Ddey65 One night a New York City cop on the beat (Joe Bologna) goes into a liquor store and holds it up just to see if he could get away with it, and he does. The next day while caught in a traffic jam at the Long Island Expressway/Cross Island Parkway interchange, he brags to his partner (Cliff Gorman) about it, and from that point on, it's all about the money for the two of them. All to the cool mellow '70's soundtrack by Michael LeGrande, Jacques Wilson and Candy Tate.Using a cops standard salary, and the economy as an excuse to justify it, they decide that if they're going to end their crime spree, they should make a hit so big, they won't have to rob anyone anymore. But the question is who? And the answer comes in the form of a round-up of some mobsters from New Jersey lead by crime family boss Pasquale Aniello (John P. Ryan). After they make bail, the two cops decide to approach the boss under the guise of an offer to pull a job for them. As it turns out, the mob wants to get them to rob some bearer bonds from a financial firm on Wall Street during a parade for the Apollo 11 Astronauts, then make an exchange with the mobsters in Central Park. The firm they rob cooperates with them, but as it turns out, they're not entirely so squeaky clean either.This movie was released in 1973, but was shot in 1972 and evidently takes place in 1969. This skewed time-line seems to be the biggest flaw on the movie, not to mention a 1972 Plymouth Fury NYPD Special suddenly becoming another car a couple of times. The familiar landscape to those of us from the New York Tri-State area especially during that era, makes it worth seeing. I actually remember catching the end of this on some weekend afternoon on WNEW Channel 5 during the scene where Joe Bolonga and Cliff Gorman are hassled by a bunch of bicyclists in Central Park and Joe throws a middle finger at them... UNCENSORED!! This was from back in the day when local TV stations existed and were willing to show obscure movies at odd hours. The movie has been on my mind from time to time ever since. I'm glad I got myself a copy.

Robert J. Maxwell It's a pretty dumb title -- "Cops and Robbers." Sounds as if it ought to be a gritty urban crime tale starring maybe Steven Segal. Instead it's a good-natured look at two ordinary New York City cops who are tired of the violence and selfishness they see on the job, the greed and perspiration. They dream about getting their share of the goods too so that one of them (Cliff Gorman) can take his family to Bermuda and the other (Joseph Bologna) can become a farmer in Saskatchewan.The cops contact a mafioso (John Ryan) and tell him they want to get out, and they plan on doing it by stealing something and selling it to him for disposal. "What do you plan to steal?" asks Ryan. "Whatever you'll pay two million dollars for," replies Gorman.So they stage a robbery along lines suggested by Ryan, robbing an investment firm of ten million dollars worth of bearer bonds. The man who runs the firm, Mr. Eastpool (Shephard Strudwick) and his secretary (Ellen Holly, a dish) cooperate fully -- and for good reason. Afterward they claim TWELVE million was stolen, stealing the extra two million for themselves. "One million apiece!" Bologna exclaims in disgust. The two don't actually steal anything because they are forced by circumstances to destroy the bonds. But they cheat Ryan out of the two million he agreed to pay, and the film ends with the pair lazing in the back yard of their modest home, smiling and gazing contentedly at an airliner way up there in the sky.The amusement is tempered with a good deal of suspense before and after the robbery as the usual things go wrong and reality intrusions occur.Gorman and Bologna work well together, the former slightly wall eyed and a little insane, the latter cherubic and frightened. In their false mustaches, each looks a little like Groucho Marx. Strudwick and Holly are better than simply good enough, too.Much of the credit must go to the director, Aram Avakian, watching whose documentary, "Jazz on a Summer's Day," was almost as good as being there. Avakian gets a lot of smiles out of events in long shot. (The kids might not get it.) Example: Ryan is having his record typed up for an interview in the police station, looking very very Italian. "What's your name?" asks the cop tonelessly from behind the desk. "Patsy O'Neal," replies the smiling Ryan easily. The cop doesn't bat an eye as he types in, "Anielli, Pasquale." Well, another example, because that last one didn't involve a long shot. A half dozen mafia types wearing shades and flowered shirts are leaning against the wall in front of a high mafioso's headquarters when Ryan's long limousine pulls up. Ryan sits patiently in the car while the armed goons spread out in a circle, like the Praetorian Guard, hands fondling the guns packed into their belts, eyes searching for enemies. Nothing much is made of it but the scene is quite funny. I won't describe any of the other amusing scenes except to say that you have to look for them. The comedy is effective but not outrageous. Nobody falls on his behind, and after the first few minutes there is no shooting.Easy going and diverting film, worth watching.

bob_gilmore1 Donold Westlake is a true American original. He wrote a number of great books on capers in the 70's including Bankjob and The Hot Rock. But his best screenplay is clearly Cops And Robbers which also benefits greatly from top notched performances and an effortless presentation of a tightly knit story. It is one of the few films from the period that has aged well and given the fact that it was never released during the VHS era (and rarely screened on television) it is a treat for those that missed it.The DVD is nothing special (pan and scan without special features) but it captures the essence of the theatrical release and given the lack of close-ups it doesn't suffer a lot from being cropped. It captures the spirit of 70s morality without offending many. In summary, it remains a strangely uplifting "feel good" artifact of an era that generally feels more dated than the proceeding decade.

johnbates Two cops have had enough of the 'system' and decide on a high level robbery. This theme is presented in a somewhat light hearted manner. The film is an effective period piece of New York in the early Seventies. And of the work-a-day person in general.The video (and current tv version) however...Whatever soulless bonehead was allowed to prepare this movie for video release should be thrown in a lake. The story line is still there. But apparently the plodding nature of the film prompted cutting and editing. Many scenes have been awkwardly shortened, re-mixed or completely removed. Hopefully an original copy still exists on the premium cable channels.