The Seven-Ups 1973

They Take the Third Degree One Step Further

- Simon Major

GRITTY American cop movies were a staple of the late 60s and early 70s, and The Seven-Ups was the last of a classic trifecta for producer Philip D’Antoni and stuntman Bill Hickman, following on from their earlier team-ups on Bullitt and The French Connection.

The Seven-Ups are a secret detective unit of the NYPD, dealing with crimes with slammer time of seven years and up – hence the name. They work undercover and employ oftenquestionable ethics to get the job done.

The bossman, hard-hitting Buddy Manucci (Scheider), relies on intel from local undertaker and childhood friend Vito Lucia (Lo Bianco) as to the goings-on in the mob world. When the police are falsely accused of a spate of high-ransom mob kidnappings, Buddy and his crew must pull out all stops to avert war on the streets.