Hickey and Boggs (1972)

“The only thing you can do is goddamn try to even it up, make it right.” – Frank Boggs

Number of Times Seen – 1 (1 Jun 2020)

Brief Synopsis – Two own on their luck private eyes are hired to find a missing girl, but things get really complicated on the way.

My Take on it – This is another film that I came across by accident and knew nothin about besides the fact tat it stars Bill Cosby and Robert Culp.

Pairing these two actors again is so enjoyable to see especially given the fact that they play characters so different from the ones on their TV show I Spy.

The fact that this film is darker in its plot enhances things a bit.

The plot of the film is a big too complex and things get quite convoluted as the story unravels.

The story also has numerous unseen characters popping up without enough of an introduction which makes things even more problematic since almost none of the characters are developed properly.

The story goes to some very dark and surprising places which helps make things more gripping and thrilling to watch unfold.

The action scenes are presented really well and I really liked the way that they find excuses to add in sporting events and arenas into the thick of the action.

Bottom Line – Culp and Cosby are once again great together as a team and the fact that this is a darker story than the ones on their TV show I Spy adds much to things. The plot gets a bit convoluted along the way and they tend to throw in numerous characters who we haven’t met beforehand. This obviously is somewhat problematic since most of the characters aren’t developed well enough. The film takes these characters into places we wouldn’t expect and that helps make certain scenes even more powerful. The action scenes are presented really well and they do a nice job adding in sports arenas and sporting events into the action.

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – This was Walter Hill’s first credit as screenwriter. Hill later said he had hoped the title roles would be played by Jason Robards and Strother Martin, rather than the popular TV team of Robert Culp and Bill Cosby, but he later said he found the film they made was ok. (From IMDB)

Rating – BAFTA Worthy (6/10)