"Madigan" is widely recognised as being a significant influence on the spate of TV and movie cop dramas that become so popular in the 1970s. It's also quite an ambitious movie because in its 110 minutes, it features a manhunt for a killer, provides an insight into the complicated personal lives of police officers and contrasts the work of street cops with those in more senior roles. Maybe more significantly though, it also shows how the events that take place over a single weekend in June, lead a Police Commissioner to rethink the whole set of values and principles that he'd previously adhered to throughout his long and distinguished career.
Tough NYPD detectives Daniel Madigan (Richard Widmark) and Rocco Bonaro (Harry Guardino) break into a tenement apartment in Upper Manhattan to apprehend a suspect who's wanted for questioning and find Barney Benesch (Steve Ihnat) in bed with a naked young woman. Benesch reacts by pushing the woman out of the bed and takes advantage of the distraction that this causes to disarm the two cops and escape with their guns. When Chief Inspector Charlie Kane (James Whitmore) informs Police Commissioner Anthony X Russell (Henry Fonda) about the incident, the strict disciplinarian reacts by criticising the Manhattan officers for departing from the rules by attempting to make an arrest on behalf of a Brooklyn precinct and gives them just 72 hours to recapture Benesch.
Some other matters that Russell has to deal with on the same day include delivering a speech at the Police Academy graduation day, meeting a black preacher who claims that his son was beaten up and racially abused when arrested in connection with a sexual assault charge and also what to do about convincing evidence he'd been given of some serious wrongdoing by his oldest friend and colleague, Charlie Kane. Russell is a firm believer in what's right and what's wrong and doesn't recognise any middle ground and so decides he'll have to deal head-on with the accusations made against Kane.
Meanwhile, Madigan and Bonaro make progress in their search for Benesch by conscripting the help of a bookie called Midget Castiglione (Michael Dunn) and a young man named Hughie (Don Stroud) who'd acted as a pimp for Benesch. Working long hours and under considerable pressure, Madigan also has to cope with the complaints of his beautiful wife Julia (Inger Stevens) who berates him for the commitment he gives to his job and the fact that it leaves her lonely and frustrated at home. She also doesn't understand why he's not more focused on gaining promotions to achieve greater status and respect. A brief amount of time he spends with his ex-girlfriend Jonesy (Sheree North) provides a more pleasant interlude but when reports are received that Benesch has shot a couple of police officers with Madigan's gun, the pressure to bring the unhinged killer to justice becomes even more intense.
Despite there being many different threads to its plot, "Madigan" never loses its impetus or clarity and through the use of extensive location work, also achieves a gritty, semi-documentary style which is perfect for this type of material. The characters are also interesting to watch because they're so well-developed and display the kinds of contradictions that are so commonly seen in everyday life. A great example of this is Commissioner Russell who demands that everyone under his control should maintain the highest moral standards at all times and yet, this man who presents himself as a paragon of virtue, is actually involved in an adulterous affair with a married woman. What he learns about himself and others during the course of this drama easily makes him the story's best written and most fascinating character by a considerable distance.
The quality of the acting is particularly good in this movie with Richard Widmark and Henry Fonda both outstanding in their lead roles and some fine supporting performances, especially from Inger Stevens and Don Stroud.
Tough NYPD detectives Daniel Madigan (Richard Widmark) and Rocco Bonaro (Harry Guardino) break into a tenement apartment in Upper Manhattan to apprehend a suspect who's wanted for questioning and find Barney Benesch (Steve Ihnat) in bed with a naked young woman. Benesch reacts by pushing the woman out of the bed and takes advantage of the distraction that this causes to disarm the two cops and escape with their guns. When Chief Inspector Charlie Kane (James Whitmore) informs Police Commissioner Anthony X Russell (Henry Fonda) about the incident, the strict disciplinarian reacts by criticising the Manhattan officers for departing from the rules by attempting to make an arrest on behalf of a Brooklyn precinct and gives them just 72 hours to recapture Benesch.
Some other matters that Russell has to deal with on the same day include delivering a speech at the Police Academy graduation day, meeting a black preacher who claims that his son was beaten up and racially abused when arrested in connection with a sexual assault charge and also what to do about convincing evidence he'd been given of some serious wrongdoing by his oldest friend and colleague, Charlie Kane. Russell is a firm believer in what's right and what's wrong and doesn't recognise any middle ground and so decides he'll have to deal head-on with the accusations made against Kane.
Meanwhile, Madigan and Bonaro make progress in their search for Benesch by conscripting the help of a bookie called Midget Castiglione (Michael Dunn) and a young man named Hughie (Don Stroud) who'd acted as a pimp for Benesch. Working long hours and under considerable pressure, Madigan also has to cope with the complaints of his beautiful wife Julia (Inger Stevens) who berates him for the commitment he gives to his job and the fact that it leaves her lonely and frustrated at home. She also doesn't understand why he's not more focused on gaining promotions to achieve greater status and respect. A brief amount of time he spends with his ex-girlfriend Jonesy (Sheree North) provides a more pleasant interlude but when reports are received that Benesch has shot a couple of police officers with Madigan's gun, the pressure to bring the unhinged killer to justice becomes even more intense.
Despite there being many different threads to its plot, "Madigan" never loses its impetus or clarity and through the use of extensive location work, also achieves a gritty, semi-documentary style which is perfect for this type of material. The characters are also interesting to watch because they're so well-developed and display the kinds of contradictions that are so commonly seen in everyday life. A great example of this is Commissioner Russell who demands that everyone under his control should maintain the highest moral standards at all times and yet, this man who presents himself as a paragon of virtue, is actually involved in an adulterous affair with a married woman. What he learns about himself and others during the course of this drama easily makes him the story's best written and most fascinating character by a considerable distance.
The quality of the acting is particularly good in this movie with Richard Widmark and Henry Fonda both outstanding in their lead roles and some fine supporting performances, especially from Inger Stevens and Don Stroud.