History Film / Serpico

* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: In the end, a caption tells that Serpico has moved to Switezerland.

* TheSeventies

Frank Serpico (Creator/AlPacino) is an idealistic {{New York City Cop|s}} who dreams of becoming a detective. In order to qualify for the famous 'gold shield' he joins the Plainclothes Division, where Serpico's tendency to dress like a hippy -- and refusal to take bribes -- earn first the bewilderment, and later the active hostility, of his police colleagues. Equally disturbed by the corruption that surrounds him, Serpico keeps trying to inform his superiors of the situation, but all are reluctant to open a can of worms that could jeopardize their own careers or alienate their fellow officers. Eventually Serpico is forced to go public -- an action that puts his life in danger from those who are sworn to serve and protect.

* NewYorkCityCops

** The police commissioner is informed of Serpico's allegations and promises action, then does nothing at all (when testifying at the Knapp Commision, he claimed to have just forgotten about the manner). When the precinct commanders bring the matter to his attention, rather than give it to Internal Affairs he just tells them to investigate the matter themselves.

This 1973 film, directed by Creator/SidneyLumet and produced by Dino De Laurentiis, was adapted from the non-fiction novel by Peter Maas.

This 1973 film, directed by Creator/SidneyLumet and produced by Dino De Laurentiis, is based on the non-fiction novel by Peter Maas. Frank Serpico (Creator/AlPacino) is an idealistic {{New York City Cop|s}} who dreams of becoming a detective. In order to qualify for the famous 'gold shield' he joins the Plainclothes Division, where Serpico's tendency to dress like a hippy -- and refusal to take bribes -- earn first the bewilderment, and later the active hostility, of his police colleagues. Equally disturbed by the corruption that surrounds him, Serpico keeps trying to inform his superiors of the situation, but all are reluctant to open a can of worms that could jeopardize their own careers or alienate their fellow officers. Eventually Serpico is forced to go public -- an action that puts his life in danger from those who are sworn to serve and protect.

* LaserGuidedKarma: Serpico shoots a fleeing criminal and [[GroinAttack hits him in the testicles]]. Serpico thinks he's in big trouble until he's told there's a warrant out for the criminal...for rape.

** The precinct captain demands to know why Serpico didn't go to him about the corruption. Serpico pointedly remarks that he doesn't know the captain from the next man, as this is the first time the captain has ever deigned to speak to him.

* HeadInTheSandManagement: The police commissioner is informed of Serpico's allegations and promises action, then does nothing at all (when testifying at the Knapp Commision, he claimed to have just forgotten about the manner). When the precinct commanders bring the matter to his attention, rather than give it to Internal Affairs he just tells them to investigate the matter themselves.

* BasedOnATrueStory
* BetrayalByInaction: A precinct captain warns Serpico that being an honest cop in a precinct where many of his fellow officers take bribes makes him a marked man. "They don't have to do anything to you. All they have to do is ''not be there when you need them''." (See UnfriendlyFire below.) [[spoiler:That's exactly what happens]].

* {{Mad}}: ''Supercool''.

* TheStoolPigeon: A heroic whistleblower to the outside world, but a rat to his colleagues for breaking the code of silence.

This 1973 film, directed by Creator/SidneyLumet and produced by Dino De Laurentis, is based on the non-fiction novel by Peter Maas. Frank Serpico (Creator/AlPacino) is an idealistic {{New York City Cop|s}} who dreams of becoming a detective. In order to qualify for the famous 'gold shield' he joins the Plainclothes Division, where Serpico's tendency to dress like a hippy -- and refusal to take bribes -- earn first the bewilderment, and later the active hostility, of his police colleagues. Equally disturbed by the corruption that surrounds him, Serpico keeps trying to inform his superiors of the situation, but all are reluctant to open a can of worms that could jeopardize their own careers or alienate their fellow officers. Eventually Serpico is forced to go public -- an action that puts his life in danger from those who are sworn to serve and protect.

* HeadInTheSandManagement: The police commissioner is informed of Serpico's allegations and promises action, then does nothing at all (when testifying at the Knapp Commision, he claimed to have just forgotten about the manner). When the precinct commanders bring the matter to his attention, rather than give it to Internal Affairs he just tells them to investigate the matter themselves.

* {{Irony}}: The police department only launches a belated investigation into Serpico's allegations after he reveals that he's been to "outside agencies". The truth is those agencies are just as reluctant to investigate the matter as the NYPD.

This 1973 film, directed by Creator/SidneyLumet and produced by Creator/DinoDeLaurentiis, is based on the non-fiction novel by Peter Maas. Frank Serpico (Creator/AlPacino) is an idealistic {{New York City Cop|s}} who dreams of becoming a detective. In order to qualify for the famous 'gold shield' he joins the Plainclothes Division, where Serpico's tendency to dress like a hippy -- and refusal to take bribes -- earn first the bewilderment, and later the active hostility, of his police colleagues. Equally disturbed by the corruption that surrounds him, Serpico keeps trying to inform his superiors of the situation, but all are reluctant to open a can of worms that could jeopardize their own careers or alienate their fellow officers. Eventually Serpico is forced to go public -- an action that puts his life in danger from those who are sworn to serve and protect.

This 1973 film directed by Creator/SidneyLumet is based on the non-fiction novel by Peter Maas. Frank Serpico (Creator/AlPacino) is an idealistic {{New York City Cop|s}} who dreams of becoming a detective. In order to qualify for the famous 'gold shield' he joins the Plainclothes Division, where Serpico's tendency to dress like a hippy -- and refusal to take bribes -- earn first the bewilderment, and later the active hostility, of his police colleagues. Equally disturbed by the corruption that surrounds him, Serpico keeps trying to inform his superiors of the situation, but all are reluctant to open a can of worms that could jeopardize their own careers or alienate their fellow officers. Eventually Serpico is forced to go public -- an action that puts his life in danger from those who are sworn to serve and protect.

* BetrayalByInaction: A precinct captain warns Serpico that being an honest cop in a precinct where many of his fellow officers take bribes makes him a marked man. "They don't have to do anything to you. All they have to do is ''not be there when you need them''." [[spoiler:That's exactly what happens]].

* UnfriendlyFire: One of Serpico's fellow officers pleads with him to drop his corruption allegations because his life will be in danger. "They don't even have to shoot you. They just have to not be there when you need them." This is played out when Serpico is caught by a closing door during a drug bust, and his police colleagues don't do anything until after he's shot.

* GoodIsNotSoft: Serpico doesn't take bribes and is a lot nicer to criminals. The latter actually makes him [[GoodIsNotDumb more effective]] at getting names. He buys one of the rapists a snack, but he wouldn't hesitate to put a bullet in him if he tried to walk away. The former makes him bullied and menaced by other cops, but push him to far, like the guy with the knife, and he'll put you to the ground with the gun in your face.