The French Connection 1971

In the sun-kissed port city of Marseille, a relentless police detective tracks down Alain Charnier, a cunning kingpin of a heroin-smuggling empire. But their pursuit is cut short when Pierre Nicoli, Charnier’s ruthless hitman, takes out the detective in cold blood. Undeterred, Charnier sets his sights on smuggling a staggering $32 million worth of heroin into the United States by hiding it in the unsuspecting vehicle of Henri Devereaux, a charismatic television personality bound for New York City via ship.

Meanwhile, in the city that never sleeps, detectives Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle and Buddy “Cloudy” Russo trade wisecracks over drinks at the iconic Copacabana nightclub. Popeye’s keen eye for detail picks up on Salvatore “Sal” Boca and his alluring young wife, Angie, as they wine and dine with a group of shady characters linked to the lucrative narcotics underworld. As the detectives dig deeper, they establish a connection between the Bocas and their lawyer, Joel Weinstock, who’s well-versed in the dark art of buying and selling illegal substances. Popeye learns that a shipment of high-grade heroin is due to arrive soon, and he convinces his supervisor to greenlight a wiretap on the Bocas’ phones.

The stakes are raised when Devereaux’s vehicle finally arrives in New York City. Boca becomes increasingly anxious to complete the purchase, while Weinstock advises caution, knowing that their every move is being watched by the authorities. Charnier, however, has anticipated the surveillance and makes a swift exit on a departing subway train at Grand Central Station. To throw Popeye off his trail, he orders Boca to meet him in Washington D.C., where the latter requests a delay to avoid any potential run-ins with the law. Charnier is adamant about closing the deal as quickly as possible.

As tensions escalate, Nicoli offers to take out Popeye on their flight back to New York City, but Charnier knows that his detective counterpart would be replaced in no time. Nicoli persists, insisting that they’ll be long gone before a new policeman takes up the chase. His resolve is put to the test when he attempts to gun down Popeye, only to miss by a hair’s breadth. Enraged, Popeye gives chase, commandeering an automobile and sending it careening through the city streets in hot pursuit of Nicoli, who has boarded an elevated train. In a thrilling sequence of events, Popeye yells out to a policeman on the train to apprehend Nicoli before leaping into his car once more, determined to bring down Charnier’s operation and restore justice to the streets.

As Nicoli’s desperation grows, he takes drastic measures to evade capture, coldly dispatching a pursuing officer and commandeering the train motorman at gunpoint. With the conductor silenced, Nicoli forces the motorman to drive the train to the next station before a sudden heart attack sends the train careening towards a stationary platform. Popeye arrives just in time to witness Nicoli’s demise as he meets his maker on the platform floor. Meanwhile, Popeye’s team is hot on the trail of Devereaux’s Lincoln, tearing it apart piece by piece in search of contraband. The seemingly futile effort ultimately yields a shocking discovery: the vehicle’s shipping weight is an astonishing 120 pounds heavier than its manufacturer’s listed weight, suggesting that the drugs are still hidden within. A meticulous search ensues, culminating in the revelation of the heroin stashed inside the rocker panels.

Charnier, ever the cunning operator, uses Devereaux’s Lincoln as a conduit to distribute his illicit goods. He delivers the drugs to Weinstock at an abandoned factory on Wards Island, where they are tested and verified by Weinstock’s chemist. With the quality confirmed, Charnier hides the money within the rocker panels of another car, purchased from a junkyard auction, which he will use to transport his illicit gains back to France. As Charnier and Sal drive off in the Lincoln, they unwittingly trigger a high-speed police chase led by Popeye. The pursuit culminates at an abandoned factory, where Boca meets his maker during a hail of bullets. Charnier escapes into an adjacent bakery, pursued by Popeye and Cloudy. In a moment of hesitation, Popeye opens fire too late, striking Mulderig in the process. Undeterred, Popeye vows to capture Charnier, rearming himself before charging into another room, where a single gunshot echoes through the air.

As the credits roll, a series of title cards reveals the stark consequences faced by those entangled in the web of deceit. Weinstock’s fate is sealed as he narrowly avoids punishment for lack of concrete evidence, his case dismissed without conviction. Meanwhile, Angie Boca’s misstep earns her a suspended sentence for an unspecified misdemeanor, a warning rather than a full-blown reckoning. The ripple effects extend to Lou Boca (Sal’s brother and accomplice to the pivotal handoff), who receives a reduced sentence, his culpability tempered by mitigating circumstances. In stark contrast, Devereaux serves out a four-year stretch in a federal penitentiary, his conspiracy charges ultimately proving too strong to overcome. And then there is Charnier, forever elusive and unaccountable, his evasive nature leaving him shrouded in mystery. As the dust settles, Popeye and Cloudy are reassigned from the narcotics division, their involvement in the case deemed too entangled to remain within its parameters, a testament to the far-reaching consequences of their actions.