On this day in movie history - Serpico (1973)

Serpico

directed by Sidney Lumet,

written by Waldo Salt and Norman Wexler,

based on the book by Peter Maas,

was released in the United States on December 5, 1973.

Music by Mikis Theodorakis.

Cast:
Al Pacino, John Randolph, Jack Kehoe, Biff McGuire, Barbara Eda-Young, Cornelia Sharpe, Edward Grover, Tony Roberts, Allan Rich, Albert Henderson, Joseph Bova, Woodie King Jr., James Tolkan, Bernard Barrow, Nathan George, M. Emmet Walsh, Ted Beniades, F. Murray Abraham, Judd Hirsch.

Recommended reading:

Serpico

by Peter Maas.
 
First published 1973.
Published by Harper Perennial.
Paperback.

ISBN-10: 0060738189
ISBN-13: 978-0060738181
 
Description:
 
THE CLASSIC TRUE STORY OF THE COP WHO COULDN'T BE BOUGHT.
 
With an Afterword by Frank Serpico.
 

The 1960s was a time of social and generational upheaval felt with particular intensity in the melting pot of New York City. A culture of corruption pervaded the New York Police Department, where payoffs, protection, and shakedowns of gambling rackets and drug dealers were common practice. The so-called blue code of silence protected the minority of crooked cops from the sanction of the majority.

 

Into this maelstrom came a working class, Brooklyn-born, Italian cop with long hair, a beard, and a taste for opera and ballet. Frank Serpico was a man who couldn't be silenced – or bought – and he refused to go along with the system. He had sworn an oath to uphold the law, even if the perpetrators happened to be other cops. For this unwavering commitment to justice, Serpico nearly paid with his life.

 

"I don't think anyone can come away from Serpico without admiration for one man's lonely integrity." – New York Times.
 
"A penetrating . . . exciting story." – San Francisco Chronicle.
 
"[A] raw and moving portrait." – Chicago Sun-Times.
 
"An absorbing story of what one angry, honest man can do." – Detroit News.
 
"Excellent." – Newsweek.

Born on this day – Tony Roberts:

Tony Roberts

Actor

October 22, 1939 – February 7, 2025

Credits:

12 and Holding (2005); 18 Again! (1988); A Different Affair (1987); A Guide for the Married Man (1969); A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy (1982); A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Jealous Jokester (1995); A Question of Honor (1982); All My Children (1994); American Masters (2001); American Masters (2011); Amityville 3-D (1983); An Anomaly (2013); Annie Hall (1977); Apologies to Bunuel (1996); B. Smith with Style (1999); Bicentennial Minutes (1975); Bitter Jester (2003); Bravo Profiles (1999–2003); Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There (2003); Comic Groove (2002); Dead Broke (1998); Dinner with Family with Brett Gelman and Brett Gelman's Family (2015); Dirty Dancing (2017); Entertainment Tonight (1990); Finder of Lost Loves (1985); Fist Fighter (1988); Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast (2017); Good Morning America (1978); Great Performances (1999 / 2005 / 2021); Hannah and Her Sisters (1986); Hollywood Squares (1977); Hotel (1985); If Things Were Different (1980); Intimate Portrait (2001); It Takes a Lunatic (2019); Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon (1986); Just Tell Me What You Want (1980); Key Exchange (1985); Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1996); Law & Order (1991–2010); Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2008); Le sauvage (1975); Let's Celebrate (1972); Live with Kelly and Mark (1990); Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003); Love, American Style / Segment: Love and the Hotel Caper (1971); Married to the Kellys (2004); Matlock (1991); McMillan & Wife (1977); Men at Law (1970); Murder, She Wrote (1992); My Best Friend's Wife (2001); Night Gallery / Segment: The Messiah on Mott Street (1971); Night of 100 Stars II (1985); Nightlife (1986); Not in My Family (1993); Our Sons (1991); Our World (1986); Packin' It In (1983); Painting the Town: The Illusionistic Murals of Richard Haas (1990); Phyllis (1975); Play It Again, Sam (1972); Popcorn (1991); Radio Days (1987); Rosetti and Ryan (1977); Seize the Day (1986); Serpico (1973); Short Talks on the Universe Benefit Performance (2002); Snafu (1976); Sounds from a Town I Love (2001); Spotlight on Broadway (2013); Star Spangled Girl (1971); Star Wars: A New Hope (1994); Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1994); Star Wars: The Return of the Jedi (1994); Stardust Memories (1980); Switch (1991); The $10,000 Pyramid (1974–1977); The $25,000 Pyramid (1975–1978); The 22nd Annual Tony Awards (1968); The 23rd Annual Tony Awards (1969); The 34th Annual Tony Awards (1980); The 35th Annual Tony Awards (1981); The 38th Annual Tony Awards (1984); The 39th Annual Tony Awards (1985); The 48th Annual Tony Awards (1994); The 55th Annual Tony Awards (2001); The 62nd Annual Tony Awards (2008); The American Clock (1993); The Carol Burnett Show (1991); The Dick Cavett Show (1972); The Edge of Night (1965–1966); The Four Seasons (1984); The Girls in the Office (1979); The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts (1998); The Lady in Question Is Charles Busch (2005); The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case (1976); The Longest Week (2014); The Love Boat (1978–1979); The Lucie Arnaz Show (1985); The Magical World of Disney (1974); The Merv Griffin Show (1971–1977); The Mike Douglas Show (1977); The Million Dollar Duck (1971); The Paul Ryan Show (1977–1992); The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974); The Thorns (1988); The Trial of Adolf Eichmann (1997); The Trials of O'Brien (1965); The Way They Were (1981); Today (1982–1985); Trapper John, M.D. (1983–1985); Victor/Victoria (1995); Well Fed and Comfortable (2006); What's My Line? (1972–1973); When Pop Culture Saved America: A 9-11 Story (2011); Working in the Theatre (1980–1992).