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Customer Reviews of The Laughing Policeman

No Motive Necessary
this sullen, violent police drama is as detailed an investigation as you will find on film. the opening scene of the laughing policeman is extremely tense, and sets the tone for a dirty harry style flick that delivers one of matthau's moodiest performances. basically, a mass murder takes place on a san francisco bus and we find out that a policeman was one of the victims. he turns out to be matthau's late partner. bruce dern is assigned to the case to work with matthau to find out why this SFPD decetive was on the bus in the first place. Their subsequent relationship is a play the standard, portrayed in the laughing policeman as "mute cop/bad cop". so, teams of gritty cops (a young lou gossett) meander through the roughest neighbourhoods of san francisco bullying pimps, pushers, hip drag queens and sidewalking street-wheelers in an attempt uncover what turns out to be a very complex underworld fraternity. The purpose (seeing as this plays as a matthau character study), to quell Matthau's melancholic contribution to this Dirty Harry spin-off. It is more violent and much more precise than Dirty Hary but not as entertaining. A must see however for all matthau fans.

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Walter Matthau and Bruce Dern Track A Killer
Walter Matthau's first truly dramatic role of the 1970s after his years in comedic fare, The Laughin Policemen, despite its title, is anything but humorous. Matthau and Bruce Dern are partners investigating a brutal murder on a bus. Dern, as Matthau's young partner, displays edginess in his doubts about his older partner's hunches, but he listens, and Matthau's hunches prove correct.

Their main suspect is a "fruiter" businessman, and Matthau knows how to get the suspect to reveal himself as the killer - but he'd better hope Dern can keep up, as Matthau maneuvers to get himself cornered with the killer on a city bus.