Electra Glide in Blue (1973)

'Electra Glide in Blue' is ostensibly a murder mystery as investigated by an Arizona Motorcycle Cop. In execution, though, it's not about a character who solves a mystery so much as it is about a mystery leading a man to solve some personal issues he's got with his lot in life. It may also be among the finest police movies ever made.

John "Big John" Wintergreen is a highway patrolman, tired of being a grunt, living (and getting saddlesore) on the back of his Electra Glide motorcyle. His dreams of getting paid for using his brain, and upgrading his status become feasable when he is the first officer at the scene of an apparant suicide; his handling of the crime scene impresses the detective assigned to the case to the extent that they are partnered up. His experienes through the case, and witnissing how other officers behave toward citizens (mostly portrayed as hippies) lead him to discoveries about how important his moral code is to his soul.

It's worth noting that the mystery isn't very complex; the police procedural genre really came into its own in the 80's. This is not to say that it is underthought, or that the spiritual implications are absent. This is just a warning to anyone looking for an actioner. Nay, with the exception of a memorable chase sequence, there's not a lot of action in the movie.

It's not exactly cool to like Robert Blake these days, ever since he (a-hem) allegedly murdered his wife. However, his turn as Big John is as satisfyingly complete as you could want. This is an officer who compensates for his diminutive stature by being the best officer he can be, and his typically letter-of-the-law convictions tend to make him unpopular. Motorists hate him because he's a by-the-book establishment figure who they perceive as being too hard on them. His fellow officers think he's too soft on suspects because he won't rough them up. He is, however a charasmatic fellow who is fair, ambitions and popular with the ladies.

Conrad Hall, Sr. was the direcor of photography, and some of his shots of Arizona and Monument valley are among the most gorgeous I can remember seeing on the screen. The final shot needs to be seen to be believed; it really drives home the concept of a small man and his place in this country, if not in the Universe.