Busting (1974)

Pretty decent cop flick with Elliott Gould and Robert Blake. Director Peter Hyams first movie. It's rather dark and gritty, with some humor supplied by the two stars. Plot-wise it's pretty standard fair. There's a lot of crime and corruption in L.A. and vice cops Keneely and Farrel decide to do something about it. There's some shooting, good chase scenes, strippers and more, everything you'd expect in a 1970s cop movie. But overall it's pretty downbeat and cynical. Very nice camera work with a lot of long takes and interesting angles. Good supporting cast, especially Allen Garfield as crime boss Carl Rizzo. And Elliott Gould wears a funny hat.

Elliott Gould with mustache and hat, having a brew.

They Call Me Mister Tibbs (1970) - murder meets interior design, and comes up short

A decent cop movie with Sidney Poitier playing it cool. A good supporting cast with Martin Landau, Barbara McNair, Anthony Zerbe, and a hairy-headed Ed Asner. Directed well by Gordon Douglas, and music by Quincy Jones is always good. Script is unremarkable though, and the murder story could have been used in any number of cop television shows from that era. There's a good car chase, a long foot chase, and a couple of fist fights. We also see Tibbs with his family on several occasions, mainly working out a relationship with his young and unmindful son. The movie never really catches fire, and the ending kind of fizzles. The most fun for me was taking in the early 70s interior design. Browns and drab greens dominate, with a splash of orange thrown in to brighten things up. And some cool lamps.