Serpico

For other uses, see Serpico (disambiguation).

Serpico
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Sidney Lumet
Produced by	Dino De Laurentiis Roger M. Rothstein Martin Bregman
Screenplay by	Waldo Salt Norman Wexler
Based on	Serpico  by Peter Maas
Starring	Al Pacino John Randolph Tony Roberts Bernard Barrow M. Emmet Walsh
Music by	Mikis Theodorakis Giacomo Puccini
Cinematography	Arthur J. Ornitz
Editing by	Dede Allen Richard Marks Ronald Roose Angelo Corrao
Studio	Artists Entertainment Complex De Laurentiis Entertainment Group
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures Cinema International Corporation United International Pictures Columbia Pictures
Release date(s)	December 5, 1973 (1973-12-05) February 14, 1974 (1974-02-14) February 21, 1974 (1974-02-21) March 14, 1974 (1974-03-14) March 18, 1974 (1974-03-18) March 28, 1974 (1974-03-28) April 1, 1974 (1974-04-01) April 5, 1974 (1974-04-05) April 15, 1974 (1974-04-15) May 9, 1974 (1974-05-09) May 22, 1974 (1974-05-22) July 4, 1974 (1974-07-04) September 23, 1974 (1974-09-23) (Barcelona) September 26, 1974 (1974-09-26) (Madid) September 14, 1977 (1977-09-14) (Toronto Film Festival) April 7, 1978 (1978-04-07) June 29, 1978 (1978-06-29) August 6, 2004 (2004-08-06) (limited re-released) January 9, 2008 (2008-01-09) (limited re-released)
Running time	130 min. approx. 113 min. approx.
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$1 million
Box office	$29,800,000

Serpico is a 1973 American crime film directed by Sidney Lumet. It is based on the true story of New York City policeman Frank Serpico, who went undercover to expose the corruption of his fellow officers, after being pushed to the brink at first by their distrust and later by the threats and intimidation they leveled against him. It stars Al Pacino, John Randolph and Tony Roberts.

Brief Plot

Al Pacino as Frank Serpico

Based on the non-fiction book by Peter Maas, the film covers twelve and half years (from September 11, 1959 to June 15, 1972) in the life of Frank Serpico, a NYPD officer who wants to do the best he can as a policeman. Working as a uniform patrolman, Serpico gets every assignment in. Then he moves to plainclothes assignments, where he slowly uncovers cops doing drugs, taking paybacks and other forms of corruption. Serpico decides to expose this, but is harassed and threatened. The struggle leads to infighting within the police force, problems in his personal relationships, and life-threatening situations. Finally after being shot in the face during a drug bust on February 3, 1971, he testifies to the Knapp Commission, which met to investigate police corruption between 1970 and 1972.

Cast

Actor	Role
Al Pacino	Officer Frank "Paco" Serpico
John Randolph	Chief Sidney Green
Jack Kehoe	Tom Keough
Biff McGuire	Captain Inspector McClain
Barbara Eda-Young	Laurie (Frank's Girlfriend)
Cornelia Sharpe	Leslie Lane (Frank's Girlfriend)
Tony Roberts	Bob Blair
John Medici	Pasquale Serpico (Frank's Brother)
Allan Rich	District Attorney Herman Tauber
Norman Ornellas	Don Rubello
Edward Grover	Inspector Lombardo
Albert Henderson	Peluce
Hank Garrett	Malone
Damien Leake	Joey
Joseph Bova	Potts
Gene Gross	Captain Tolkin
John Stewart	Waterman
Woodie King Jr.	Larry (Leslie's Friend)
James Tolkan	Lieutenant Steiger
Ed Crowley	Barto
Bernard Barrow	Inspector Roy Palmer
Sal Carollo	Mr. Serpico (Frank's Father)
Mildred Clinton	Mrs. Serpico (Frank's Mother)
Nathan George	Lieutenant Nate Smith
Gus Fleming	Dr. Metz
Richard Foronjy	Rudy Corsaro
Alan North	Brown
Lewis J. Stadlen	Jerry Berman
John McQuade	Inspector Kellogg
Ted Beniades	Al Sarno
John Lehne	Gilbert
M. Emmet Walsh	Gallagher
George Ede	Daley
Charles White	Police Commissioner Delaney
F. Murray Abraham	Detective Partner
Don Billett	Detective Threatening Serpico
Raleigh Bond	Cop
John Brandon	Police Lieutenant
James Bulleit	Detective Styles
Roy Cheverie	Cop
Sam Coppola	Cop
Marjorie Eliot	Rape Victim
René Enríquez	Cervantes Teacher
Conard Fowkes	Cop (Narcotics Raid)
Frank Gio	Police Lieutenant
Trent Gough	Cop
Paul E. Guskin	Police Academy Classmate
Judd Hirsch	Cop
Bianca Hunter	Little Girl
Richard Kuss	Detective
Tony Lo Bianco	Cop
George Loros	Detective Glover

| Kenneth McMillan ... Charlie | Stephen Pearlman ... Desk Sergeant | Tim Pelt ... Black Hood | William Pelt ... Black Hood | Jay Rasumny ... Television Cameraman | Franklin Scott ... Black Prisoner | Tom Signorelli ... Bookmaker | Ben Slack ... Detective Sitting at Desk | Jaime Sánchez ... Cop | Tracey Walter ... Street Urchin | Mary Louise Weller ... Sally - Girl at Party

Production

Prior to any work on the movie, producer Martin Bregman had lunch with biographical book author Peter Maas to discuss a film adaptation. Waldo Salt, a screenwriter, began to write the script which director Sidney Lumet deemed to be too long. Another screenwriter, Norman Wexler, did the structural work followed by play lines.

Director John G. Avildsen was originally slated to direct the movie, but was removed from production due to differences with producer Bregman. Lumet took the helm as director just before filming. The real-life Frank Serpico wished to be present during the filming of the movie based on his life. Initially he was permitted to stay, but was eventually dismissed from the filming, as director Lumet was worried that his presence would make the actors (particularly lead actor Al Pacino) self-conscious.

The story was filmed in the streets of New York City. A total of 105 different locations in four of the five boroughs of the city were used. No filming took place in Staten Island. An apartment at 5-7 Minetta Street in Manhattan's Greenwich Village was used as Serpico's residence, though according to the Peter Maas book he actually lived on Perry Street during the events depicted in the film. Lewisohn Stadium, which was closed at the time of filming, was used for one scene.

As the storyline needed to show the progression of Frank Serpico's beard and hair length, individual scenes were filmed in reverse order, with actor Al Pacino's hair being trimmed for each scene set earlier in the film's timeline.

Woodie King Jr., originally cast as a hoodlum, was replaced after suffering a broken leg while filming a chase scene for this movie. He returned to the set two months later to play Leslie's friend Larry in the party scene.

Playwright Sidney Kingsley loaned his apartment to Sidney Lumet for use to film the party scene. In 1935, Kingsley hired an 11-year-old Lumet to appear on Broadway in his play, "Dead End", and they had remained friends since then.

Awards

The original score was composed by Mikis Theodorakis, nominated for both the Grammy Award for Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture and the BAFTA award for Best Film Music. Its Greek name is Dromoi Palioi. Sidney Lumet's direction was recognized by both the BAFTAs and the Directors Guild of America. The film itself was nominated for the Golden Globe award for Best Motion Picture - Drama.

The film also received Academy Awards nominations for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Al Pacino) and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium. The Writers Guild nominated the script for Best Drama Adapted from Another Medium.

Pacino won his first Golden Globe award for Best Actor in 1974 for his performance in the film. He also received a BAFTA nomination for Best Actor.

Box office

Serpico was a major commercial success, given its tight budget of only $1 million. It grossed $29.8 million at the domestic box office, making it the 12th highest-grossing film of 1973.

Legacy

Serpico is hailed as a classic. Pacino's performance has come to be considered as one of his best. His role as Frank Serpico is ranked at #40 on the American Film Institute's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains list. The film is also ranked at #84 on the AFI's 100 Years... 100 Cheers, a list of America's Most Inspiring Movies.

There was a 1976 television series of Serpico, starring David Birney, who also played the role in a TV movie made in the same year, called Serpico: The Deadly Game.

A number of comedy B-movies were filmed in Italy in the 1970s, starring Tomás Milián in the role of an undercover policeman from Rome, who played a Serpico-like character.

In the Season 3 episode "Bums: Making a Mess All Over the City" of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, the character Charlie attempts to mimic Pacino's performance as Serpico to foil the antics of Frank and Dennis who had become crooked, albeit fake, cops.

Home video releases

Serpico was released on VHS and is available on Region 1 DVD since 2002. It was released on Blu-ray for the first time in France.

External links

• Serpico at the Internet Movie Database
• Serpico at Rotten Tomatoes
• Serpico at AllRovi