Serpico is a 1973 American biographical crime drama film directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Al Pacino in the title role, former New York City police officer Frank Serpico. The screenplay was adapted by Waldo Salt and Norman Wexler from the book written by Peter Maas, with the assistance of its subject. The story details Serpico's struggle with corruption within the New York City Police Department during his eleven years of service, and his work as a whistleblower which led to the investigation by the Knapp Commission.
Producer Dino De Laurentiis purchased the rights from Maas. Agent Martin Bregman joined the film as co-producer. Bregman suggested Pacino for the main part, and John G. Avildsen was hired to direct the film. Pacino met with Serpico to prepare for the role early in the summer of 1973. After Avildsen was dismissed, Lumet was hired as his replacement. On a short notice, he selected the shooting locations and organized the scenes; the production was filmed in July and August.
On its release, Serpico became a critical and commercial success. At the same time, the film drew criticism from police officers. It received nominations at the Academy Awards and BAFTA Awards. Pacino earned the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama, while Salt and Wexler received the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Plot On the evening of February 3, 1971, NYPD Detective Frank Serpico is rushed to the hospital, having been shot in the face. Police Chief Sidney Green fears that Serpico was shot by another cop. Serpico's story is shown in a flashback.
Serpico graduates from the police academy on March 5, 1960, with big ideas for improving the police force's community relations. He dresses like an actual civilian instead of wearing the department's standard plainclothes dress, which is easily recognizable. While he is chasing a burglar, other officers fail to recognize him as one of their own and shoot at him. He survives, but realizes that deviating from protocols can be dangerous.
In 1967, Serpico reports an attempted bribe to a high-ranking investigator, who chuckles and advises him to keep the money. Serpico soon learns that corruption is rampant in the department. Forced to accompany officers as they collect payoffs from criminals and small businesses, Serpico refuses to accept his share of the money. He makes several attempts to alert superiors to the corruption but is rebuffed every time. Other officers learn that he is reporting them, and he begins to fear for his life.
Serpico and his well-connected friend Blair go to the mayor's assistant, who promises a real investigation and support but is stymied by political pressure. Ostracized, frustrated and fearful, Serpico sinks into depression, which ruins his relationship with his girlfriend. He begins brutalizing well-connected suspects who had been bribing his superiors and thought themselves protected. Finally, Serpico informs his Captain that he reported his experiences to agencies outside of the NYC police force. Furious, the captain informs the other officers.
Blair uses his connections to arrange a personal interview with the district attorney, who tells Serpico that if he testifies to a grand jury, a major investigation will follow. The DA limits his questions and prevents Serpico from revealing the ubiquity of corruption in the police force. Serpico and Blair take their story to The New York Times on April 25, 1970. After his allegations are published, his superiors retaliate by assigning Serpico to a high-risk Brooklyn narcotics squad.
During a raid on a drug trafficker's apartment on February 3, 1971, Serpico's partners hold him back at a critical moment, and he gets shot in the face. After a long, painful recovery, he testifies before the Knapp Commission, a governmental inquiry into NYPD corruption. Afterward, Serpico resigns from the NYPD on June 15, 1972, and is awarded the NYPD Medal of Honor for "conspicuous bravery in action". He then leaves the U.S. and settles in Switzerland.
Cast
Al Pacino as NYPD Police Detective Frank Serpico John Randolph as NYPD Police Chief Sidney Green Jack Kehoe as Tom Keough Biff McGuire as Captain McClain Barbara Eda-Young as Laurie Cornelia Sharpe as Leslie Tony Roberts as Bob Blair Allan Rich as D.A. Tauber Norman Ornellas as Rubello Edward Grover as Inspector Lombardo Albert Henderson as Peluce Hank Garrett as Malone Damien Leake as Joey Joseph Bova as Potts Gene Gross as Captain Tolkin Woodie King as Larry James Tolkin as Steiger Bernard Barrow as Palmer Nathan George as Smith Alan North as Brown Lewis J. Stadlen as Berman Ted Beniades as Sarno John Lehne as Gilbert M. Emmet Walsh as Chief Gallagher Charles White as Delaney F. Murray Abraham as Serpico's Partner (uncredited) Judd Hirsch as a cop Tracey Walter as Street Urchin (uncredited) Sully Boyar as Principal (uncredited)
Background After Frank Serpico recovered from being shot, he helped Peter Maas write Serpico. Detective David Durk, who also appeared in front of the Knapp Commission, planned to sell the rights of their story for a film adaptation. Early negotiations included Paul Newman in the role of Durk, and Robert Redford as Serpico. Serpico distanced himself from the project, as he felt that he would be merely portrayed as a sidekick. Script writer John Gregory Dunne turned down the project, for he felt that "there was no story". Director Sam Peckinpah, as well as Newman and Redford, left the project.
After the success of several of his films in the 1960s, and the first years of the 1970s, producer Dino De Laurentiis decided to move from Italy to the United States. The change in financing laws further regulated the Italian film industry, and the producer settled in New York City. Following their collaboration on The Valachi Papers, De Laurentiis purchased the rights to Maas's book. Maas received US$400,000 (equivalent to $ million in ) and participation in the film, while the rights for his work were secured before the March 1973 publication of the book. Initially, De Laurentiis found resistance to the project from Paramount Pictures. The studio considered that "enough cop movies" had been made. In turn, De Laurentiis was supported by Charles Bluhdorn, president of Gulf+Western, who wanted the film to be made. De Laurentiis later declared that "no American producer would have had the courage" to depict police corruption in a motion picture.
Maas's agent Sam Cohn was approached by agent Martin Bregman. Bregman expressed his interest to produce the film after reading an article in New York magazine about the book. Bregman proposed one of his signed actors, Al Pacino, to play the lead. Waldo Salt was chosen to write the screenplay adaptation. The first draft did not impress Maas, De Laurentiis nor Bregman. Bregman felt that the result was "very political", and that the story did not reflect what the producers desired to portray in the film. Bregman and Maas directed Salt to the parts of the book that they envisioned to be reflected on the screenplay. The second draft was considered to be a substantial improvement by the production team. Bregman took the treatment to Pacino, who initially did not find the film interesting. Salt visited Pacino with the re-worked script that convinced him to consider the part. A meeting with Serpico, Maas and Pacino was arranged for the actor to meet the subject of the film. After meeting him, Pacino was fully convinced to accept the part. John G. Avildsen was chosen to direct the film.
Salt's work did not satisfy Avildsen, who threatened to leave the project unless he could bring Norman Wexler to write the screenplay. They had previously worked together in Avildsen's Joe. Both traveled to Switzerland to visit Serpico at home and work the details. Time to work on the production was constricted due to Pacino's commitment to The Godfather Part II. Further disagreement arose between Avildsen and Bregman regarding the script and the selection of the filming locations. In response to resistance to his plans, Avildsen threatened Bregman of quitting multiple times. An aggravated Bregman called for a meeting with the production team to cause the director to quit in front of witnesses.
Avildsen had insisted on a meeting with Bregman and De Laurentiis to shoot a scene in the real home of Serpico's parents for authenticity. The producers felt that the structure could not accommodate the production team and equipment efficiently. The escalating tension on the meeting resulted in De Laurentiis firing Avildsen, and the director quit in return. Avildsen's account for the reason of his dismissal was that he refused to cast Bregman's then-girlfriend (and later wife) Cornelia Sharpe as Leslie. Avildsen would later declare that he should have treated the situation "with more finesse". Sidney Lumet was hired to complete the job for his reputation as an effective director under a tight schedule.
Pacino was shortly distracted from the project by an offer to play the lead in Lenny, but ultimately he turned it down. To prepare for Serpico, he rode with police officers for a night, but he decided that it was not enough. A method actor, he felt that he needed to spend time with Serpico. Pacino and Serpico met several times in Montauk, New York, where the actor rented a house for the summer. Pacino was moved by Serpico's conviction to reform the NYPD, and became more committed to the project. In character, Pacino often walked through areas of the city that were considered dangerous at the time. While waiting in traffic, he attempted to arrest a truck driver, for he was enraged by the exhaust fumes. He was refused service at a Manhattan restaurant for the appearance that he kept for the film.
Production Sidney Lumet organized the 107 speaking parts that took place in 104 different locations. The longest scenes took up two-and-a-half pages of the screenplay, while the average was one page.
A budget of $3.3 million (equivalent to $ million in ) was assigned. Two weeks of rehearsals were held. Pacino had learned Salt's screenplay, and he agreed with Lumet that Wexler's revised version improved the structure, but that the dialogue was impoverished. Lumet allowed the actors to improvise certain dialogues, and he also allowed their creative input for the scenes. The cast selected dialogues from both scripts as the filming progressed. Although he already had a good knowledge of New York locations, Lumet considered the work "physically brutal, and emotionally tough".
The principal photography on Serpico began in early July 1973. The film was planned to be released before Christmas, with four-and-a-half months for the crew to complete the movie. Filming took place in July and August. The story of the film encompassed 11 years, from 1960 through 1971.
To accommodate the scenes around Pacino's facial hair, the film was shot in reverse. Pacino started with long beard and hair. He was shaved to a mustache, and eventually, his hair was cut and he was clean-shaven for the beginning of the film. Lumet decided each day if Pacino was to be further shaven, and the crew prepared fake beards in case they were required. Winter conditions were simulated, as the team had to defoliate trees and cut shrubs. Special makeup was used to absorb the sweat, and to keep the actors' skin dry. The cast wore winter coats, and their skin was made to look bluish, while their breath had to be visible.