Have you ever seen 48 Hrs? It’s a cop film, but it’s also so much more. I think it’s a great film to visually articulate the American Justice system. Not following me? I’ll cover that more in a minute.
Now, you have to remember that this film came out in 1982. It was a different … era. Almost 40 years have passed and I think society hasn’t progressed as far as we should have. but that’s just me. This film, as the poster suggests, stars Nick Nolte & Eddie Murphy as your ‘cop/prisoner’ duo, and they are quite the duo.
Jack Cates, played by Nick Nolte, is your typical 80’s detective. He can’t park. He relies on alcohol to deal with the stress and trauma he deals with at work. He wears a suit but, of course, no tie. He reports to a police chief and works with a bunch of cops, who are – to be honest – kind of assholes. No, seriously.
Prior to filming, Nick Nolte spent several weeks submerging himself in the role of Jack Cates by interviewing San Francisco, CA, police officers and eating foods he felt were fitting to the character. Maybe he also picked up the bad parking?
Hammond, played by Eddie Murphy, is the black convict turned free man for 48 hours to catch the bad guy. Don’t worry – he returns to jail at the end of the movie, without a sentence reduction; typical in not only movies of the era but pretty accurate of life today for many minority prisoners. Hammond is driven by personal reasons to catch and kill Ganz; who was responsible for killing Henry Wong – yep, you guessed it, an asian guy.
Murphy states in his 2008 Biography special that his character’s name was originally scripted to be “Willie Biggs.” He had concerns with that name as it sounded too much like a “Hollywood, made-up, black guy’s name.” He suggested the last name Hammond based on a raspy-voiced, cool kid from his hometown named Terrance Hammond. Reggie was a compromise by having just the first name be a typical “Hollywood, made-up, black guy name.” nice.
Looking back at the film these days is important, I think. Can you figure out who is the bad cop in this cast? I’ll give you a hint – it’s not who you think it is. It makes me question how Cates as a ‘good‘ cop didn’t see the ‘bad‘ one. I feel this movie, and its sequel, have helped to normalise the ‘few bad apples’ mentality we are challenging as a society today.
As you will remember, the movie posters for the picture featured a preamble that read: “The boys are back in town. Nick Nolte is a cop. Eddie Murphy is a convict. They couldn’t have liked each other less. They couldn’t have needed each other more. And the last place they ever expected to be is on the same side. Even for… 48 HRS.”
But are they on the same side? I would beg to differ. I would argue that they share a common goal – to catch a specific person. It never really felt like Cates wanted to help Hammond… just get the guy he wanted.
In 48 hrs, expect a predictable cop versus convict relationship portrayed throughout the movie. Cates hates Hammond but needs his help. After Hammond agrees, Cates is still an asshole; even when Hammond tried to break the ice with him. Because…yep?
Forget it man. We ain’t brothers, we ain’t partners, we ain’t friends.
Reggie to Cates, 48 Hrs (1982)
Eventually, they fight – which appears to be the generic ‘go-to’ for macho Hollywood cop types. The relationship develops as expected and by the end, the viewer is supposed to feel like they are now the ‘brothers, partners, friends’ they actively fought against for the whole film.
While it was nice to see Cates defend Hammond to his asshole boss, with a punch of course; it fails to address the still-prevalent attitude today that all people who end up in jail deserve to be there. I would have liked his asshole boss to be reprimanded by higher authorities for his attitude towards Hammond – but this was the 80s! Maybe there is another, more recent film, that addresses the overall department attitude towards bad cops – but I don’t know of it.
The film has some nudity, so avoid watching this one with your parents – I guess?
If the score seems is familiar – you are right! 5 Points to Ravenclaw… The film was scored by James Horner – the same guy that did Commando (1985), which came out three years later. The similarities between these films don’t end there!
In 48 Hrs, David Patrick Kelly played the character Luther. Luther is a ruthless and volatile criminal who teams up with another criminal, Ganz, played by James Remar. They kidnap a cop’s girlfriend and demand his release from prison in exchange for her safety. Kelly’s performance as Luther was memorable, portraying him as an unpredictable and menacing villain.
In Commando, David Patrick Kelly had a smaller but notable role as Sully, a member of the mercenary group led by the main villain, Arius. Sully is a slimy and sleazy character who is sent to capture the daughter of John Matrix, to blackmail him. John Matrix, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, embarks on a one-man mission to rescue his daughter and takes on Sully and the other mercenaries in the process. Kelly’s portrayal of Sully added a touch of dark humour to the film, and his character’s confrontations with Matrix were notable for their intensity and wit.
Oh – AND – James Remar – the guy who plays Gant – if he seems familiar, it’s because he is. You might recognise him from Dexter, Sex and the City, Black Lightning or The Warriors. He often went without any sleep before shooting his scenes in order to give bad-guy Ganz a more washed-out, psychotic look. A true actor, right… The amount of human destruction is amazing in this movie. There is a plethora of bodies left behind by Ganz and Co; from innocents to fodder cops.
All it takes is bullshit and experience, so come and experience some of my bullshit.
Hammond, 48 hrs (1982)
The film breaks up ‘black’ and ‘convict’ jokes with a redneck bar scene where the typical humour of Eddie Murphy comes out. While it’s not aged particularly well, some of the lines are amusing. It was good to see the challenging of ideals in a native environment, the path taken – condescending and violent – is not a recommended path for a real-world environment; so I’d avoid showing this to people who may get offended over their loyalty to controversial flags. The final showdown happens in Chinatown and the film finally answers the question on whether Hammond finally gets the long-awaited pussy he was after…
According to Nolte in Nick Nolte: No Exit (2008), most of the dialogue between him and Eddie Murphy was improvised in 48 Hrs. The film was the debut theatrical feature film of Eddie Murphy.
So I can understand why Eddie Murphy might have had some trepidation about the fight scenes. During the filming of a scene where Denise Crosby hits Eddie Murphy in the stomach with a rubber baseball bat prop, Murphy was afraid Crosby would actually hit him instead of stopping about a foot away, like all staged movie blows. She demonstrated her control on both Walter Hill and Nick Nolte to assure Murphy, but ended up hitting him anyway during a take. I mean.. I probably would have done the same?
Also… The word “fuck” is used 48 times in its various forms during the course of the film. This appears to be only coincidental to the title. Do you really believe it’s coincidental…? No… me neither.
Till next time.