Harley Davidson 344
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Harley Davidson 344 |
| Original title | Electra Glide in Blue |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1973 |
| length | 114 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16 |
| Rod | |
| Director | James William Guercio |
| script | Robert Boris |
| production | James William Guercio Rupert Hitzig MGM |
| music | James William Guercio |
| camera | Conrad L. Hall |
| cut | Gerald B. Greenberg , John F. Link , Jim Benson |
| occupation | |
| |
Harley Davidson 344 (original title: Electra Glide in Blue ) is an American film directed by James William Guercio from 1973 .
action
John Wintergreen is a motorcycle policeman and drives his Harley-Davidson Electra Glide on the highways in Arizona every day . But he is tired of only reprimanding speeders or truck drivers on his tour every day. He dreams of breaking out of his boring patrol duty and joining the homicide squad. He often talks about it with his colleague Zipper, but he cannot understand him and finds his job satisfactory. Where else can you drive a motorcycle all day and still get money for it?
One day they pick up old Willie, who seems very confused. He says that Frank killed himself. Wintergreen immediately checks his hut and finds the man actually dead. The hermit apparently shot himself with his rifle. But Wintergreen would love to make a real case out of it. He takes detailed notes and wants to save all traces. In doing so, he incurs the displeasure of the medical officer who simply wants to issue the death certificate and have his peace and quiet. But murder investigator Harve Poole from Los Angeles thinks it's strange that the man didn't just shoot himself in the head, but in the chest. He has Frank autopsied, which actually confirms the murder suspected by Wintergreen. Poole appoints the dedicated patrolman as his assistant and he finally sees his long-awaited opportunity. The first thing they do is question the confused Willie who first discovered the dead hermit. He reports that Frank allegedly had $ 5,000 in his cabin. So Poole and Wintergreen take a closer look around there and surprisingly find marijuana hidden in a Jesus figure . This brings the police-known dealer Bob Zemko under suspicion. In search of him, Wintergreen ends up in a group of hippies who live in a commune . You won't find Zemko there, however.
As the murder hunt did not succeed quickly, Wintergreen and his colleague Zipper had to go on patrol again. By chance, he meets the wanted Bob Zemko, whom they are now pursuing together. In the rocker group's wild chase, Zipper wants to shoot the fugitive. Wintergreen prevents that because he desperately wants him alive. He manages to catch him and Harve Poole takes over the interrogation. The relationship between the two investigators is no longer as friendly as it was at the beginning. Poole found out that Wintergreen got involved with his old friend Jolene. As a result, he got to know Poole's dark side and has to listen to hidden threats from him more and more often.
Wintergreen is beginning to suspect that Zemko wasn't the killer, but that the confused Willie killed the old man. But he feels sorry for the lonely man and would like to help him. Nevertheless, he has to hand it over to the authorities. He explains Willie's act to Poole with a kind of jealousy. Frank has always had the young people around lately, which is why Willie felt set back. A loneliness murder. Wintergreen is disappointed with Poole because he was always wrong and wrong. He actually prefers his trusted colleague and friend Zipper, but he has to discover wrongdoing in him too. He had found the $ 5,000 at Frank, secretly pocketed it, and fulfilled his long-awaited dream. He bought a brand new Harley-Davidson "Electra Glide in Blue". When Wintergreen sees the machine, he gets a great remorse and is afraid of losing his job and being dishonorably dismissed from the police force. Drunk he laments about what he did and in the end even shoots Wintergreen. He shoots back to defend himself and kills his friend in the process.
The next day he dutifully goes on patrol alone. After routinely stopping a hippie in a minibus and then letting him drive on unhindered, he forgets to return his driver's license. He drives after the vehicle and is shot by the passenger of the minibus.
background
In the German dubbed version the name Wintergreen was replaced by Winterberg.
Reviews
“A dramaturgically inadequate debut film that unwinds a story without any inner tension. It is questionable to advertise crackdowns to stop crime. "
Awards
The film was shown at the Cannes International Film Festival in May 1973 before it opened in theaters. At the Golden Globe Awards 1974 Robert Blake was in the category protagonist Best nominated.
Web links
- Harley Davidson 344 in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Harley Davidson 344 at Rotten Tomatoes (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Harley Davidson 344. In: Lexicon of international films . Film service , accessed July 18, 2020 .