serpico, who also fought against police corruption in the same city and at the same time, but at least that movie can easily be seen (and should be seen, too). While that is a straight-up drama, this is more a breezy drama with comedy throughout (along with some action).

The movie opens with real-life footage of Greenberg and Hantz and a police captain, after they got promoted for all the work they had done in combating against drugs. Then, the movie starts and you see how they began as they graduated from the academy and then start off working traffic, but they’re ambitious so they try to make their own drug busts, and they succeed, but that ruffles feathers and the normal corrupt order there, so they get in trouble and get sent to the dirt-worst precinct in the entire city. From there, you see them clash against the established guys in the precinct while they do eccentric things (such as Leibman getting to know a “lady of the night” (Frazier)) to fight against the drug scene, including taking down the main guys running that scene in the neighborhood.

The most noteworthy thing to state is that Life photographer turned director Parks (of Shaft fame) made this a very fast-paced film; no scenes are wasted and it goes by like a flash. Leibman (looking like Freddie Mercury!) and Selby do a great job with their roles, with Ron playing it crazy/manic and David being more subdued. The rest of the cast do fine in their roles too.

So, if you’re able to track it down (by ethical means or unethical means) and enjoy buddy cop films, you might enjoy this. While it’s not what you would call a great movie or anything and it’s not as good as the best buddy cop movies (Lethal Weapon, 48 Hrs., etc.; but, I’m sure it’s better than the new Cop Out), it doesn’t deserve to be forgotten to the abyss of movie history because of unknown reasons and MGM not even bothering to keep the rights to it.

By the way, it has to be said that the fate of Greenberg and Hantz after the movie was not so good. Was it a setup? I have no idea, but it’s a shame nonetheless.