Summary
Three detectives in the corrupt and brutal L.A. police force of the 1950s use differing methods to uncover a conspiracy behind the shotgun slayings of the patrons at an all-night diner.
Cast
Guy Pearce
Edmund 'Ed' Exley
Russell Crowe
Wendell 'Bud' White
Kevin Spacey
Jack Vincennes
Kim Basinger
Lynn Bracken
Danny DeVito
Sid Hudgens
James Cromwell
Dudley Smith
David Strathairn
Pierce Patchett
Ron Rifkin
D.A. Ellis Loew
Matt McCoy
'Badge of Honor' Star Brett Chase
Paul Guilfoyle
Mickey Cohen
Paolo Seganti
Johnny Stompanato
Elisabeth Granli
Mickey Cohen's Mambo Partner
Sandra Taylor
Mickey Cohen's Mambo Partner
Steve Rankin
Officer Arresting Mickey Cohen
Graham Beckel
Dick Stensland
Allan Graf
Wife Beater
Precious Chong
Wife
Symba
Jack's Dancing Partner
Bob Clendenin
Reporter at Hollywood Station
Lennie Loftin
Photographer at Hollywood Station
Will Zahrn
Liquor Store Owner
Amber Smith
Susan Lefferts
Darrell Sandeen
Buzz Meeks
Michael Warwick
Sid's Assistant
Simon Baker
Matt Reynolds
Shawnee Free Jones
Tammy Jordan
Matthew Allen Bretz
Officer Escorting Mexicans
Thomas Rosales Jr.
First Mexican
Shane Dixon
Officer / Detective at Hollywood Station
Norman Howell
Officer / Detective at Hollywood Station
Brian Lally
Officer / Detective at Hollywood Station
Don Pulford
Officer / Detective at Hollywood Station
Chris Short
Officer / Detective at Hollywood Station
John Mahon
Police Chief
Tomas Arana
Breuning - Dudley's Guy
Michael McCleery
Carlisle - Dudley's Guy
George Yager
Gangster at Victory Motel
Jack Conley
Vice Captain
Ginger Slaughter
Secretary in Vice
Jack Knight
Detective at Detective Bureau
John H. Evans
Patrolman at Nite Owl Cafe
Gene Wolande
Forensic Chief
Brian Bossetta
Forensic Officer
Michael Chieffo
Coroner
Gwenda Deacon
Mrs. Lefferts
T.J. Kennedy
Bud's Rejected Partner
Ingo Neuhaus
Jack's Rejected Partner
Robert Harrison
Pierce Patchett’s Bodyguard
Jim Metzler
City Councilman
Robert Barry Fleming
Boxer
Jeremiah Birkett
Ray Collins - Nite Owl Suspect
Salim Grant
Louis Fontaine - Nite Owl Suspect
Karr Washington
Ty Jones - Nite Owl Suspect
Noel Evangelisti
Stenographer
Marisol Padilla Sánchez
Inez Soto - Rape Victim
Jeff Sanders
Sylvester Fitch
Steven Lambert
Roland Navarette
Jordan Marder
Officer at Detective Bureau
Gregory White
Mayor
April Breneman
Look-Alike Dancer
Lisa Worthy
Look-Alike Dancer
Beverly Sharpe
Witness on Badge of Honor
Colin Mitchell
Reporter at Hospital
John Slade
Photographer at Hospital
Brenda Bakke
Lana Turner
Kevin Maloney
Frolic Room Bartender
Patrice Walters
Police File Clerk
Rebecca Klingler
Police File Clerk
Irene Roseen
D.A. Ellis Loew's Secretary
Scott Eberlein
West Hollywood Sheriff's Deputy
David St. James
Detective at Hush-Hush Office
Bodie Newcomb
Officer at Hush-Hush Office
Jeff Austin
Detective
Robert Foster
Detective
Kevin Patrick Kelly
Detective
Henry Marder
Detective
Monty McKee
Detective
Henry Meyers
Detective
Michael Ossmann
Detective
Dick Stilwell
Detective
Jess Thomas
Detective
Robert Thompson
Detective
Jody Wood
Detective
Jimmy Ortega
Second Mexican (uncredited)
Nectar Rose
Marilyn Monroe (uncredited)
Rocco Salata
Uniformed Patrol Officer (uncredited)
Dell Yount
Court Bailiff (uncredited)
Scott McKinley
Cop (uncredited)
Gilbert Rosales
Third Mexican (uncredited)
J.P. Romano
Deuce Perkins (uncredited)
Chris Palermo
Anthony Trombino (uncredited)
April Audia
Mayor's Wife (uncredited)
Priscilla Cory
Brunette Police Woman (uncredited)
Fred Lerner
Dudley's Guy with Shotgun (uncredited)
Anne Zogby
Movie Star (uncredited)
Crew
Director, Screenplay
Curtis Hanson
Novel
James Ellroy
Screenplay
Brian Helgeland
Reviews
John Chard
August 7, 2016
10
City of Angels? More Like City of Demons!
Curtis Hanson directs and co-adapts the screenplay with Brian Helgeland from legendary pulp novelist James Ellroy's novel. It stars Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, James Cromwell, Kim Basinger, Danny DeVito and David Strathairn. Music is by Jerry Goldsmith and cinematography by Dante Spinotti.
It's 1950s Los Angeles and three cops of very different morals and stature are about to be entwined in crime and corruption...
I admire you as a policeman, particularly your adherence to violence as a necessary adjunct to the job.
Tremendous film making. Hanson takes Ellroy's labyrinthine story and pumps it with period authenticity and seamless direction, the latter of which sees him garner superlative performances from the cast. This is the side of Los Angeles nobody wants to talk about, it's awash with corpses, hookers, seedy set-ups, violence, drugs, racism and corruption a go-go. And that's just involving the politicians, the press and the coppers!
Rollo Tomasi.
The absence of genuine heroes on show still further keeps "The City of Angels" covered in dark clouds, where even as the plot twists and turns, as the mysteries unravel and brutality unfurls, the final destination of the principal characters is never clear, thus there's a continuing edge of seat pulse beat within the pic. It's also sexy and dangerous, the dialogue sharper than a serpent's tooth, and while the ending is a little too cosy as opposed to original noir wave conventions, this is pure noir in all but black and white photography.
It won only two Academy Awards, Basinger for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and for Hanson and Hegeland for Best Writing - Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published. Frankly it should have won a dozen or so for it's not just one of the best films of the 1990s, but also one of the best Neo-Noirs ever produced. 10/10
Media
Status:
Released
Original Language:
English
Budget:
$35,000,000.00
Revenue:
$126,216,940.00
