![]() Murray Abraham as Serpico's partner (uncredited) Allan Rich as District Attorney Herman Tauber.Biff McGuire as Captain Inspector McClain.An epilogue states that Frank Serpico resigned from the NYPD on June 15, 1972, was awarded the NYPD Medal of Honor for "conspicuous bravery in action", and moved to Switzerland. After a long, painful recovery, he testifies before the Knapp Commission, a government inquiry into NYPD corruption. After his allegations are printed, his superiors retaliate by assigning him to a dangerous narcotics squad in Brooklyn.ĭuring a raid on a drug trafficker's apartment, Serpico's partners hold back at a critical moment and Serpico gets shot in the face. Serpico and Blair take their story to The New York Times. The DA limits his questions and prevents Serpico from revealing the ubiquity of corruption in the police force. Furious, McClain informs the other officers.īlair uses his connections to arrange a personal interview with the district attorney, who tell Serpico that if he testifies to a grand jury, a major investigation will follow. Finally, Serpico informs McClain that he has reported his experiences to oversight agencies outside the police force. He begins brutalizing well-connected suspects who had been bribing other officers and thought themselves protected. Ostracized, frustrated, and fearful, Serpico sinks into depression, which ruins his relationship with his girlfriend. 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. Other officers learn that he is reporting them and he begins to fear for his life. He makes several attempts to alert superiors to the corruption but is rebuffed every time. Forced to accompany officers as they collect payoffs from criminals and small businesses, Serpico refuses to accept his share of the money. Serpico soon learns that corruption is rampant in the police department. Serpico reports an attempted bribe to a high-ranking investigator, who chuckles and advises him to keep the money. He realizes that deviating from protocols can be dangerous. While he is chasing a burglar, other officers fail to recognize him as one of their own, and shoot at him. He dresses like an actual civilian instead of wearing the department's standard plainclothes dress, which is easily recognizable. Serpico graduates from the police academy with big ideas for improving the police force's community relations. The rest of the film is shown as a long flashback. Chief Sidney Green fears that Serpico was shot by another cop. ![]() NYPD Officer Frank Serpico is rushed to the hospital, having been shot in the face. 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. It received nominations for the Academy Awards and BAFTA Awards. ![]() At the same time, the film drew criticism from police officers. Upon its release, Serpico became a critical and commercial success. On a short notice, he selected the shooting locations and organized the scenes the production was filmed in July and August. After Avildsen was dismissed, Lumet was hired as his replacement. Pacino met with Serpico to prepare for the role early in the summer of 1973. Bregman suggested Pacino for the main part, and John G. Agent Martin Bregman joined the film as co-producer. Producer Dino De Laurentiis purchased the rights from Maas. 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 that led to the investigation by the Knapp Commission. The screenplay was adapted by Waldo Salt and Norman Wexler from the book of the same name written by Peter Maas with the assistance of its subject, Frank Serpico. Serpico is a 1973 American neo-noir biographical crime drama film directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Al Pacino in the title role.
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