Madigan (1968)
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100% of critics liked it
(7 reviews) -
40% of users liked it
(1,276 ratings)
It's a seemingly peaceful spring morning in New York City -- graduation day at the Police Academy -- and Police Commissioner Anthony X. Russell (Henry Fonda) is looking forward to giving a speech to the new officers. But all isn't well: Russell's been given apparently incontrovertible… More It's a seemingly peaceful spring morning in New York City -- graduation day at the Police Academy -- and Police Commissioner Anthony X. Russell (Henry Fonda) is looking forward to giving a speech to the new officers. But all isn't well: Russell's been given apparently incontrovertible evidence that his oldest friend, Chief Inspector Charles Kane (James Whitmore), is shaking down a bar owner, and a black minister (Raymond St. Jacques) is claiming that his son was brutalized when he was picked up for questioning in a rape/assault case. Then Russell gets a call informing him that two first-grade detectives, Daniel Madigan (Richard Widmark) and Rocco Bonaro (Harry Guardino), allowed small-time hood Barney Benesch (Steve Ihnat) to get the drop on them, steal their guns, and escape while they were trying to pick him up for questioning at the request of Brooklyn detectives -- and Benesch is now a suspect in that earlier murder in Brooklyn. Madigan has other problems, including the fact that the commissioner -- his ex-captain -- doesn't trust him, always believing him to be a loose cannon who has taken advantage of the badge in accepting favors and cutting corners where peoples' rights were concerned. Madigan also has a beautiful, upwardly mobile wife (Inger Stevens) who loves him but can't abide all the time his job takes him away from her or crimps her socializing; and he has never fully gotten over Jonesy (Sheree North), a saloon singer he knew before he was married. Madigan and Bonaro are given 72 hours to bring in Benesch and begin beating the bushes for leads. They get help from "Midget" Castiglione (Michael Dunn), a bookmaker and an old enemy of Benesch's, and a nervous, long-haired punk named Hughie (Don Stroud). While the clock ticks away on Madigan's and Bonaro's careers, the commissioner must decide how to deal with Kane, whose father -- also a police officer -- was like his own, and he must also fathom how a four-star chief could be involved with anything as tawdry as pressuring a tavern owner. Russell genuinely believes that there must be "one standard, one rule" for any member of the department, but in the course of this one weekend, he finds this notion shattered by what he discovers about Madigan, King, and himself. Meanwhile, Benesch is still on the loose, acting like a complete psycho and a threat to anyone who crosses his path. Russell's and Madigan's paths finally cross personally, as the detective proves -- and the commissioner discovers -- just how good a cop he is. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi
- Directed By
- Don Siegel
- Written By
- Abraham Polonsky, Richard Dougherty, Howard A. Rodman, Harry Kleiner
- Genres
- Drama, Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense, Classics
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Mar 1, 1968 Wide
- Studio
- MCA Universal Home Video
Critic Reviews
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Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Don Siegel's proficient acioner launches a whole cycle of urban movies about cops (the good and the bad), including Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry.
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
A pleasing but disjointed film noir.
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Steve Crum, Kansas City Kansan
Attempt for realistic cop story works half the time.
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Michael E. Grost, Classic Film and Television
Visually creative crime thriller, with brilliant New York City photography.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
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Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Richard Widmark
as Detective Daniel Madigan
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Henry Fonda
as Commissioner Anthony X. Russell
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Inger Stevens
as Julia Madigan
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Harry Guardino
as Det. Rocco Bonaro
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James Whitmore
as Chief Inspector Charles Kane
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Susan Clark
as Tricia Bentley
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Michael Dunn (I)
as Midget Castiglione
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Steve Ihnat
as Barney Benesch
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Don Stroud
as Hughie
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Sheree North
as Jonesy
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Seth Allen
as Subway Dispatcher
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Conrad Bain
as Hotel Clerk
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Henry Beckman
as Patrolman Philip Downes
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Harry Bellaver
as Mickey Dunn
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Philippa Bevans
as Mrs. Hewitt
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William Bramley
as O'Brien
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Ed Crowley
as Man at Precinct
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Abel Fernandez
as Detective Rodriguez
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Bert Freed
as Chief of Detectives Hap Lynch
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Lloyd Gough
as Assistant Chief Inspector Earl Griffin
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Virginia Gregg
as Esther Newman
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Kate Harrington
as Woman
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Lloyd Haynes
as Patrolman Sam Woodley
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Albert Henderson
as Lieutenant Strong
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Pepe Hern
as Man
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Lincoln Kilpatrick
as Patrolman Grimes
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John McLiam
as Dunne
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Dallas Mitchell
as Detective Tom Gavin
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Ray Montgomery
as Detective O'Mara
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Richard O'Brien
as Det. O'Brien
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Bob O'Connell
as Man
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Woodrow Parfrey
as Marvin
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Tom Rosqui
as Man
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Al Ruban
as Kowalski
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Diane Sayer
as Doreen
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Ralph Smiley
as Captain
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Paul Sorenson
as Man
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Robert Ball
as Prisoner
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Scott Hale
as Man
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Raymond St. Jacques
as Dr. Taylor
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Warren Stevens
as Capt. Ben Williams
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Rita Lynn
as Rita Bonaro
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Al Dunlap
as Man
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Ollie O'Toole
as Man
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Nina Varela
as Woman
- Bob Biheller
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Gloria Calomee
as Policewoman Doris Hawkins
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Frank Martin
as Lieutenant James Price
