Police Procedurals
As with my Tony Lowell series, police detectives and independent contractors working in simultaneous partnership and rivalry is a common and repeated theme. Because it works: in books, films, and television series (often based on books, as we all know).
In this blog I will focus on books featuring police detectives (or inspectors, or investigators, depending on author and location).
Many of the first such books were written by retired police detectives, such as The Borrowed Shield (1925) by former New York City Police Commissioner Richard Enright, then Homicide (1937)
by Southern California police detective Leslie T. White.
Across the Pond, former Assistant Commissioner of Scotland Yard Sir Basil Thomson presented P.C. Richardson's First Case, in 1933.
The original alphabet murder mystery was V as in Victim, by Lawrence Treat, published in 1945. According to NY Times critic Anthony Boucher (the namesake of the crime-fest Bouchercon conventions each year) was the first police procedural.
We now take a large leap backwards in time, to 18th Century China, with the character of Judge Dee, written by Dutch author Robert van Gulik, who was raised in the then Dutch East Indies (in what is now Jakarta). During his youthful travels, he had accidentally come upon an old manuscript in a Tokyo bookstore (sounds like the beginnings of a plot right there) after the end of World War II . Having become fluent in Mandarin due to his Asian upbringing, he translated the book, which had been based on a real person during the Tang Dynasty (AD 600-900). Judge Dee (real name Di Renjie), was an imperial investigating magistrate as well as judge.
Van Gulik's book Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee was published in 1949.
Next on this list would be Last Seen Wearing...by Hillary Waugh in 1952, perhaps the first mystery book about a young woman who has vanished without a trace.
Now, for something not completely different:
The following list of ten best police procedural novels in print is from The Strand Magazine:
Here's my favorite posted list, though, by far. From Mystery Tribune: click here:
https://www.mysterytribune.com/our-picks-7-police-procedural-novels-you-cant-put-down/
I've read and enjoyed most (but not all) of the books on those three lists, and have my own:
Michael Connolly deserves a place. Yes, Harry Bosch is an excellent character. But most of the top ten. I think not.
But Robert Crais most definitely should have a place.
Also the following in no particular order:
John Sandford.
Stuart McBride
Louise Penny
Tana French
Tony Hillerman
Laura Lippman
John Steele, I intend to investigate.
Also Qiu Xiaolong Enigma of China.
Stuart MacBride
Now to the screens (and their enormous variety these days!):
Films and Television Shows based on Police Procedurals:
The list starts early with a short comedy The Lady Police in 1912. The Suffragettes are flexing their--what is a feminine equivalent to 'muscles'?--having just won an election, they form a lady police force only to discover that all the eligible young men in town are eager to get arrested. Sexist mayhem results, but hey, it was 1912. The Suffragettes still had work to do...
The next year offered a French film, Fantomas, the Dead Man who Killed:
(Note: for future reference all brief descriptions, director and cast list are courtesy of IMDB: (Internet Movie Data Base, which lists every writer, director, producer or actor in motion pictures and television)
In 1913, Fatty Joins the Force:
The next year we're at The Center of the Web.
The police set out to take down a gang of counterfeiters, using every tool they have including police dogs.
In 1915 we got Nabbed.
(No photo available).
The next year, Charlie Chaplin calls The Police.
From IMDB:
Of course, $5 in 1916 was a week's wages. More or less.
By 1917, we are on Easy Street, patrolled by Mr. Chaplin, who's clearly risen up in the ranks.
In 1920, the war and subsequent global pandemic of the Spanish Flu is over, leaving 19 million dead (hopefully we have better medicine now, and haven't--yet--been decimated by a World War).
That is when The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is opened, with horrific results on, granted, a smaller scale.
Two years later, none other than Lionel Barrymore stars in a film with the unlikely title (for a Barrymore film) Boomerang Man.
When New York City police officer O'Malley learns of a young man who is about to embark on a life of crime by taking part in a robbery, he takes the boy aside and tells him the story of Boomerang Bill, another wanna-be gangster who wanted to be a big shot in the New York crime scene. It seems that Bill fell for a pretty young dance-hall girl, and went up against local gang boss Tony the Wop when he insulted her. Tony, who never forgot a slight, found a way to make things very, very tough for Boomerang Bill, in a way that he never saw coming.
Also in 1922 someone called the Cops. Unfortunately, these cops are chasing Buster Keaton, so nothing good can come of this.
Come 1924 the Twenties are roaring, and we find ourselves Cornered:
Jumping ahead to 1927, we take in The Lodger, and soon wish we hadn't.
This is one of Alfred Hitchcock's earliest works.
By the next year, The Roaring Twenties are in full bore roar, and Mary Astor is Dressed to Kill:
A mob boss' gang gets suspicious about their boss' new girlfriend, a beautiful young girl who doesn't seem to be the type who'd hang out with gangsters. They're not quite certain if she's actually a police agent or just a "groupie".
That same year an honest cop takes on The Racket:
Let us not forget that the Twenties were also the age of the bootlegger. Very different from today's boot licker.
Still in '28, The Cop is on duty.
Not yet ready for '29, we meet up with Riley the Cop. A real yawner.
'29, at last! And we hope you have a good Alibi for this:
Not yet escaped from the infamous Twenties, we find ourselves in need of The Ace of Scotland Yard:
It's 1930 at last! But...oh dear, the Great Depression has begun. And best of luck should you need the police. At least these police, led by Laurel and Hardy. Regular Night Owls, those chaps.
We continue in 1931 with 'M'. Written and directed by Fritz Lang, the Austrian-born (like Hitler) German Jewish (his mother hid as a Catholic, even converting), Lang fled to Paris, then again to New York. The film was about a child killer in a German city, whose murder drew such outrage among the criminal set, they volunteer to join (even lead) the manhunt. Peter Lorre was perfect for the role of a police investigator.
The Thin Man (1934) featured Nick and Nora in the trenches. Well, not actually...(this became a successful series of films.
World War II brought a halt to most creative film-making, in favor of propaganda films, of which Hollywood became principle purveyor, outside of London.
The Street with no Name was among the first post-war police procedurals.
Also from 1949, Follow me Quietly.
The Fifties began with Appointment with Danger
1952 brought us The Sniper
The Shadow on the Window was cast in 1957:
Three young thugs rob a farmhouse, kill the owner and take his stenographer hostage but the woman's estranged husband, a police detective, starts investigating her disappearance.
The next year, it was Touch of Evil.
Based on the novel by Whit Masterson.
Also from '58 came Point and Line (original title: Ten To Sen) out of Japan.
1958 also saw the beginning of the television series U.S. Marshall
United States Marshal (renamed from Sheriff of Cochise) is a crime drama set in Cochise County, Arizona about a U.S. Marshal fighting crime.
This might be the first Western TV series about a U.S. Marshall (not another Sheriff!).
In 1960 an intriguing import from Finland, Inspector Palmu's Error (original title Komisario Palmun erehydys came ashore, via Helsinki.
Also from 1960, came the English film Jigsaw
A woman is found murdered in a house along the coast from Brighton. Local detectives Fellows and Wilks lead an investigation methodically following up leads and clues mostly in Brighton and... See full summary »
Another Japanese import came in 1963 with High and Low (Tengoku to Jigoku), directed by the legendary Akira Kurosawa, and starring the equally legendary Toshiro Mifune.
The next year, out of the U.K. came Gideon C.I.D. in which Chief Inspector Detective George Gideon works out of Scotland Yard (or at home, as the case may be).
The iconic 1967 film In the Heat of the Night was adapted by an all-star screenwriter Stirling Silliphant from John Ball's novel of the same title. Starring Sydney Poitier as a black NY cop in the deep South.
Author John Ball's list of works is impressive: thirty books, including multiple police procedurals.
Also from England in '67 was Roseanna in which an unidentified woman is found dead in a canal. Police Inspector (the English P.I.) Martin Beck takes the helm of the canal boat she rode on.
From the novel by Maj Sjowall (out of Sweden).
Also starting in 1967 was the long running series Mannix,
Mannix worked originally for Wickersham at Intertect and then struck out on his own, assisted by Peggy Fair (whose cop-husband had been killed) and Police Department contact Tobias.
Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (originally Indagine su un cittadino al di sopra di ogni sospetto) came out of Italy in 1970.
A chief of detectives, homicide section, kills his mistress and deliberately leaves clues to prove his own responsibility for the crime.
From 1968: Madigan:
Also from 1968 began the legendary series Hawaii Five O which ran for eleven seasons:
1968 was a significant year for Hollywood, as well as Washington D.C. and Southeast Asia. Steve McQueen's iconic chase movie Bullitt hit the screens running full speed ahead.
The French Connection was a major motion picture from 1971, with Gene Hackman in his signature role as the head of the NYC Narcotics Bureau, who discovers a drug smuggling operation with a French connection. From the novel by Robin Moore.
Also in '71, another major motion picture with a signature role: this time Clint Eastwood, starring as Dirty Harry.
In 1972, Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy hit the screen, based on the novel by Arthur La Bern.
This is at face a police procedural. But the real investigator is the prime suspect.
London is terrorized by a vicious sex killer known as The Necktie Murderer. Following the brutal slaying of his ex-wife, down-on-his-luck Richard Blaney is suspected by the police of being the killer. He goes on the run, determined to prove his innocence.
Many of the first such books were written by retired police detectives, such as The Borrowed Shield (1925) by former New York City Police Commissioner Richard Enright, then Homicide (1937)
by Southern California police detective Leslie T. White.
Across the Pond, former Assistant Commissioner of Scotland Yard Sir Basil Thomson presented P.C. Richardson's First Case, in 1933.
The original alphabet murder mystery was V as in Victim, by Lawrence Treat, published in 1945. According to NY Times critic Anthony Boucher (the namesake of the crime-fest Bouchercon conventions each year) was the first police procedural.
We now take a large leap backwards in time, to 18th Century China, with the character of Judge Dee, written by Dutch author Robert van Gulik, who was raised in the then Dutch East Indies (in what is now Jakarta). During his youthful travels, he had accidentally come upon an old manuscript in a Tokyo bookstore (sounds like the beginnings of a plot right there) after the end of World War II . Having become fluent in Mandarin due to his Asian upbringing, he translated the book, which had been based on a real person during the Tang Dynasty (AD 600-900). Judge Dee (real name Di Renjie), was an imperial investigating magistrate as well as judge.
Van Gulik's book Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee was published in 1949.
Next on this list would be Last Seen Wearing...by Hillary Waugh in 1952, perhaps the first mystery book about a young woman who has vanished without a trace.
Now, for something not completely different:
The following list of ten best police procedural novels in print is from The Strand Magazine:
Maybe not a strict procedural but close, and my all-time favorite piece of crime fiction. Following Carol Starkey, a wounded and struggling hero who has to find a killer targeting bomb squad cops, this is a great read.
This is the book that introduces LAPD Detective Harry Bosch. He is one of my favorite characters, the hardened police detective, without being clichéd. The story is very realistic, right down to the politics and egos in police work.
Scotland Yard’s Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley is another great character. George’s books are always long, involved, and very worth the time.
One of the first procedurals I ever read and a great introduction to Navajo culture. Joe Leaphorn is one of the best-written cops ever.
The books are always better than the movie or the TV series, and this is true of all the Rizzoli and Isles novels.
Introduces Scotland Yard Detective Ian Rutledge. This is a story set right after World War I in Great Britain, and it is refreshing and different.
This is the first book that has completely surprised me in a long time. The story involves a cold case and goes back and forth over the decades—truly a page-turner with many twists and turns.
Another refreshingly different book, set in Canada. Inspector Gamache and the town of Three Pines are wonderful, and the mystery satisfying.
- Prior Bad Acts by Tami Hoag
Detectives Kovac and Liska are two of my favorite characters. They remind me of old-timers, guys I met when I was a rookie. Not sure if any guys like them exist anymore, but Hoag always writes a suspenseful story.
- The Choirboys by Joseph Wambaugh
This is a classic novel. It’s the truest novel I’ve ever read about police work, accurately catching the flavor. Though dated now, it is still a great read.
(Janice Cantore is a retired Long Beach police officer who now writes suspense novels that keep readers engrossed and leave them inspired. Her twenty-two years of experience on the force lend authenticity to her stories. She has penned seven novels: the Pacific Coast Justice series, Visible Threat, Critical Pursuit, Drawing Fire, and Burning Proof, the second book in the Cold Case Justice series. She also writes a blog about police work).Here's my favorite posted list, though, by far. From Mystery Tribune: click here:
https://www.mysterytribune.com/our-picks-7-police-procedural-novels-you-cant-put-down/
I've read and enjoyed most (but not all) of the books on those three lists, and have my own:
Michael Connolly deserves a place. Yes, Harry Bosch is an excellent character. But most of the top ten. I think not.
But Robert Crais most definitely should have a place.
Also the following in no particular order:
John Sandford.
Stuart McBride
Louise Penny
Tana French
Tony Hillerman
Laura Lippman
John Steele, I intend to investigate.
Also Qiu Xiaolong Enigma of China.
Stuart MacBride
Now to the screens (and their enormous variety these days!):
Films and Television Shows based on Police Procedurals:
The list starts early with a short comedy The Lady Police in 1912. The Suffragettes are flexing their--what is a feminine equivalent to 'muscles'?--having just won an election, they form a lady police force only to discover that all the eligible young men in town are eager to get arrested. Sexist mayhem results, but hey, it was 1912. The Suffragettes still had work to do...
The next year offered a French film, Fantomas, the Dead Man who Killed:(Note: for future reference all brief descriptions, director and cast list are courtesy of IMDB: (Internet Movie Data Base, which lists every writer, director, producer or actor in motion pictures and television)
After a body disappears from inside the prison, a series of crimes take place, all seemingly by the dead man. With Juve presumed dead, Fandor must investigate alone. Will Fantomas finally be brought to justice?
Director:
Louis FeuilladeIn 1913, Fatty Joins the Force:
After rescuing the Police Commissioner's daughter from drowning, Fatty is rewarded with a position on the force, but soon finds that the job isn't all it's cracked up to be.
Director:
George Nichols (uncredited)The next year we're at The Center of the Web.
The police set out to take down a gang of counterfeiters, using every tool they have including police dogs.
Director:
Jack HarveyWriter:
Philip Lonergan (scenario)In 1915 we got Nabbed.
One of the chief difficulties encountered by the new Chief of Police, is the Red Light Abatement Act and a bunch of so-called "reformers," who make things lively for the new chief. The ... See full summary »
Director:
Francis FordWriter:
Grace Cunard (story)(No photo available).
The next year, Charlie Chaplin calls The Police. From IMDB:
Charles Chaplin, a convict, is given $5.00 and released from prison after having served his term. He meets a man of the church who makes him weep for his sins and while he is weeping takes ... See full summary »
Director:
Charles Chaplin (uncredited)Writer:
Charles ChaplinOf course, $5 in 1916 was a week's wages. More or less.
By 1917, we are on Easy Street, patrolled by Mr. Chaplin, who's clearly risen up in the ranks.
A reformed tramp becomes a police constable who must fight a huge thug who dominates an inner city street.
Director:
Charles Chaplin (uncredited)In 1920, the war and subsequent global pandemic of the Spanish Flu is over, leaving 19 million dead (hopefully we have better medicine now, and haven't--yet--been decimated by a World War).That is when The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is opened, with horrific results on, granted, a smaller scale.
Two years later, none other than Lionel Barrymore stars in a film with the unlikely title (for a Barrymore film) Boomerang Man.
When New York City police officer O'Malley learns of a young man who is about to embark on a life of crime by taking part in a robbery, he takes the boy aside and tells him the story of Boomerang Bill, another wanna-be gangster who wanted to be a big shot in the New York crime scene. It seems that Bill fell for a pretty young dance-hall girl, and went up against local gang boss Tony the Wop when he insulted her. Tony, who never forgot a slight, found a way to make things very, very tough for Boomerang Bill, in a way that he never saw coming.
Director:
Tom TerrissAlso in 1922 someone called the Cops. Unfortunately, these cops are chasing Buster Keaton, so nothing good can come of this.
A series of mishaps manages to make a young man get chased by a big city's entire police force.
Come 1924 the Twenties are roaring, and we find ourselves Cornered:
A pair of professional thieves discovers that their accomplice, Mary Brennan, is a dead-ringer for wealthy heiress Margaret Waring. They wait until Margaret is absent from the house, then ... See full summary »
Director:
William BeaudineJumping ahead to 1927, we take in The Lodger, and soon wish we hadn't.
A landlady suspects her new lodger is the madman killing women in London.
Director:
Alfred HitchcockWriters:
Marie Belloc Lowndes (from the novel by) (as Mrs. Belloc Lowndes), Eliot Stannard (scenario)This is one of Alfred Hitchcock's earliest works.
By the next year, The Roaring Twenties are in full bore roar, and Mary Astor is Dressed to Kill:A mob boss' gang gets suspicious about their boss' new girlfriend, a beautiful young girl who doesn't seem to be the type who'd hang out with gangsters. They're not quite certain if she's actually a police agent or just a "groupie".
Director:
Irving CummingsThat same year an honest cop takes on The Racket:
An honest police captain vows to bring down a powerful bootlegger who is protected by corrupt politicians and judges.
Director:
Lewis MilestoneWriters:
Bartlett Cormack (from the stage success of), Bartlett Cormack (adaptation) | 2 more credits »Let us not forget that the Twenties were also the age of the bootlegger. Very different from today's boot licker.
Still in '28, The Cop is on duty.
Pete Smith, a lift bridge operator in a harbor, feels lonely in his cabin, his only visitor being a policeman on patrol, Sgt. Coughlin. One night, after hearing shots, Smith gives shelter ... See full summary »
Director:
Donald CrispNot yet ready for '29, we meet up with Riley the Cop. A real yawner.
Joe Smith, a young bakery worker, gets engaged to Mary Coronelli, who comes from a wealthy family. Her snooty aunt takes Mary to Europe, hoping to break up the couple, but Joe uses his ... See full summary »
Director:
John Ford (uncredited)'29, at last! And we hope you have a good Alibi for this:
Chick Williams, a prohibition gangster, rejoins his mob soon after being released from prison. When a policeman is murdered during a robbery, he falls under suspicion. The gangster took ... See full summary »
Director:
Roland WestNot yet escaped from the infamous Twenties, we find ourselves in need of The Ace of Scotland Yard:It's 1930 at last! But...oh dear, the Great Depression has begun. And best of luck should you need the police. At least these police, led by Laurel and Hardy. Regular Night Owls, those chaps.
After far too many break-ins on his watch, an ineffective policeman approaches the unsuspecting vagabonds, Laurel and Hardy, with a preposterous proposition; one that would get him off the hook. But, are the boys up to the task?
Director:
James ParrottWriter:
H.M. Walker (story editor)We continue in 1931 with 'M'. Written and directed by Fritz Lang, the Austrian-born (like Hitler) German Jewish (his mother hid as a Catholic, even converting), Lang fled to Paris, then again to New York. The film was about a child killer in a German city, whose murder drew such outrage among the criminal set, they volunteer to join (even lead) the manhunt. Peter Lorre was perfect for the role of a police investigator.
The Thin Man (1934) featured Nick and Nora in the trenches. Well, not actually...(this became a successful series of films.
World War II brought a halt to most creative film-making, in favor of propaganda films, of which Hollywood became principle purveyor, outside of London.
The Street with no Name was among the first post-war police procedurals.
A covert FBI agent infiltrates a ruthless gangster mob, but his life is at risk from a mysterious informant who funnels inside information to the hoodlums.
Director:
William KeighleyWriter:
Harry Kleiner (original screen play)Also from 1949, Follow me Quietly.
An obsessed cop tracks an elusive serial killer who strangles his victims on rainy nights.
Director:
Richard Fleischer (as Richard O. Fleischer)Stars:
William Lundigan, Dorothy Patrick, Jeff Corey |The Fifties began with Appointment with Danger
When ruthlessly dedicated postal inspector investigates the murder of a co-worker, he finds that the sole witness, a nun, has been targeted by the killers.
Director:
Lewis Allen1952 brought us The Sniper
A sniper kills young brunettes as the police attempt to grapple with the psychology of the unknown assailant.
Director:
Edward DmytrykStars:
Arthur Franz, Adolphe Menjou, Gerald MohrThe Shadow on the Window was cast in 1957:Three young thugs rob a farmhouse, kill the owner and take his stenographer hostage but the woman's estranged husband, a police detective, starts investigating her disappearance.
Director:
William AsherThe next year, it was Touch of Evil.
A stark, perverse story of murder, kidnapping, and police corruption in a Mexican border town.
Director:
Orson WellesStars:
Charlton Heston, Orson Welles, Janet Leigh |Based on the novel by Whit Masterson.
Also from '58 came Point and Line (original title: Ten To Sen) out of Japan.
A senior detective is determined to find the truth behind an apparent double suicide.
Director:
Tsuneo Kobayashi1958 also saw the beginning of the television series U.S. Marshall
United States Marshal (renamed from Sheriff of Cochise) is a crime drama set in Cochise County, Arizona about a U.S. Marshal fighting crime.
Creator:
Mort BriskinThis might be the first Western TV series about a U.S. Marshall (not another Sheriff!).
A closed room mystery begins when an infamous tycoon is found dead in his bath tub. The famous police lieutenant Palmu is summoned to investigate.
Director:
Matti KassilaAlso from 1960, came the English film Jigsaw A woman is found murdered in a house along the coast from Brighton. Local detectives Fellows and Wilks lead an investigation methodically following up leads and clues mostly in Brighton and... See full summary »
Director:
Val GuestAnother Japanese import came in 1963 with High and Low (Tengoku to Jigoku), directed by the legendary Akira Kurosawa, and starring the equally legendary Toshiro Mifune.The next year, out of the U.K. came Gideon C.I.D. in which Chief Inspector Detective George Gideon works out of Scotland Yard (or at home, as the case may be).
The iconic 1967 film In the Heat of the Night was adapted by an all-star screenwriter Stirling Silliphant from John Ball's novel of the same title. Starring Sydney Poitier as a black NY cop in the deep South.Author John Ball's list of works is impressive: thirty books, including multiple police procedurals.
Also from England in '67 was Roseanna in which an unidentified woman is found dead in a canal. Police Inspector (the English P.I.) Martin Beck takes the helm of the canal boat she rode on.
From the novel by Maj Sjowall (out of Sweden).
Also starting in 1967 was the long running series Mannix,Mannix worked originally for Wickersham at Intertect and then struck out on his own, assisted by Peggy Fair (whose cop-husband had been killed) and Police Department contact Tobias.
Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (originally Indagine su un cittadino al di sopra di ogni sospetto) came out of Italy in 1970.
A chief of detectives, homicide section, kills his mistress and deliberately leaves clues to prove his own responsibility for the crime.
Director:
Elio PetriFrom 1968: Madigan:
In New York City's Spanish Harlem, detectives Madigan and Bonaro are given 72 hours by their superior to capture a hoodlum wanted for homicide in Brooklyn.
Director:
Don Siegel (as Donald Siegel)Writers:
Howard Rodman (screenplay) (as Henri Simoun), Abraham Polonsky (screenplay) | 1 more credit »Also from 1968 began the legendary series Hawaii Five O which ran for eleven seasons:
The investigations of Hawaii Five-0, an elite branch of the Hawaii State Police answerable only to the governor and headed by stalwart Steve McGarrett.
Creator:
Leonard Freeman1968 was a significant year for Hollywood, as well as Washington D.C. and Southeast Asia. Steve McQueen's iconic chase movie Bullitt hit the screens running full speed ahead.
The French Connection was a major motion picture from 1971, with Gene Hackman in his signature role as the head of the NYC Narcotics Bureau, who discovers a drug smuggling operation with a French connection. From the novel by Robin Moore.
A pair of NYC cops in the Narcotics Bureau stumble onto a drug smuggling job with a French connection.
Director:
William FriedkinAlso in '71, another major motion picture with a signature role: this time Clint Eastwood, starring as Dirty Harry.
When a madman calling himself "the Scorpio Killer" menaces the city, tough as nails San Francisco Police Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan is assigned to track down and ferret out the crazed psychopath.
Director:
Don SiegelWriters:
Harry Julian Fink (screenplay), Rita M. Fink (screenplay) (as R.M. Fink) | 3 more credits »In 1972, Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy hit the screen, based on the novel by Arthur La Bern.
This is at face a police procedural. But the real investigator is the prime suspect.London is terrorized by a vicious sex killer known as The Necktie Murderer. Following the brutal slaying of his ex-wife, down-on-his-luck Richard Blaney is suspected by the police of being the killer. He goes on the run, determined to prove his innocence.
Also from '72: Of course Burt Reynolds just had to get in on the action scene(s). So out comes the Fuzz.
That same year the cops daringly go Across 100th Street (in other words, into Harlem) in yet another signature film, this time starring two Anthonys: Antohny Quinn and Anthony Franciosa.
In 1973 came Electra Glide Blue,
Another film from France as well, in '73: Two Men in Town (original title: Deux Hommes Dans la Vie). Now, I don't know about you but I'd take that title any day over the boring two men in town somewhere.
Still in 1973, Dirty Harry is back (after the success of Harry I, they went right back into production) in Magnum Force.
Author pseudonym Ellery Queen returns to the big screen in 1975 with the television series Ellery Queen Mysteries, in which the son of a police detective takes to solving crimes. I am assuming this son is also a police detective. Can't find this to watch and find out. Sad.
Another popular television series began in 1975, Starsky and Hutch:
From Sweden came the film Man on the Roof in 1976:
Also from '76: no trombones, but Dirty Harry is back again as The Enforcer (what else).
San Francisco Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) must foil a terrorist organization made up of disgruntled Vietnam veterans. But this time, he's teamed with female partner Inspector Kate Moore (Tyne Daly), with whom he's not too excited to be working.
From 1977 to 1983 ran the television series CHIPs.
And for a change of pace, came the comedy spoof TVseries: Police Squad! (not the exclamation point!) starring the inimitable Leslie Nielsen (of the movie Airplane fame).
Sight gags and non-sequiturs dominate this spoof of police dramas. The six episodes formed the basis for the very successful "Naked Gun" film franchise.
The notable year 1984 gave us the Swedish film The Man from Majorca (please note the correct spelling in the native Catalan language--and also Spanish--is Mallorca: either way pronounced 'Mah york ah). From the novel by Leif G.W. Persson
1984 also gave us another iconic film: Beverly Hills Cop:
A freewheeling Detroit cop pursuing a murder investigation finds himself dealing with the very different culture of Beverly Hills.
Beverly Hills will never be the same once Eddie Murphy hits town:
1986 brought us another Swedish import, in Anmald forsvunnen
The Swedes are back again that same year with another police show with the TV movie Beskyddarna
1987 premiered the BBC series Inspector Morse (each episode was a full 90 minutes, meaning a television feature film. Good series, I recommend it.
The cop buddy film Lethal Weapon was also released in 1987.
Also in '87 Hollywood is armed and ready with Beverly Hills Cop II,
Eddy Murphy and Judge Reinhold back in the saddle, for better and worse.
Axel Foley returns to Beverly Hills to help Taggart and Rosewood investigate Chief Bogomil's near-fatal shooting and the series of "alphabet crimes" associated with it.
1987 was definitely a banner year for films. That was the year of Dragnet. Not the TV show, but the movie with Tom Hanks, Christopher Plummer and Dan Aykroyd.
The next year finds us immersed in The Dead Pool (1988):
Dirty Harry is back on patrol. Beware, villains! Targeting celebs is one thing: but target Harry Callahan? Fools rush in.......
The next year the Lethal Weapon is back, in Lethal Weapon II.
1989 was also Relentless.
1991 produced a mini-series, Prime Suspect with Helen Mirren as a female detective in London.
Skipping over yet another Lethal Weapon and several Swedish television series, brings us to another fine BBC series:
A Touch of Frost (beginning 1992 and running for 18 excellent seasons.
From 1993-2001 the television series Walker, Texas Ranger hit the airwaves. Not my cuppa, but Chuck Norris filled the bill suitably.
Also from '93, from Sweden (again) comes Roseanna.
A young American girl is found dead in Göta kanal, Sweden's largest canal. Since there are hardly any clues or evidence at all it seems as if the murder can't be solved. Martin Beck and his... See full summary »
Still in '93 a still in Sweden, Murder at the Savoy comes next.
A famous industrialist is murdered at a restaurant in Malmö. Police inspector Martin Beck in Stockholm gets the case. The suspects lead to people involved in illegal arms deals.
More Swedish films follow, and more Frost. Then, in 1994 (wait for it!)......Beverly Hills Cop III. I think Judge Reinhold took a gander on this one. Wonder why.....
Helen Mirren is back in 1995 in a Prime Suspect sequel: Prime Suspect: The Lost Child.
Superintendent Jane Tennison (Dame Helen Mirren) orchestrates a search for an abducted baby, but events take a turn for the worst when personal emotions cause complications.
I like the way they refer to her as 'Dame Helen Mirren'. She earned it.
On television, 1995 produced JAG
The cases of Harmon Rabb, former Navy fighter pilot, and his fellow lawyers of the U.S. Navy's Judge Advocate General's office.
This qualifies: the Judge Advocate General's team of lawyers investigates and prosecutes crimes within, by way of, or targeting the U.S. Navy.
Also from '95: McCallum.
In 1996 more from Sweden, with The Hunters:
Back to Texas in Lone Star (1996):
That same year came a documentary series exploring the art and craft of forensic medicine: The New Detectives.
The same year, The Glimmer Man pits Steven Segal against Keenan Ivory Wayans in which detective--the redneck white dude or the big city black cat--will catch a killer calling himself The Family Man. Creepy.
Back to Sweden for something that will cause Insomnia:
1997 was the year of L.A. Confidential.
Based on the novel by James Ellroy,
Kevin Spacey. Ah well, who knew? (Me, too?).
The same year the BBC presented another excellent series, Midsomer Murders.
One thing to bear in mind with this series is that each episode is 90 minutes. But it's well done and worth the time.
Stockholm is on the line again, in '97, with Beck:
The next year, 1998, Los Angeles finds itself under Martial Law.
All right, all right, don't get your britches in a twist: it's a TV series involving martial arts, not martial law. Jackie Chan-style, except no Jackie Chan. Arsenio Hall is always worth a look-see, though.
1999 has Zero Tolerance: (Noll Tolerans) for shows not from Sweden, apparently.
Johan is a two-fisted Gothenburg cop who finds himself in a shoot-out with jewel robbers. After the smoke has cleared, one robber, shot by his accomplice, and an innocent bystander, are ... See full summary »
The turn of the century begins with The Crimson Rivers, Les rivières pourpres (original title)
A murder detective must follow the footsteps of a brutal killer within the secrets of a classist college.
The year 2000 also begins the long-running TV series CSI: Crime Scene Investigators.
In 2002 we get Insomnia. Again. This time a Hollywood usurpation of the Swedish film.
A top cast in Christopher Nolan's film.
How about a Korean film? 2003 brings us Memories of Murder,
For some serious investigation, we go to M.I.T.: Murder Investigation Team, not that university in Massachusetts where they dissect mother boards or something.
This one is a TV series out of London.
2003 also begins the American TV series NCIS:
Following a spate of continuing series and various films a new series emerges in 2004: Starsky and Hutch:
In 2005, the Brits produced one of my all-time favorite television mini series, Wallander, starring Kenneth Branagh, one of the finest English actors in some time.
That same year, back in the states, gave us Kojak:
2005 was a busy year for television. Also from that year:
Criminal Minds:
Still from 2005, yet another fine mini-series out of Sweden was:
The Laser Man.
The Swedes were not done with '05. Also from that year came:
Hook.
Back to the UK in 2007 with Hot Fuzz. Man, is that ever a title with multiple connotations. So the Brits have 'fuzz' too. And here I thought that was strictly a New York term.
And 'hot' can mean temps, or stolen, or, of course, extremely attractive to members of the opposing sex. Hot fuzz. Nice to see Martin Freeman taking on a new challenge.
Also from 2007 came the Women's Murder Club: Here's a group of women who get together to do a lot more than sewing:
Also that year began the ten-year run of the BBC series Inspector George Gently.
And for a change of paw--I meant 'pace'-- 2008 brought in Il Commisario Rex.
And why not a police dog for a change. They can also investigate: often better than we humans. And this one speaks Italian!
Also back in 2008 things really start to Go Fast in France:
Following numerous continuing series episodes come 2009 yet another Swedish film is out, this time about Johan Falk: GSI.
There is some action in Germany, as well. This becomes a successful mini-series.
In 2010 there's Kommissari Winter.
2010 was a decade ago. Can you believe it? (And who could have predicted 2020?).
2010 also begins the popular female cop and medical examiner TV series team of Rizzoli & Isles:
Also in 2010 began another popular series Hawaii Five-O:
2010 also gave (us) Chase:
So what else is new? Well, female cops and cop TV shows are farily new. In terms relative history, women have seldom played much of a role in anything, prior to Aphra Behn:
Aphra Behn, 1640?-1689
Often credited with being the first woman writer to earn a living by her pen, Behn apparently led a most unusual and eventful life. Although the details concerning her life are scant and often based on speculation, evidence suggests that in her youth she visited Surinam, where she had an affair with the political radical William Scot. Returning to England, she may have married a "Mr. Behn" in 1664; however, she was probably widowed and penniless by 1665. To earn money, she took employment by the Crown as a spy in Antwerp, but arrived back in England in debt, and in 1668 was thrown in debtor’s prison. Upon her emergence, she started to support herself by writing plays for the London theater, and later novels for print. She is best known for Oroonoko; or, The Royal Slave (1688), the story of a captured African prince who is forced into slavery in Surinam. Oroonoko is at once an adventure narrative and a horrific tale of the African experience in the New World. Overall, Behn composed at least sixteen plays for the stage, and wrote fourteen novels, only six of which were published during her lifetime.
Also, scholars of Elizabethan history will tell you that women were not even allowed to play women on the stage of the Globe Theater (or any theater) in the age of Shakespeare.
My apologies. A digression into history.
Continuing with 2010, comes DCI Banks.
Back to more traditional tough guy heroes with female backup.
Also from that year was the short-lived Detroit 1-8-7.
More cops and robbers.
Canada sent out their own King in 2011: Another female cop. Excellent. The more the better!
2011 is starting to look like the Year of the Woman. Next case:
The Protector.
Well, that was fun while it lasted. But now we're following a False Trail (Jagarna): The sequel to Jagarna (1996), the film concerns Erik who is asked to return to his hometown in Sweden to solve a brutal murder. Although hesitant to go back due to unfavourable memories of ... See full summary »
Something new arrived in Poland (or rather from Poland) in 2012 with:
Komisarz Alex:
Mostly continuing series, then in 2013, comes Death of a Pilgrim, again from Sweden.
Also from 2013, comes Harry, a miniseries from Auckland, New Zealand. Nice to see something good coming from NZ again.
Also from 2013, one of the very best mini-series I've seen is Top of the Lake, set at just such a location, in the heart of the South Island, where the high mountains and large, cold lakes preside.
While I take exception to the casting of an American--Elizabeth Moss, in the principle role, she does a passing-fair job of it. The rest of the cast are all excellent, and the missing (Asian) girl's disappearance is heart-rending, as her story slowly comes out.
The next year, 2014, saw the onset of Bosch, this time a tough cop in L.A.-type series. The books, by Michael Connelly are consistently good, as is the series.
Also from that year there were Witnesses.
Set in a small coastal village in France, this is a quiet thriller of crime and dark secrets. The opening sequence takes place in a house just put out for sale. In it, the discovery of what... See full summary »
2015 presented us with Backstrom. Yes, the title name sounds Swedish, but it's an American series set in Portland (aha, but which one? Therein lies the question.).
Also from 2015: River, a mini-series from the UK.
A mini-series from 2018 was The Detail.
Perhaps, as the decade draws to an end, there might be room on your schedule or mine, for a dog and pony show. Well, a dog show, anyway.
Presenting: Officer Hansel, Burbank PD. A 2018 mini-series.
Last year (not in Marienbad) from France, came the film Oh Mercy! (original title Roubaix, une lumiere). Vive la France!
And finally, I shall close out this lengthy blog with a film not yet released: Spiral.
Thank you for reading.
I hope you have enjoyed this read, and perhaps become inspired to either watch some of these, or create the next one yourselves.
E.C.
That same year the cops daringly go Across 100th Street (in other words, into Harlem) in yet another signature film, this time starring two Anthonys: Antohny Quinn and Anthony Franciosa.
Two New York City cops go after amateur crooks who are trying to rip off the Mafia and start a gang war.
Director:
Barry ShearIn 1973 came Electra Glide Blue,
Bored with his highway traffic duties, Arizona motorcycle patrolman John Wintergreen is assigned to Homicide where his polite investigative style irks his macho boss.
Director:
James William GuercioAnother film from France as well, in '73: Two Men in Town (original title: Deux Hommes Dans la Vie). Now, I don't know about you but I'd take that title any day over the boring two men in town somewhere.
A former bank robber is released after 10 years in prison. He gets help from a social-worker, but gets harassed by an old cop from his past.
Director:
José GiovanniStill in 1973, Dirty Harry is back (after the success of Harry I, they went right back into production) in Magnum Force.
San Francisco Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) is on the trail of vigilante Police Officers who are not above going beyond the law to kill the city's undesirables.
Director:
Ted PostWriters:
Harry Julian Fink (original material), Rita M. Fink (original material) (as R.M. Fink) | 3 more credits »
Author pseudonym Ellery Queen returns to the big screen in 1975 with the television series Ellery Queen Mysteries, in which the son of a police detective takes to solving crimes. I am assuming this son is also a police detective. Can't find this to watch and find out. Sad.
Another popular television series began in 1975, Starsky and Hutch:
Two streetwise cops bust criminals in their red-and-white Ford Gran Torino, with the help of police snitch, Huggy Bear (Antonio Fargas).
Creator:
William BlinnFrom Sweden came the film Man on the Roof in 1976:
Police lieutenant Nyman is murdered in his hospital bed and Martin Beck and his colleagues have another murder to solve. They discover that Nyman was a very tough policeman who received ... See full summary »
Director:
Bo WiderbergAlso from '76: no trombones, but Dirty Harry is back again as The Enforcer (what else).
San Francisco Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) must foil a terrorist organization made up of disgruntled Vietnam veterans. But this time, he's teamed with female partner Inspector Kate Moore (Tyne Daly), with whom he's not too excited to be working.
Director:
James FargoWriters:
Harry Julian Fink (characters), Rita M. Fink (characters) (as R.M. Fink) | 4 more credits »From 1977 to 1983 ran the television series CHIPs.
The adventures of two California Highway Patrol motorcycle officers.
And for a change of pace, came the comedy spoof TVseries: Police Squad! (not the exclamation point!) starring the inimitable Leslie Nielsen (of the movie Airplane fame).
Sight gags and non-sequiturs dominate this spoof of police dramas. The six episodes formed the basis for the very successful "Naked Gun" film franchise.
The notable year 1984 gave us the Swedish film The Man from Majorca (please note the correct spelling in the native Catalan language--and also Spanish--is Mallorca: either way pronounced 'Mah york ah). From the novel by Leif G.W. Persson
In Stockholm, on St. Lucy's feast day, a bandit daringly robs a crowded post office. Within a fortnight, two witnesses are dead. Two cops from vice squad, Johansson and Jarnebring, who were... See full summary »
Director:
Bo Widerberg1984 also gave us another iconic film: Beverly Hills Cop:A freewheeling Detroit cop pursuing a murder investigation finds himself dealing with the very different culture of Beverly Hills.
Director:
Martin BrestBeverly Hills will never be the same once Eddie Murphy hits town:
1986 brought us another Swedish import, in Anmald forsvunnen
Valentin Karlberg is reported missing in Stockholm and Detective Roland Hassel must find him before it's too late.
Director:
Lars Lennart Forsberg (as Lasse Forsberg)The Swedes are back again that same year with another police show with the TV movie Beskyddarna
A crude racketeering gang ravage in Stockholm. Restaurant owners are intimidated and exposed to serious damage. When the police begin to investigate the crimes the gang strikes back.
Director:
Mikael Ekman1987 premiered the BBC series Inspector Morse (each episode was a full 90 minutes, meaning a television feature film. Good series, I recommend it.
Chief Inspector Morse (John Thaw) has an ear for music, a taste for beer, and a nose for crime. He sets out with Detective Sergeant Lewis (Kevin Whately) to solve each intriguing case.
The cop buddy film Lethal Weapon was also released in 1987.
Two newly paired cops who are complete opposites must put aside their differences in order to catch a gang of drug smugglers.
Director:
Richard DonnerWriter:
Shane BlackAlso in '87 Hollywood is armed and ready with Beverly Hills Cop II,
Eddy Murphy and Judge Reinhold back in the saddle, for better and worse.Axel Foley returns to Beverly Hills to help Taggart and Rosewood investigate Chief Bogomil's near-fatal shooting and the series of "alphabet crimes" associated with it.
Director:
Tony Scott1987 was definitely a banner year for films. That was the year of Dragnet. Not the TV show, but the movie with Tom Hanks, Christopher Plummer and Dan Aykroyd.
The equally-straight-laced and "by the book" nephew of Joe Friday must work with his more laid-back partner to solve a mystery.
Director:
Tom MankiewiczThe next year finds us immersed in The Dead Pool (1988):
Dirty Harry is back on patrol. Beware, villains! Targeting celebs is one thing: but target Harry Callahan? Fools rush in.......
Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan must stop a sick secret contest to murder local celebrities, which includes himself as a target.
Director:
Buddy Van HornWriters:
Harry Julian Fink (characters), Rita M. Fink (characters) (as R.M. Fink) | 4 more credits »The next year the Lethal Weapon is back, in Lethal Weapon II.
Riggs and Murtaugh are on the trail of South African diplomats who are using their immunity to engage in criminal activities.
Director:
Richard Donner1989 was also Relentless.
Two Los Angeles police detectives, cynical veteran Malloy and cocky rookie Dietz, hunt for a serial killer, an ex-cop named Taylor, who randomly chooses his victims from a phone directory.
Director:
William LustigWriter:
Phil Alden Robinson (as Jack T.D. Robinson)1991 produced a mini-series, Prime Suspect with Helen Mirren as a female detective in London.
A female police detective investigates a series of serial murders while dealing with sexist hostility from her male comrades.
Skipping over yet another Lethal Weapon and several Swedish television series, brings us to another fine BBC series:A Touch of Frost (beginning 1992 and running for 18 excellent seasons.
DI Jack Frost is an unconventional policeman with sympathy for the underdog and an instinct for moral justice. Sloppy, disorganized and disrespectful, he attracts trouble like a magnet.
From 1993-2001 the television series Walker, Texas Ranger hit the airwaves. Not my cuppa, but Chuck Norris filled the bill suitably.Also from '93, from Sweden (again) comes Roseanna. A young American girl is found dead in Göta kanal, Sweden's largest canal. Since there are hardly any clues or evidence at all it seems as if the murder can't be solved. Martin Beck and his... See full summary »
Still in '93 a still in Sweden, Murder at the Savoy comes next.
A famous industrialist is murdered at a restaurant in Malmö. Police inspector Martin Beck in Stockholm gets the case. The suspects lead to people involved in illegal arms deals.
More Swedish films follow, and more Frost. Then, in 1994 (wait for it!)......Beverly Hills Cop III. I think Judge Reinhold took a gander on this one. Wonder why.....
Axel Foley, while investigating a car theft ring, comes across something much bigger than that: the same men who killed his boss are running a counterfeit money ring out of a theme park in Los Angeles.
Helen Mirren is back in 1995 in a Prime Suspect sequel: Prime Suspect: The Lost Child.Superintendent Jane Tennison (Dame Helen Mirren) orchestrates a search for an abducted baby, but events take a turn for the worst when personal emotions cause complications.
Director:
John MaddenWriter:
Paul BillingI like the way they refer to her as 'Dame Helen Mirren'. She earned it.
On television, 1995 produced JAG
The cases of Harmon Rabb, former Navy fighter pilot, and his fellow lawyers of the U.S. Navy's Judge Advocate General's office.
Creator:
Donald P. BellisarioThis qualifies: the Judge Advocate General's team of lawyers investigates and prosecutes crimes within, by way of, or targeting the U.S. Navy.
Also from '95: McCallum.
From deep within the morgue at St. Patrick's Hospital in London's East End, Dr. Iain McCallum and Dr. Angela Moloney along with a team of brilliant pathologists and detectives help the dead tell their stories.
In 1996 more from Sweden, with The Hunters:
A Stockholm cop moves back home to his brother near Norway and Finland. He investigates out of control deer poaching. He confiscates riffles with no permits. Everybody, even his brother and local cops, are against him. Things escalate.
Director:
Kjell SundvallBack to Texas in Lone Star (1996):
When the skeleton of his murdered predecessor is found, Sheriff Sam Deeds unearths many other long-buried secrets in his Texas border town.
Director:
John SaylesWriter:
John SaylesThat same year came a documentary series exploring the art and craft of forensic medicine: The New Detectives.The same year, The Glimmer Man pits Steven Segal against Keenan Ivory Wayans in which detective--the redneck white dude or the big city black cat--will catch a killer calling himself The Family Man. Creepy.
Back to Sweden for something that will cause Insomnia:
In a Norwegian city with a 24-hour daylight cycle a Swedish murder investigator has been brought in on a special case. Sleep deprived, he makes a horrible mistake which is discovered by the killer he has been hunting.
Director:
Erik Skjoldbjærg1997 was the year of L.A. Confidential.
Based on the novel by James Ellroy,
As corruption grows in 1950s Los Angeles, three policemen -- one strait-laced, one brutal, and one sleazy -- investigate a series of murders with their own brand of justice.
Director:
Curtis HansonKevin Spacey. Ah well, who knew? (Me, too?).
The same year the BBC presented another excellent series, Midsomer Murders.
A veteran Detective Chief Inspector and his young Sergeant investigate murders around the regional community of Midsomer County.
Creator:
Caroline GrahamOne thing to bear in mind with this series is that each episode is 90 minutes. But it's well done and worth the time.
Stockholm is on the line again, in '97, with Beck:
Commissioner Martin Beck and his eccentric partner Gunvald Larsson investigate murders in Stockholm, Sweden.
The next year, 1998, Los Angeles finds itself under Martial Law.
A Shanghai cop who is a master of martial arts fights crime in the Los Angeles Police Department.
Creator:
Carlton CuseAll right, all right, don't get your britches in a twist: it's a TV series involving martial arts, not martial law. Jackie Chan-style, except no Jackie Chan. Arsenio Hall is always worth a look-see, though.
1999 has Zero Tolerance: (Noll Tolerans) for shows not from Sweden, apparently.Johan is a two-fisted Gothenburg cop who finds himself in a shoot-out with jewel robbers. After the smoke has cleared, one robber, shot by his accomplice, and an innocent bystander, are ... See full summary »
Director:
Anders NilssonThe turn of the century begins with The Crimson Rivers, Les rivières pourpres (original title)A murder detective must follow the footsteps of a brutal killer within the secrets of a classist college.
Director:
Mathieu KassovitzStars:
Jean Reno, Vincent Cassel, Nadia Farès French feature filmThe year 2000 also begins the long-running TV series CSI: Crime Scene Investigators.
An elite team of police forensic evidence investigation experts work their cases in Las Vegas.
Creator:
Anthony E. ZuikerIn 2002 we get Insomnia. Again. This time a Hollywood usurpation of the Swedish film.
Two Los Angeles homicide detectives are dispatched to a northern town where the sun doesn't set to investigate the methodical murder of a local teen.
Director:
Christopher NolanA top cast in Christopher Nolan's film.How about a Korean film? 2003 brings us Memories of Murder,
In a small Korean province in 1986, two detectives struggle with the case of multiple young women being found raped and murdered by an unknown culprit.
Director:
Bong Joon HoFor some serious investigation, we go to M.I.T.: Murder Investigation Team, not that university in Massachusetts where they dissect mother boards or something.This one is a TV series out of London.
A London MIT investigates a number of gruesome murders.
Creator:
Paul Marquess2003 also begins the American TV series NCIS:
The cases of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service's Washington, D.C. Major Case Response Team, led by Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs.
Following a spate of continuing series and various films a new series emerges in 2004: Starsky and Hutch:
Two streetwise cops bust criminals in their red-and-white Ford Gran Torino, with the help of police snitch, Huggy Bear (Antonio Fargas).
Creator:
William BlinnIn 2005, the Brits produced one of my all-time favorite television mini series, Wallander, starring Kenneth Branagh, one of the finest English actors in some time.
That same year, back in the states, gave us Kojak:
A bald fedora-wearing police lieutenant with a righteous attitude who enjoys lollipops battles crime and injustice in a big city with the help of his police squad.
2005 was a busy year for television. Also from that year:Criminal Minds:
The cases of the F.B.I. Behavioral Analysis Unit (B.A.U.), an elite group of profilers who analyze the nation's most dangerous serial killers and individual heinous crimes in an effort to anticipate their next moves before they strike again.
Creator:
Jeff DavisStill from 2005, yet another fine mini-series out of Sweden was:The Laser Man.
Follows the Swedish serial killer and bank robber John Ausonius, nicknamed "the laser man".
The Swedes were not done with '05. Also from that year came:
Hook.
Eva Höök is a superintendent of police in a big town in the north of Sweden. Together with her police team she solves murder cases while raising her teenage son Lasse.
Back to the UK in 2007 with Hot Fuzz. Man, is that ever a title with multiple connotations. So the Brits have 'fuzz' too. And here I thought that was strictly a New York term.And 'hot' can mean temps, or stolen, or, of course, extremely attractive to members of the opposing sex. Hot fuzz. Nice to see Martin Freeman taking on a new challenge.
A skilled London police officer is transferred to a small town with a dark secret.
Director:
Edgar WrightAlso from 2007 came the Women's Murder Club: Here's a group of women who get together to do a lot more than sewing:
A homicide detective, a medical examiner, a newspaper reporter and a young assistant district attorney work together to solve homicide investigations.
Also that year began the ten-year run of the BBC series Inspector George Gently.
With the help of DS John Bacchus, Inspector George Gently spends his days bringing to justice members of the criminal underworld who are unfortunate enough to have the intrepid investigator assigned to their cases.
Creator:
Peter FlanneryAnd for a change of paw--I meant 'pace'-- 2008 brought in Il Commisario Rex.And why not a police dog for a change. They can also investigate: often better than we humans. And this one speaks Italian!
A spin off from the Austrian series Kommissar (Inspector) Rex. Rex the Police Dog moves from Vienna to Rome to continue his career.
Also back in 2008 things really start to Go Fast in France:
Marek, a crime squad officer, sets out to avenge the death of his partner and best friend, who was killed by drug traffickers. He asks for a posting to a new undercover unit created to ... See full summary »
Director:
Olivier Van HoofstadtWriters:
Bibi Naceri (scenario and dialogue), Jean-Marc Souvira (scenario and dialogue) | 1 more credit »Following numerous continuing series episodes come 2009 yet another Swedish film is out, this time about Johan Falk: GSI.
Policeman Johan Falk returns to Gothenburg and starts service at the successful special service GSI, but the relation between the unit and the criminals introduces him to a world he never thought existed.
Director:
Anders NilssonThere is some action in Germany, as well. This becomes a successful mini-series.
In 2010 there's Kommissari Winter.
Magnus Krepper (The Bridge) stars as Inspector Erik Winter in this Scandi Noir based on author Åke Edwardson's bestselling novels about the dedicated, yet tormented Gothenburg police detective.
2010 was a decade ago. Can you believe it? (And who could have predicted 2020?).
2010 also begins the popular female cop and medical examiner TV series team of Rizzoli & Isles:
Detective Jane Rizzoli and Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Maura Isles team up to solve crimes in Boston.
Creator:
Janet TamaroAlso in 2010 began another popular series Hawaii Five-O:
Steve McGarrett returns home to Oahu in order to find his father's killer; The Governor offers him the chance to run his own task force - Five-0.
2010 also gave (us) Chase:
A team tracks down fugitive criminals.
Creator:
Jennifer JohnsonSo what else is new? Well, female cops and cop TV shows are farily new. In terms relative history, women have seldom played much of a role in anything, prior to Aphra Behn:
Aphra Behn, 1640?-1689
Often credited with being the first woman writer to earn a living by her pen, Behn apparently led a most unusual and eventful life. Although the details concerning her life are scant and often based on speculation, evidence suggests that in her youth she visited Surinam, where she had an affair with the political radical William Scot. Returning to England, she may have married a "Mr. Behn" in 1664; however, she was probably widowed and penniless by 1665. To earn money, she took employment by the Crown as a spy in Antwerp, but arrived back in England in debt, and in 1668 was thrown in debtor’s prison. Upon her emergence, she started to support herself by writing plays for the London theater, and later novels for print. She is best known for Oroonoko; or, The Royal Slave (1688), the story of a captured African prince who is forced into slavery in Surinam. Oroonoko is at once an adventure narrative and a horrific tale of the African experience in the New World. Overall, Behn composed at least sixteen plays for the stage, and wrote fourteen novels, only six of which were published during her lifetime.Also, scholars of Elizabethan history will tell you that women were not even allowed to play women on the stage of the Globe Theater (or any theater) in the age of Shakespeare.
My apologies. A digression into history.
Continuing with 2010, comes DCI Banks.
The tenacious and stubborn DCI Banks unravels disturbing murder mysteries aided by his young assistants, DS Annie Cabbot and DI Helen Morton.
Back to more traditional tough guy heroes with female backup.
Also from that year was the short-lived Detroit 1-8-7.
More cops and robbers.
Canada sent out their own King in 2011: Another female cop. Excellent. The more the better!
Life of detective Jessica King does not run exactly smoothly. When she becomes the head of the Major Crime Task Force, she is eager to prove she is the best cop in town.
2011 is starting to look like the Year of the Woman. Next case:
The Protector.
Single mother Gloria Sheppard juggles her demanding personal and professional lives: raising two children while working as an LAPD homicide detective.
Well, that was fun while it lasted. But now we're following a False Trail (Jagarna): The sequel to Jagarna (1996), the film concerns Erik who is asked to return to his hometown in Sweden to solve a brutal murder. Although hesitant to go back due to unfavourable memories of ... See full summary »
Director:
Kjell SundvallSomething new arrived in Poland (or rather from Poland) in 2012 with:Komisarz Alex:
Komisarz Alex is a Polish murder mystery drama.A police team solves murder cases with the help of the police dog Alex.Each Episode has a different murder case but all episodes are linked.
Mostly continuing series, then in 2013, comes Death of a Pilgrim, again from Sweden.
A newly put-together police force tries to solve the old mystery of the murder on Swedish minister of state Olof Palme in 1986.
Also from 2013, comes Harry, a miniseries from Auckland, New Zealand. Nice to see something good coming from NZ again.
HARRY is a single story, six-part crime drama series set in Auckland which follows the intense psychological journey of Detective Harry Anglesea.
Also from 2013, one of the very best mini-series I've seen is Top of the Lake, set at just such a location, in the heart of the South Island, where the high mountains and large, cold lakes preside.
Obsessed with the disappearance of a 12-year-old pregnant girl near a freezing lake in New Zealand, a brave detective will find herself up against small-town secrets and a side of herself that was meticulously kept at bay.
While I take exception to the casting of an American--Elizabeth Moss, in the principle role, she does a passing-fair job of it. The rest of the cast are all excellent, and the missing (Asian) girl's disappearance is heart-rending, as her story slowly comes out.
The next year, 2014, saw the onset of Bosch, this time a tough cop in L.A.-type series. The books, by Michael Connelly are consistently good, as is the series.
An L.A.P.D. homicide detective works to solve the murder of a thirteen-year-old boy while standing trial in federal court for the murder of a serial killer.
Creator:
Eric Ellis OvermyerAlso from that year there were Witnesses.
Set in a small coastal village in France, this is a quiet thriller of crime and dark secrets. The opening sequence takes place in a house just put out for sale. In it, the discovery of what... See full summary »
2015 presented us with Backstrom. Yes, the title name sounds Swedish, but it's an American series set in Portland (aha, but which one? Therein lies the question.).
The Portland Police Bureau's Elite Special Crimes Unit is led by Det. Lt. Everett Backstrom, an alcoholic and smoker who is in failing health, but takes on cases in special circumstances.
Creator:
Hart HansonAlso from 2015: River, a mini-series from the UK.
John River is a brilliant police inspector whose genius lies side-by-side with the fragility of his mind. He is a man haunted by the murder victims whose cases he must lay to rest.
Creator:
Abi MorganA mini-series from 2018 was The Detail.
Three female homicide detectives solve crimes while also dealing with their personal lives.
Perhaps, as the decade draws to an end, there might be room on your schedule or mine, for a dog and pony show. Well, a dog show, anyway.Presenting: Officer Hansel, Burbank PD. A 2018 mini-series.
The adventures of K9 Officer Hansel and his human partner, Harkmore Wilson. Together they serve the mostly tranquil community of the Burbank Hills.
Last year (not in Marienbad) from France, came the film Oh Mercy! (original title Roubaix, une lumiere). Vive la France!
A police chief in northern France tries to solve a case where an old woman was brutally murdered.
Director:
Arnaud DesplechinWriters:
Mosco Boucault (film: Roubaix, Commissariat central), Arnaud Desplechin (dialogue) | 3 more credits »And finally, I shall close out this lengthy blog with a film not yet released: Spiral.
A sadistic mastermind unleashes a twisted form of justice in SPIRAL, the terrifying new chapter from the book of SAW.
Director:
Darren Lynn BousmanThank you for reading.
I hope you have enjoyed this read, and perhaps become inspired to either watch some of these, or create the next one yourselves.
E.C.
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