Report to the Commissioner [Operation Undercover] **** (1975, Michael Moriarty, Yaphet Kotto, Susan Blakely, Hector Elizondo, Tony King, Michael McGuire, Richard Gere, William Devane) – Classic Movie Review 12,408

The 1975 American crime drama film Report to the Commissioner involves a rookie cop (Michael Moriarty) in the New York City Police Department who is assigned a special missing person case, but is not told she is actually an undercover officer. 

Director Milton Katselas’s 1975 American crime drama film Report to the Commissioner [Operation Undercover] is a commendably taut and exciting police drama that sees rookie cop Bo Lockley (Michael Moriarty) accidentally kill policewoman Patty Butler (Susan Blakely) and then become a pawn in his superior’s cover-up games.

New York Police Department undercover detective Lockley is assigned to find a missing young woman (Susan Blakely), actually an undercover officer sent to get close to a heroin dealer, ‘Stick’ Henderson (Tony King). Lockley finds them living in the Times Square area, and in a confused shoot-out, Lockley accidentally shoots her dead.

Despite some excellent dialogue and tidy scripting, the yarn is often implausible, but there is style, substance and passion throughout in the highly-charged confrontation scenes, and the acting is first rate.

Richard Gere makes his feature film début as Billy, a hippy complete with long hair, beard and soppy hat.

Abby Mann and Ernest Tidyman’s screenplay is based on a 1972 novel by James Mills, Report to the Commissioner. The screenplay is by two Oscar-winning screenwriters, Abby Mann (Judgment at Nuremberg) and Ernest Tidyman (The French Connection).

The score is by Elmer Bernstein.

The cast are Michael Moriarty as Bo Lockley, Yaphet Kotto as Richard ‘Crunch’ Blackstone, Susan Blakely as Patty Butler, Héctor Elizondo as Captain D’Angelo, Tony King as Thomas ‘Stick’ Henderson, Michael McGuire as Lt. Hanson, Edward Grover as Captain Strichter, Dana Elcar as Chief Perna, Bob Balaban [Robert Balaban] as Joey Egan, William Devane as Asst. D.A. Jackson, Stephen Elliott as Police Commissioner, Richard Gere as Billy, Vic Tayback as Lt. Seidensticker, Albert Seedman as Detective Schulman, Mark Margolis as Bartender, Noelle North as Samantha, and Sonny Grosso.

© Derek Winnert 2023 – Classic Movie Review 12,408

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