The Policeman on the Silver ScreenThink about cops in movies, and who comes up? If you're into musicals, maybe West Side Story's all-but-powerless Officer Krupke. Maybe you're more a slapstick Paul...

Anti-EverythingIf Popeye is an antihero, is Charnier an anti-villain? Maybe. Don't get it twisted, though: Charnier doesn't mean well. He doesn't want to do good for the world. He isn't just accide...

Sonny on a Cloudy DayThough it isn't explained in the movie, Cloudy gets his nickname from his real counterpart, Sonny Grosso, who was known for his pessimism. Cloudy? Sonny? Sunny? Get it? We kind...

Crime, American StyleSal Boca, "candy store" owner and small-time crook, is the very... American partner in this French-American crime team. While Charnier is upper-classy and smooth to a fault, it...

Ready to CanterAs Cloudy says, Sal's wifey is a "fast filly," which in 70s-speak means she keeps up with the boys, and supports her man Sal's criminal activities by car-switching and arm-candying w...

Taking Out the TrashLou, the blue-collar, less-ambitious brother of Sal, is a garbage man's apprentice when the film opens. If Angie is Sal's right-hand gal, Lou is his left-hand man, helping him l...

We don't know a lot about Alain's wife, other than the fact that she's deliriously happy with him, likes to shop, and is (probably) in on the whole plan.

Just a Pretty Face?We don't know a lot about Devereaux, except for the fact that he's a movie star with money trouble. And Charnier, like a cat with a mouse, pounces on him, using his celebrity cac...

The Real CloudyKlein is Cloudy. Or rather, Federal Agent Klein—the upright, dutiful gent to brassy, snarling Mulderig—is played by Buddy Grosso, the real-life Cloudy. And, notably, the two role...

The movie star's translator, and in on the whole deal, La Valle is good at putting on airs and sounding important as he and Devereaux do their best to get their hands back on the drug car. La Valle...

The Thorn In Each Other's SidesMulderig hates Popeye, and the feeling is mutual. When Captain Simonson breaks the news to Federal Agent Mulderig that he'll be working on a case with Popeye, he basi...

Good for a Shot or TwoDespite playing the pursued assassin in the movie's super-famous train-and-car chase scene, Pierre Nicoli is far more of a plot device than a character. Why would we say that?...

The Real PopeyeCaptain Simonson, with his ruddy face and cherubic curls, looks a bit like an angry cartoon angel as he tries to control the completely uncontrollable Popeye. Played by IRL Popeye, E...

"You know who lives here?" Cloudy asks Popeye, as they're staked out at a fancy doorman building in Manhattan. When Cloudy tells him it's Joel Weinstock, Popeye's interest is peaked. He says:"He wa...