THE SEVEN-UPS
Directed by Philip D'Antoni
Written by Albert Ruben and Alexander Jacobs
Starring Roy Scheider and Tony Lo Bianco
Released in 1973
Directed by Philip D'Antoni
Written by Albert Ruben and Alexander Jacobs
Starring Roy Scheider and Tony Lo Bianco
Released in 1973
Even in 1973 it was a challenge to make a cop film that was somehow different from the hundreds of other such films being released, seemingly, every other day. You had your Buford Pusser Redneck Against Corruption flick, your Billy Jack Indian Chief on the Rez flick, your Anti-Counterculture Dirty Harry flick, your Only Thing Worse Than A Cop is Everybody Else Onion Fields flick, your Racist Cops Mofo Blaxploitation flick, your Racist Cops Against Drug Dealers Connection flick, your What We Really Need is Less Cops and More Social Workers flicks, and all the others that were really just more of the same. The genre appeared to be played out.
Then director Philip D'Antoni came along and said, "We could always make a cop film about an elite squad in New York where the head elite cop grew up and stayed friends with some dago who wears nice suits and is kind of mobbed up. The cop, well, he'd be like Roy Scheider, you know, Italian without looking like it, and he could have some guys work with him in his squad who won't steal scenes, you know. Then his friend, some really major wop like Tony Lo Biano, who can actually act from what I hear, his friend could be like, you know, a hood. A well-dressed hood, am I right? The Vito, he'll be suave as all get-out and he'll be shaking down his own people 'cause you know how they are. He'll use that small talk he gets from Scheider to shake down the other hoods in some way that has something to do with a car."
"A car? What's you mean?"
"We gotta have a car chase, man. It's a cop movie, dig? So, I know! We'll bring in a car wash!"
"You gots to be putting on my ass."
"No, no, it'll play, it'll play. Like, the Vito Dago, he'll have these ugly guys working with him. They'll be in the drive-through car wash waiting to pop the trunk and steal the ransom."
"Shit, man! What ransom?"
"The ransom. Dude, there's always a ransom. Listen to me. Scheider, he and his boys will be hated by the regular beat cops 'cause he dresses nice just like his Vito Dago pal. The other cops'll figure him for a skell, but he ain't. He bends the rules, he don't break 'em."
"Until--"
"Correct! Until his friend gets offed. Then we have the car chase. And brother this chase will be the best one ever. We'll make it like ten minutes long."
"Jeezoy!"
"Don't you 'Jeezoy" me, cat. That was one hell of an expensive scene. Cost more'n the rest of the picture minus salaries, clown."
"Was pretty good, huh?"
"Yeah, cat. It was good. So anyway, what happens is that the guy back in the garage, the guy they arrested for opening the garage door, I guess that's a crime, he'll never talk, so they'll free his ass and follow him to the hideout, which is cool 'cause Vito Dago will be waiting there, or more likely his boys'll be there, them two ugly bastards, and Scheider will blow their heads off and then he'll know it was Vito who tipped them off, so what we'll have is a good old fashioned buddy cop movie that goes different because in this movie the cop only turns bad to take revenge on his friend the criminal. Slick, right?"
"Slicker 'an ole Miss Slick and she died slick. Who's the target aud?"
"Oh, there's your standard JD crowd, for one. There's also your standard Archie who likes law and order no matter how it comes. You got your stock car crowd who'll watch anything with a Pontiac in it--and boy this one'll have more Pontiacs than Nixon got thieves."
"What about broads?"
"Man, you a dumb sumbitch. First, we don't calls 'em broads no more, right? Second, there ain't no chicks in this here movie, not one, Jack. So fogetabowtit."
"Cool. Just one question."
"Hits me."
"Why you talk like that?"
"Dunno. It's in the script."
Then director Philip D'Antoni came along and said, "We could always make a cop film about an elite squad in New York where the head elite cop grew up and stayed friends with some dago who wears nice suits and is kind of mobbed up. The cop, well, he'd be like Roy Scheider, you know, Italian without looking like it, and he could have some guys work with him in his squad who won't steal scenes, you know. Then his friend, some really major wop like Tony Lo Biano, who can actually act from what I hear, his friend could be like, you know, a hood. A well-dressed hood, am I right? The Vito, he'll be suave as all get-out and he'll be shaking down his own people 'cause you know how they are. He'll use that small talk he gets from Scheider to shake down the other hoods in some way that has something to do with a car."
"A car? What's you mean?"
"We gotta have a car chase, man. It's a cop movie, dig? So, I know! We'll bring in a car wash!"
"You gots to be putting on my ass."
"No, no, it'll play, it'll play. Like, the Vito Dago, he'll have these ugly guys working with him. They'll be in the drive-through car wash waiting to pop the trunk and steal the ransom."
"Shit, man! What ransom?"
"The ransom. Dude, there's always a ransom. Listen to me. Scheider, he and his boys will be hated by the regular beat cops 'cause he dresses nice just like his Vito Dago pal. The other cops'll figure him for a skell, but he ain't. He bends the rules, he don't break 'em."
"Until--"
"Correct! Until his friend gets offed. Then we have the car chase. And brother this chase will be the best one ever. We'll make it like ten minutes long."
"Jeezoy!"
"Don't you 'Jeezoy" me, cat. That was one hell of an expensive scene. Cost more'n the rest of the picture minus salaries, clown."
"Was pretty good, huh?"
"Yeah, cat. It was good. So anyway, what happens is that the guy back in the garage, the guy they arrested for opening the garage door, I guess that's a crime, he'll never talk, so they'll free his ass and follow him to the hideout, which is cool 'cause Vito Dago will be waiting there, or more likely his boys'll be there, them two ugly bastards, and Scheider will blow their heads off and then he'll know it was Vito who tipped them off, so what we'll have is a good old fashioned buddy cop movie that goes different because in this movie the cop only turns bad to take revenge on his friend the criminal. Slick, right?"
"Slicker 'an ole Miss Slick and she died slick. Who's the target aud?"
"Oh, there's your standard JD crowd, for one. There's also your standard Archie who likes law and order no matter how it comes. You got your stock car crowd who'll watch anything with a Pontiac in it--and boy this one'll have more Pontiacs than Nixon got thieves."
"What about broads?"
"Man, you a dumb sumbitch. First, we don't calls 'em broads no more, right? Second, there ain't no chicks in this here movie, not one, Jack. So fogetabowtit."
"Cool. Just one question."
"Hits me."
"Why you talk like that?"
"Dunno. It's in the script."
