But, it was a long struggle for him to become "Gene Hackman." He toiled in television and in theater for ten years before he got his first movie role in Arthur Penn's Lilith. Made Marooned and Bonnie and Clyde, Downhill Racer, I Never Sang for My Father, but also got fired by Mike Nichols from The Graduate—he was to play Mr. Robinson*—you'll see him on episodes of the TV shows "The Invaders" and "I Spy." Got nominated for his movie supporting roles. Got noticed.
But, it was The French Connection that made him "A-list", won him an Oscar for Best Actor and he never looked back. The thing is, he didn't even WANT to play the role of "Popeye" Doyle (director Friedkin didn't want him, either). He hated the character, but bulled his way through it. And won the Best Actor Oscar for it.
Now, in choosing the scene, there were a couple ways to go: for many the thing to do was the "chase" scene, but that wouldn't work with a series of still pictures...and there's not much dialog; I could have also gone with the "D'you pick your feet in Poughkeepsie" scene, but looking at it—it's two cops shaking down a black guy and, frankly, we've had enough of that.
But, the one I chose I found interesting. Hackman plays a fictionalized detective named "Popeye" Doyle, based on the real-life detective on the "french connection" case, Eddie "Popeye" Egan. Well, this scene has Doyle berating his superior about his hunch of a potential big drug shipment coming into New York. And the guy playing the superior ("Walter Simonson" is what he's called) is...Eddie Egan. Eddie "Popeye" Egan—the real-life guy Hackman was portraying in the movie. It's one of those little surreal moments in a movie that didn't have many...but they were there (the ending always haunts me a little). One wonders what was going on in each of their minds while they were playing this scene together.
The Set-up: New York narcotics detectives Jimmy Doyle (Gene Hackman) and Buddy Russo (Roy Scheider) have noticed a change in the drug-weather in New York City; it seems things have dried up and they've only been shaking down small fry. But, by chance, during an end-of-shift drink, they notice a suspicious high-roller Sal Boca (Tony Lo Bianco), who orchestrates a drop, then switches vehicles before going home to his convenience store. So, what's a guy with just a convenience store doing with two cars, and hanging out with known drug-dealers? Doyle and Russo want to find out. Time to square it with their boss, Simonson (Eddie Egan).
Action.
INT: POLICE OFFICE - NIGHT
DOYLE, RUSSO and SIMONSON
Back to SIMONSON
(he leans forward)
Now, You gotta let us have it.
RUSSO Two wires.
Back to SIMONSON
Words by Ernest Tidyman
Pictures by Owen Roizman and William Friedkin
The French Connection is available on DVD and Blu-Ray from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.
* A story from one of the Mike Nichols biographies: Nichols used to go around saying he'd only fired two actors: Gene Hackman from The Graduate and Robert De Niro from the proposed Neil Simon-penned script Bogart Slept Here (which eventually became The Goodbye Girl). Nichols mentioned it to Harrison Ford on one of their films together and Ford growled back: "You ever fire any mediocre actors?"
Hackman and Nichols did end up working together on two films: Postcards from the Edge and The Birdcage.
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