Review of Hickey & Boggs (1972) by Allan C — 18 Apr 2013

Terrific crime film directed by Robert Culp, featuring the "I Spy" duo of Bill Cosby and Culp as PIs investigating a missing person case, which leads to, of course, more than they bargained for.

The film was the first writing screen credit for Walter Hill, who would later go on to make many classics, including "The Warriors," "Extreme Prejudice" and "48hrs." While Hill can definitely write strong Dialogue (see "Hard Times" or "Undisputed") this one falls into the category of his less-is-more scripts when it comes to dialogue (see "The Driver" or "Last Man Standing").

But to this film specifically, it's a very tough detective story that is moodily directed by Culp. I'm disappointed that this was the only feature film directed by Culp. He really showed a really good sense of action and pacing, if not always great judgement when it came to some of the more broad characterizations.

Still, this a terrific film that served a stark contrast to Culp and Cosby's very breezy "I Spy" TV series. And look fast for James Woods in only his second big screen appearance. You also get brief appearances by Michael Moriarty, Vincent Gardenia and Ed Lauter.