The Seven Ups

    I love 70's New York City cop movies and The Seven Ups is one of the best of them.  The film works well in spite of a rather big fault - a rather incomprehensible plot line involving kidnapping of mobsters that seems to leave as many unanswered questions at the end as are presented in the beginning.  This being said however it does have some great performances - Roy Scheider fresh off The French Connection and just before Jaws is great as Detective Buddy Manucci and Tony Lo Bianco (a criminally under used actor) as his informant and childhood friend .  But best of all is Richard Lynch (sadly recently deceased) who plays one of the kidnappers. Lynch, with his piercing blue eyes brings a cold blooded chilly presence. Also look for stunt driver Bill Hickman as the second kidnapper and with him on board you know there's got to be a car chase. Hickman who also worked in Bullitt and The French Connection as the stunt driving coordinator orchestrates a nail biting car chase thru the streets of NYC. Also on board in the ultimate NYC charcter actor Joe Spinell (The Godfather, Taxi Driver, Rocky, Maniac).
   Director Philip D'Antoni (who produced The French Connection & Bullitt) really shows the gritty, dirty feel of 1970's NYC and their are some wonderful locations - especially the climax along some railroad tracks.