Saturday, March 21, 2009 Hickey & Boggs

I own a lobby card and theatrical insert for Hickey & Boggs, but not a DVD. Because there isn't one.

I have no idea why that is. H&B is a terrific little crime drama written by Walter Hill and directed by Robert Culp, who reunites here with his I Spy co-star Bill Cosby. The duo play a couple of down-on-their-luck private investigators hired to locate a missing woman. The trail leads to a small fortune in stolen money and many, many dead bodies.

This film must have shocked fans expecting a breezy I Spy follow-up when it was first released in 1972. It's unrelentingly grim, cynical and pessimistic. And while the espionage show made occasional stabs at portraying the brutality and futility of violence, it was still light years removed from the ugliness depicted by the later film. Hickey & Boggs is buoyed only by the patter and presence of its leads, who remain likable even when portraying alcoholic losers.

Outside of a few episodes of Greatest American Hero, Culp never directed again, which is a darn shame after such a strong debut. Hickey & Boggs was an obvious inspiration for Don McGregor's Detectives, Inc. graphic novels and is probably the best of the neo-noirs of the era (until Chinatown came along, at least). Thanks to Fancast.com, you can check it out yourself. Look for Michael Moriarty and James Woods in small roles.