The Seven-Ups (1973)

Directed by Philip D’Antoni. Starring Roy Scheider, Tony Lo Bianco, Larry Haines, Jerry Leon, Richard Lynch, Ken Kercheval, Victor Arnold, Lou Polan, Joe Spinell, Bill Hickman, Robert Burr, Matt Russo. [PG]

Gritty cops-and-crooks thriller is something of a spiritual sequel to The French Connection (a couple years before an actual sequel was made). Scheider plays a dedicated policeman not too far removed from Popeye Doyle’s partner, leading an unorthodox squad of tough plainclothes officers that go up against a mysterious gang of killers that have been kidnapping and killing mobsters. Familiar aesthetic and stripped-down storytelling for the era, populated by a mostly interchangeable group of renegade heroes and violent thugs, but muscular direction and stink-of-the-streets location photography keep it engrossing most of the time. Director/producer D’Antoni, stunt coordinator/driver Bill Hickman (who also plays a baddie), and editor Jerry Greenberg all enter the project with experience in either/both Bullitt and Connection, and their combined efforts craft another rip-roaring centerpiece vehicular pursuit that legitimately gives those earlier chases a run for their money. Title refers to the fact that Scheider’s team only busts perps for crimes that’ll get them sentences of seven years or more, and has no connection to the lemon-lime soft drink; the “Cool Spot” mascot does not cameo.

72/100