It’s Officer Frank Serpico’s first day at work with the NYPD. In the canteen, Frank puts his foot in it straightaway. When he orders food he wasn’t offered, it arrives too fatty to eat. His buddy stops him complaining. They give server, Charlie, a break on double-parking on deliveries and in return, they don’t get charged for food. Next, Frank tries to pay for better food, but again is stopped. Charlie rules the canteen.
Serpico chases after three attempted rapists. He catches one and arrests him. This rapist is beaten to provide the names of the others. Instead of helping with the beating, Frank buys the man a coffee. He can’t understand why this man’s taking all the blame. He’s looking at charges for kidnapping, sodomy and rape. Later, Serpico sees the other rapists, arrests them and throws them in the holding cells.
Serpico’s informed other cops will now take over. It looks bad if a patrolman takes a collar like this. Strictly speaking, Frank: left his post, left the street and entered the schoolyard without permission. The most Frank can expect is an assist.
Successful patrolmen learning fingerprint identification would be eligible for assignment to the Bureau of Criminal Identification –resulting possibly in a detective’s gold shield. A dirty cop says Frank’s being too thorough checking fingerprint records. But, Frank is fastidious.
Frank (also called Paco) and girlfriend Leslie go to a lively jazz club. Whenever Leslie introduces Frank as a cop, the people soon politely wander off. Frank wants to tell people himself. While they’re eating, Paco makes Larry laugh. He discusses Japanese culture with somebody. And, he says that sheepdogs have been in his family dating back to the Borgias, to somebody else. Leslie rejoices, saying she loves him — everyone loves him.
Frank explains to Capt Tolkin that his unkempt appearance is his way of blending in with people on the street. Then, Serpico sees a robbery and apprehends the thief. Uniformed cops arrive and start shooting. Frank, dressed in plain clothes, furiously yells out who he is.
The cops are given marijuana to smoke, so they recognise the smell and its effects. Frank meets honest cop, Bob. Bob says he’s on special assignment with the Mayor’s Department of Investigations Detective Squad — a gold shield, because he knows people. With Frank’s street knowledge and Bob’s political knowledge, they could quickly clean up the city.
First shift with 9–3 precinct. Frank is given cash by a dirty cop. He tells Bob who suggests they go to Inspector Kellogg, the highest-ranking cop in the Department of Investigations.
Frank has two options. He can either be dragged in front of a grand jury — and murdered, or he forgets about it. Frank hands the cash to his sergeant, who mentions a police charity.
Paco tells Capt McClain about the money. He wants to leave the 9–3. He applied for Narcotics Division, but when he said he was plain clothes, they thought he was dirty. Capt McClain says he has a friend at Bronx 7th Division: Inspector Roy Palmer. The division is clean as a hound’s tooth.
Dirty cop, Tom finds Frank and offers him cash. Rumour has it, Frank can’t be trusted. When Tom asks if Frank would ever hurt another cop, Frank says it would depend on what he did. This is a red flag for Tom, who extols the virtues of taking money. Most cops take home $800 per month tax free after the first eight weeks — giving the other cops time to trust you. Then, you get given this eight weeks’ worth when you leave the division.
Vernon is a numbers collector who’s not been paying up. Frank’s with dirty cop, Rubello, who catches up with Vernon and flushes his head repeatedly down the toilet. Vernon’s given until midnight to get the $300 he owes. Frank is speechless. Later, Rubello suggests he hold Frank’s share of the cash should Frank change his mind.
Capt McClain says the Commissioner wants Frank to continue collecting information. The Commissioner will reach out to Frank in good time. McClain tells Frank to be patient. Frank tells McClain he’ll go directly to Delaney, especially now the others know he doesn’t take money.
Bob’s Princeton friend Jerry Berman at the Mayor’s Office is told about all the cops on the take — every plain clothes man and one or two lieutenants, equating to $250,000 per year, in one precinct alone. Devastatingly, the Mayor can’t afford to alienate the police force until the autumn, after the long, hot summer of expected riots is over.
Frank conceals a gun and meets with dirty cops. Tom says Frank should start taking money — he makes the others nervous. They agree to split Frank’s share. Disdain for Frank is now rife and entrenched.
Laurie and Frank start rowing. She says he’s either furious or catatonic. She hates that he’s so scared and miserable and dreads going to work. Then, she gets sick of hearing about it and hates herself. She loves him, wants to marry him, wants to have children.
Frank arrests a loan shark called Corsaro, finding an unlicensed gun in his glovebox. Corsaro’s relaxed with the dirty cops, laughing that he thought Frank was a junkie. Corsaro doesn’t empty his pockets when prompted, so Frank throws him inside the holding cell. The cops there side with Corsaro. Someone then arrives with Corsaro’s record check — he once did fifteen years for killing a cop.
Frank tells Capt McClain that Delaney still hasn’t called. Frank would rather go back to uniform than wait. He tells McClain he’s been forced to go to outside agencies — and will go to more. McClain says Frank could be brought up on charges. Frank says he’s been waiting eighteen months and that he’s at a dead end. He’s told to contact Inspector Palmer.
Frank arrives at work and all the cops stare in silence. He’s interrogated by senior staff about why he didn’t come to Delaney earlier. Frank was told by Delaney that the division was as clean as a hound’s tooth. None of the high-ranking men there heard any word of Frank’s allegations — they’re keen to learn which outside agencies Frank’s been to. Commissioner Delaney then instructs these men to carry out the investigation, agreeing that Serpico came to him some time ago.
In the locker room, dirty cops round on Frank for not taking money. Honest cop Chief Sidney Green’s been putting cops away for thirty years. His name’s an obscenity in every precinct in the city. He fought his way up as a Jew when everyone else was Irish. If Frank doesn’t testify, they won’t get indictments. Frank buys himself a gun with a 14-shot clip for protection.
Frank arrives for work and is surrounded by malevolent, dirty cops. They wrongly think Frank spilled his guts to the grand jury. When a cop threatens to cut out Frank’s tongue, Frank floors him and produces his gun at others.
Honest cop Inspector Lombardo becomes Frank’s partner. On an operation, the criminals are alerted and start burning evidence. Lombardo and Frank say they’re from the Borough. Manhattan Eight. When the boss says he already paid off the Borough, Lombardo demands to know who there he paid.
Lombardo talks to his superior about the organisation of corruption at Manhattan being bigger and more sophisticated than the one in the Bronx. Lombardo asks the Chief for investigative help, but the suggestion is effectively dismissed.
Frank wants to tell the New York Times — in case he gets shot. He tells Bob about Inspector Lombardo. The Mayor’s Office launches a five-man task force and Lombardo transfers Frank to Narcotics, Brooklyn South.
Almost immediately, a dirty cop orders Frank to get into his car, frisks Frank and says $800/ month is chicken feed in Brooklyn. Recently, the police split $120,000 drugs money four ways.
Later, Frank’s on a stakeout with three dirty cops, watching a dope dealer. Frank gets impatient and soon, he’s on the roof. Frank leads two cops to the dealers’ apartment — even speaking in Spanish — and squeezes partway through the chained door. His backup do nothing and Frank is shot in the face. Only after Frank’s been in mortal danger for a long few seconds do the other cops start arresting people.
At the hospital, Serpico’s father translates for Serpico’s mother, who only speaks Italian. Frank was lucky the bullet didn’t enter the brain or strike the spinal cord. His condition’s critical, but stable. Frank’s been getting cards that read “With best wishes for a slow death” and another says “Die, you scumbag”. Sid says the Knapp Commission likes him and wants him to appear. Heinemann and Julio are cleared. Frank rejects his new gold shield.
Frank Serpico resigned from the police department on June 15, 1972. He was awarded the medal of honour for “conspicuous bravery in action”. He’s now living somewhere in Switzerland.
Starring Al Pacino. John Randolph. Jack Kehoe. Rated 18. Dir Sidney Lumet. Released in the UK 1973. Runtime 2hrs 10mins
