Largely forgotten by the general public, Hickey & Boggs, a 1972 crime thriller,is
currently streaming on ScreenPix, a subscription service available as
an add-on for Amazon Prime and YouTube subscribers. The film's primary merit is that
it reunited I Spy co-stars Bill Cosby and Robert Culp (though by
this time, Cosby's fame had eclipsed Culp's, thus resulting in his
receiving top billing). In their classic TV show, Culp and Cosby played a
tennis pro and his trainer who were actually secret agents. The glitz
of the tennis world allowed them to live Bondian lifestyles while they
thwarted bad guys. Intriguingly, Hickey & Boggs goes in a very different direction. Resisting the temptation to revive their wise-cracking I Spy personalities,
Culp and Cos are seen as down-and-out private investigators in Los
Angeles. Both are divorced but pine away for their ex's; they can't pay
the office phone bill and they ride around in cars that look like they
barely survived a demolition derby. As the TV spots for the film said at
the time, "They have to reach up to touch bottom." On the brink of
financial disaster, the men finally get a case: they are hired by a
mysterious man to find an equally mysterious woman he wants to locate.
The money is good, but the seemingly mundane case soon turns deadly with
Hickey and Boggs dodging mob hit men, Black Power radicals and
unfriendly police brass.
Although the film boasts a screenplay by the noted Walter Hill, this is
the weakest aspect of the production. The story becomes completely
incomprehensible within minutes and, in terms of confusing aspects of
the plot, makes The Big Sleep play like a Pink Panther movie. So
many characters and relationships are introduced that the viewer is
never sure who is doing what to whom and why. What the film does have is
atmosphere, and Culp, who also directed, takes pains to distance the
two lead characters from their I Spy counterparts. They still
have terrific screen chemistry, however, even as they play against type
as two rusty private eyes who can't hit the broad side of a barn even
with their .357 Magnums blazing. The film features a number of exciting
action sequences and an excellent supporting cast including Rosalind
Cash, Vincent Gardenia, Ed Lauter, Bill Hickman (the legendary stunt
driver) and, in early career roles, James Woods and Michael Moriarty. It
would have helped immensely if the downbeat script was at least
decipherable, but as it stands there is still plenty to recommend about Hickey & Boggs.