Never had it, never will

Overnight tonight at 2:00 AM (so still on Saturday night in the Pacific time zone), TCM is run in The Seven-Ups.

Roy Scheider plays Buddy, who at the start of the movie goes into a tony Manhattan antiques store and asks about some of the items there. A guy delivering bottled water comes in, and he and Buddy have an accident that results in a huge dispute, but enough to bring in the cops. At this point, Buddy hands the cops a box that's been retrieved from the office upstairs. Buddy and the guy with the water bottle, it turns out, are both plainclothes police detectives. Buddy is the head of the group, known as the Seven-Ups because they investigate serious crimes that generally carry sentences of at least seven years, hence the title. But the group is also disliked for their methods which can be violent and are probably not quite legal.

Next up is Kalish, a mobster running a local racket who is meeting at a hotel to collect the money from one of his underlings. That night at home, the doorbell rings, and it's another plainclothes cop with a badge, to take him to headquarters. Only it's not really a cop, and they don't go to headquarters; it's a kidnapping for ransom. And since the victim is a mobster, they can't really go to the cops. After the ransom is paid, a second mobster gets kidnapped in the same way, except that this time the fake cops pull the guy off the street in broad daylight. Buddy witnesses the commotion, and realizes he's got a serious case on his hands.

The mobsters meet at a funeral home to discuss the case, but Buddy has his men be the chauffeurs (you'd think mobsters would have their own drivers), with one of them wired to get evidence. Unfortunately, the mobsters figure out what's going on, and find the guy with the wire. But they decide to turn this to their advantage by putting him in the trunk of the car where the ransom money is supposed to be. However, when the kidnappers find out it leads to a shootout with a dead cop and Buddy wanting answers.

The Seven-Ups has a lot going for it. It was filmed in New York in the era just after it was beginning to come to light who much cops are corrupt bastards and not saints at all. This was also an era of decline for New York City, and the movie captures that atmosphere quite well. It's a much different New York from the Doris Day/Rock Hudson comedies, and boy does it show. Schneider is quite good in his role, and the story moves along at a fair clip. There's also a memorable car chase. When it comes to New York crime of that era, I think I slightly prefer The French Connection and The Taking of Pelham One, Two, Three. But The Seven-Ups isn't far behind.

Sadly The Seven-Ups does not seem to be available on DVD, so you're going to have to catch tonight's TCM showing.