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L.A. Confidential

"Everything is suspect... Everyone is for sale... And nothing is what it seems."

1997-09-19 Crime 2hr 18m

Three detectives in the corrupt and brutal L.A. police force of the 1950s use differing methods to uncover a conspiracy behind the shotgun slayings of the patrons at an all-night diner.

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L.A. Confidential
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Storyline

Three detectives in the corrupt and brutal L.A. police force of the 1950s use differing methods to uncover a conspiracy behind the shotgun slayings of the patrons at an all-night diner.

  • Released
    1997-09-19
  • Revenue
    $126,216,940
  • Budget
    $35,000,000
  • Runtime
    2hr 18m
  • Genre
    Crime, Mystery, Thriller
  • Status
    Released
  • Language
    English
  • imdb-logo
    8.2
  • Production
    Regency Enterprises, Warner Bros. Pictures, Wolper Organization

Crew

Curtis Hanson
Director
Brian Helgeland
Screenplay
Curtis Hanson
Producer
Keywords:
corruption based on novel or book call girl shotgun detective femme fatale domestic violence whodunit corpse district attorney movie star good cop bad cop angry aggressive neo-noir zealous 1950s vindictive admiring vibrant

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Cast

Guy Pearce

Guy Pearce
Edmund 'Ed' Exley
Russell Crowe

Russell Crowe
Wendell 'Bud' White
Kevin Spacey

Kevin Spacey
Jack Vincennes
Kim Basinger

Kim Basinger
Lynn Bracken
Danny DeVito

Danny DeVito
Sid Hudgens
James Cromwell

James Cromwell
Dudley Smith
David Strathairn

David Strathairn
Pierce Patchett
Ron Rifkin

Ron Rifkin
D.A. Ellis Loew
Matt McCoy

Matt McCoy
'Badge of Honor' Star Brett Chase
Paul Guilfoyle

Paul Guilfoyle
Mickey Cohen
Paolo Seganti

Paolo Seganti
Johnny Stompanato
Elisabeth Granli

Elisabeth Granli
Mickey Cohen's Mambo Partner
Sandra Taylor

Sandra Taylor
Mickey Cohen's Mambo Partner
Steve Rankin

Steve Rankin
Officer Arresting Mickey Cohen
Graham Beckel

Graham Beckel
Dick Stensland
Allan Graf

Allan Graf
Wife Beater
Precious Chong

Precious Chong
Wife
Symba

Symba
Jack's Dancing Partner
Bob Clendenin

Bob Clendenin
Reporter at Hollywood Station
Lennie Loftin

Lennie Loftin
Photographer at Hollywood Station
Will Zahrn

Will Zahrn
Liquor Store Owner
Amber Smith

Amber Smith
Susan Lefferts
Darrell Sandeen

Darrell Sandeen
Buzz Meeks
Michael Warwick

Michael Warwick
Sid's Assistant
Simon Baker

Simon Baker
Matt Reynolds
Shawnee Free Jones

Shawnee Free Jones
Tammy Jordan
Matthew Allen Bretz

Matthew Allen Bretz
Officer Escorting Mexicans
Thomas Rosales Jr.

Thomas Rosales Jr.
First Mexican
Shane Dixon

Shane Dixon
Officer / Detective at Hollywood Station
Norman Howell

Norman Howell
Officer / Detective at Hollywood Station
Brian Lally

Brian Lally
Officer / Detective at Hollywood Station
Don Pulford

Don Pulford
Officer / Detective at Hollywood Station
Chris Short

Chris Short
Officer / Detective at Hollywood Station
John Mahon

John Mahon
Police Chief
Tomas Arana

Tomas Arana
Breuning - Dudley's Guy
Michael McCleery

Michael McCleery
Carlisle - Dudley's Guy
George Yager

George Yager
Gangster at Victory Motel
Jack Conley

Jack Conley
Vice Captain
Ginger Slaughter

Ginger Slaughter
Secretary in Vice
Jack Knight

Jack Knight
Detective at Detective Bureau
John H. Evans

John H. Evans
Patrolman at Nite Owl Cafe
Gene Wolande

Gene Wolande
Forensic Chief
Brian Bossetta

Brian Bossetta
Forensic Officer
Michael Chieffo

Michael Chieffo
Coroner
Gwenda Deacon

Gwenda Deacon
Mrs. Lefferts
T.J. Kennedy

T.J. Kennedy
Bud's Rejected Partner
Ingo Neuhaus

Ingo Neuhaus
Jack's Rejected Partner
Robert Harrison

Robert Harrison
Pierce Patchett’s Bodyguard
Jim Metzler

Jim Metzler
City Councilman
Robert Barry Fleming

Robert Barry Fleming
Boxer
Jeremiah Birkett

Jeremiah Birkett
Ray Collins - Nite Owl Suspect
Salim Grant

Salim Grant
Louis Fontaine - Nite Owl Suspect
Karr Washington

Karr Washington
Ty Jones - Nite Owl Suspect
Noel Evangelisti

Noel Evangelisti
Stenographer
Marisol Padilla Sánchez

Marisol Padilla Sánchez
Inez Soto - Rape Victim
Jeff Sanders

Jeff Sanders
Sylvester Fitch
Steven Lambert

Steven Lambert
Roland Navarette
Jordan Marder

Jordan Marder
Officer at Detective Bureau
Gregory White

Gregory White
Mayor
April Breneman

April Breneman
Look-Alike Dancer
Lisa Worthy

Lisa Worthy
Look-Alike Dancer
Beverly Sharpe

Beverly Sharpe
Witness on Badge of Honor
Colin Mitchell

Colin Mitchell
Reporter at Hospital
John Slade

John Slade
Photographer at Hospital
Brenda Bakke

Brenda Bakke
Lana Turner
Kevin Maloney

Kevin Maloney
Frolic Room Bartender
Patrice Walters

Patrice Walters
Police File Clerk
Rebecca Klingler

Rebecca Klingler
Police File Clerk
Irene Roseen

Irene Roseen
D.A. Ellis Loew's Secretary
Scott Eberlein

Scott Eberlein
West Hollywood Sheriff's Deputy
David St. James

David St. James
Detective at Hush-Hush Office
Bodie Newcomb

Bodie Newcomb
Officer at Hush-Hush Office
Jeff Austin

Jeff Austin
Detective
Robert Foster

Robert Foster
Detective
Kevin Patrick Kelly

Kevin Patrick Kelly
Detective
Henry Marder

Henry Marder
Detective
Monty McKee

Monty McKee
Detective
Henry Meyers

Henry Meyers
Detective
Michael Ossmann

Michael Ossmann
Detective
Dick Stilwell

Dick Stilwell
Detective
Jess Thomas

Jess Thomas
Detective
Robert Thompson

Robert Thompson
Detective
Jody Wood

Jody Wood
Detective
Jimmy Ortega

Jimmy Ortega
Second Mexican (uncredited)
Nectar Rose

Nectar Rose
Marilyn Monroe (uncredited)
Rocco Salata

Rocco Salata
Uniformed Patrol Officer (uncredited)
Dell Yount

Dell Yount
Court Bailiff (uncredited)
Scott McKinley

Scott McKinley
Cop (uncredited)
Gilbert Rosales

Gilbert Rosales
Third Mexican (uncredited)
J.P. Romano

J.P. Romano
Deuce Perkins (uncredited)
Chris Palermo

Chris Palermo
Anthony Trombino (uncredited)
April Audia

April Audia
Mayor's Wife (uncredited)
Priscilla Cory

Priscilla Cory
Brunette Police Woman (uncredited)
Fred Lerner

Fred Lerner
Dudley's Guy with Shotgun (uncredited)
Anne Zogby

Anne Zogby
Movie Star (uncredited)

Videos and Photos

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L.A. Confidential
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L.A. Confidential

Movie Reviews

Reviews for L.A. Confidential
reviewer avatar

A Review by John Chard 10

Written by John Chard on 2016-08-07

City of Angels? More Like City of Demons! Curtis Hanson directs and co-adapts the screenplay with Brian Helgeland from legendary pulp no... read more

City of Angels? More Like City of Demons! Curtis Hanson directs and co-adapts the screenplay with Brian Helgeland from legendary pulp novelist James Ellroy's novel. It stars Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, James Cromwell, Kim Basinger, Danny DeVito and David Strathairn. Music is by Jerry Goldsmith and cinematography by Dante Spinotti. It's 1950s Los Angeles and three cops of very different morals and stature are about to be entwined in crime and corruption... I admire you as a policeman, particularly your adherence to violence as a necessary adjunct to the job. Tremendous film making. Hanson takes Ellroy's labyrinthine story and pumps it with period authenticity and seamless direction, the latter of which sees him garner superlative performances from the cast. This is the side of Los Angeles nobody wants to talk about, it's awash with corpses, hookers, seedy set-ups, violence, drugs, racism and corruption a go-go. And that's just involving the politicians, the press and the coppers! Rollo Tomasi. The absence of genuine heroes on show still further keeps "The City of Angels" covered in dark clouds, where even as the plot twists and turns, as the mysteries unravel and brutality unfurls, the final destination of the principal characters is never clear, thus there's a continuing edge of seat pulse beat within the pic. It's also sexy and dangerous, the dialogue sharper than a serpent's tooth, and while the ending is a little too cosy as opposed to original noir wave conventions, this is pure noir in all but black and white photography. It won only two Academy Awards, Basinger for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and for Hanson and Hegeland for Best Writing - Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published. Frankly it should have won a dozen or so for it's not just one of the best films of the 1990s, but also one of the best Neo-Noirs ever produced. 10/10

reviewer avatar

A Review by Geronimo1967 7

Written by Geronimo1967 on 2024-04-22

After the seemingly indiscriminate slaughter of the folks at a diner, it's the ambitious "Exley" (Guy Pearce) who suggests to his bosses tha... read more

After the seemingly indiscriminate slaughter of the folks at a diner, it's the ambitious "Exley" (Guy Pearce) who suggests to his bosses that it's time for the LAPD to get it's act together and root out the corruption endemic within the force. To that end, he is promoted by "Capt. Smith" (James Cornwall) and sets about trying to assert a bit more of the rule of law rather than the rule of vengeance - that'd be the "White" (Russell Crowe) method, or the more venal and sleazy fashion of "Vincennes" (Kevin Spacey). Needless to say, nobody takes kindly to this new pure as the driven snow approach, but gradually "Exley" starts to make a bit of headway into the world of organised crime, and to realise just how involved the police are in covering up crimes from fraud to murder. He's also aware that someone is pulling his strings, so some sort of rapport with one of his suspicions colleagues is going to have to be forged if he is to stay alive! Each of these characters get their moment in the sun and that allows us to meet the unscrupulous red-top publisher "Hudgens" (an energetic Danny DeVito) and the sophisticated call-girl "Lynn" (Kim Basinger) who is quite often pretending to be Veronica Lake! I think my only problem with this film was that I reckoned on who was doing what really early on, so the jeopardy was a little bit compromised. That said, though, it's one of Crowe's more natural performances and Pearce shows us he can deliver gritty and bruising parts well too. I could have been doing with a little more of Basinger's quite intriguing character, just to break up the relentlessness of the story a bit more, but it's a solid adaptation of James Ellroy's uncompromising book that Curtis Hanson presents and it doesn't hang about.

Read Full Review (The thoughts and opinions expressed here are solely those of the reviewer.)
A Review by John Chard

City of Angels? More Like City of Demons! Curtis Hanson directs and co-adapts the screenplay with Brian Helgeland from legendary pulp novelist James Ellroy's novel. It stars Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, James Cromwell, Kim B...

reviewer avatar

A Review by John Chard 10

Written by John Chard on 2016-08-07

City of Angels? More Like City of Demons! Curtis Hanson directs and co-adapts the screenplay with Brian Helgeland from legendary pulp novelist James Ellroy's novel. It stars Kevin Spacey, Russell ...

read more
reviewer avatar

A Review by Geronimo1967 7

Written by Geronimo1967 on 2024-04-22

After the seemingly indiscriminate slaughter of the folks at a diner, it's the ambitious "Exley" (Guy Pearce) who suggests to his bosses that it's time for the LAPD to get it's act together and root o...

read more