On M List of Movie Reviews
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Madigan (1968)
Rate:
4
Viewed:
10/14
10/14:
If you want to watch the most mundane and linear cop picture made, look no further than Madigan.
It's amazing what the detectives do on the job: walk, smoke, talk, drive, smoke, go home to see the wife, eat, drink wine,
sleep, hit the streets, question informants, walk, smoke, drive, talk, smoke, eat, sip some more wine, smoke, sleep, go back
home to see the wife again, get up, and so on. So illuminated I am by their daily routine of life, I should try it someday.
Oh, how I love the age differences for a couple of pairs. Richard Widmark is 54 while Inger Stevens is 34; it's a difference
of twenty years. Sheree North, who plays the lounge club singer mistress, is slightly older at 36. Henry Fonda takes it further
as he's 63 while Susan Clark is 28, a healthy difference of 35 years. There's no question that appropriate-age actresses
should be insulted by having to be replaced by their significantly younger counterparts.
The other problem is the two parallel threads: the search for the killer and the commissioner's conscience. Just pick one and
stick with it. Not only the commissioner pretends to be sanctimonious, but he also sleeps around with a married woman and
gives the corrupt Chief Inspector a free pass which is based on one and only one reason: their childhood friendship. Before
getting into the shootout with the killer who happens to be holed up in some apartment, Madigan is given a bulletproof vest but
decides to forego it which proves to be an idiotic move, costing his life.
By the way, Inger Stevens committed suicide by ingesting an overdose of barbiturates on April 30, 1970, in Los Angeles,
California, just two years after the completion of Madigan.
All in all, here's a rule of thumb: if the idea of a new policier story can't be more exciting than Madigan,
don't ever make it.