The Laughing Policeman opens in a bus station in San Francisco where a bus has just departed carrying a variety of ordinary looking people into the night. When a man gets on and takes a seat near the back, one of the passengers begins to think something is up. He’s absolutely correct, as we see shots of the mysterious figure silently assembling a gun before opening fire, killing everyone on board. It’s an opening which goes from instantly ominous to excruciatingly suspenseful and all takes place before the opening credits ever even appear.
The hero, or anti-hero, of the film is Jake Martin (Walter Matthau), a tough San Francisco detective who is assigned the case and develops a personal interest when it’s discovered that one of the victims is his partner. Forcibly teamed up with a younger, more flippant detective named Larsen (Bruce Dern), Jake trolls the various shady sides of the city to uncover who was behind the killings and how much his late partner was involved.
The Laughing Detective is a true cinematic lesson in gritty realism that every lover of cop movies should see. At times the film feels like a documentary with all its starkness (which extends far beyond the violent moments) front and center. One gets the sense that this is how police procedurals truly operate. The cleaning up of the main crime scene, in which evidence is collected, photos are taken, and bodies are tagged, all feels so real. Best of all is the straight no-nonsense attitude on behalf of the police, which is more harsh than most films would lead you to believe, shockingly illustrated by Jake slapping answers out of his late partner’s girlfriend. The film’s dialogue echoes this as well, whether it be through sarcastic banter such as when Larsen asks the silent and stand offish Jake, “You ever think of getting your own talk show,” or when Jake’s boss wants to point the finger at a man Jake knows is innocent. “He’ll do for the time being,” the Chief says.
What else makes The Laughing Policeman feel as real as it does is an incredibly strong sense of place. There is an intense energy pulsating throughout the film thanks to the filmmakers’ decision to shoot in actual San Francisco city settings. The beloved bay area has never come off as harrowing as it does here, and The Laughing Policeman does a stellar job of showing the real grit of the city, including pimps, prostitutes, and porno theaters, none of which feel “Hollywood-ized” in the least. While the original novel on which the film is based was set in Sweden, it’s more than a little interesting how the story feels like its truly about 1970s San Francisco in all its seediness.
Matthau was always able to inject his one-of-a-kind humor to even his most serious roles, but here there isn’t a hint of it to be found in this performance. The legendary actor plays it straight all the way through to the point where it’s almost unnerving to watch him because you never know when he’s going to snap. When he does lash out, he does so in the calmest of ways. Dern has so much fun with his role trying to prove himself a worthy, tough cop as Matthau’s new partner and giving one of his best turns on screen as a result. Meanwhile supporting players such as Lou Gossett Jr. as a fellow detective and Joanna Cassidy as a nurse help make The Laughing Policeman even more worthwhile.
The Laughing Detective’s greatest asset remains Stuart Rosenberg, the director at the helm who brings his more than a skilled hand to the film in every way possible, such as in the music, which is used sparsely but wisely here. The film is not on the same level as some of the director’s other well-known offerings such as The Amityville Horror and Cool Hand Luke. But it contains an unflappable energy throughout, like the scene where Matthau and Dern engage in a shouting match in a parking garage which eventually serves as the two questioning each other as partners and their abilities as cops. It’s a powerful moment where both men are trying to prove themselves to the other in some way. Even if The Laughing Detective wasn’t Rosenberg’s best, it has enough moments and overall flourishes such as that one which reinforce what a strong director he was.
The Package
Kino Lorber has assembled the likes of film historians Lou Pfeiffer, Eddy Friedfeld, and Paul Scrabo for a decent enough commentary about the making of the film, while interviews featuring actor Paul Koslo recall the surprisingly jovial nature of the set. Also on hand is a great trailer gallery which, besides this film, contains trailers for other ‘70s crime movies, including the Matthau classic The Taking of Pelham One Two Three.
The Lowdown
While the main character barely even cracks a smile, The Laughing Policeman is a refreshingly brutal and unapologetic ‘70s crime tale.
The Laughing Policeman is now available on Blu-ray and DVD from Kino Lorber.
