Popeye Doyle (Gene Hackman)’s Timeline and Summary
- Putting a rough case behind him, in which a fellow cop was killed, Popeye and his partner, Cloudy, are on the lookout for major rumblings in Brooklyn drug dealing. It's been a "junky desert" and there isn't any heroin to be found.
- After a sting at a local bar, with nothing coming up but dime bags, Popeye and Cloudy go out for a drink.
- At the bar, Popeye spots a small-time criminal with big amounts of bills, and suspects something is up.
- Popeye and Cloudy follow the guy all night, and into the morning, during which the guy drinks with his wife at one club after another, then switches cars and drops off a briefcase, and finally makes one last stop at the apartment building of Joel Weinstock, a known drug money man.
- Encouraged that his hunch seems to have some legs, Popeye and Cloudy continue to tail Sal, learning about his criminal record, his family, and his money.
- Everything points to the fact that something fishy is going on, but Popeye isn't yet sure what.
- Later, Popeye hears from an undercover cop that there's going to be a big shipment of heroin coming in from France, and uses this to convince Captain Simonson to give him warrants for wiretaps. He says he'll do his best.
- Frustrated. Popeye spends the next night drinking hard, waking up in the morning on a barstool.
- On his drive home, he picks up a pretty young cyclist in boots, who has her way with him after handcuffing him to the bed.
- Once the cyclist leaves to clean up, there's a knock on the door. It's Cloudy, and Popeye tells him to let himself in. Once he's kind enough to uncuff Popeye from the bed, he tells him that the captain got the warrants put through, and have put two Feds on the case, including Mulderig, who doesn't like Popeye all that much.
- Popeye, Cloudy, Mulderig, and Klein spend the next couple weeks playing a cat-and-mouse game with Sal and the Frenchmen (Charnier and Nicoli). They learn about much of the plan, but can't figure out where the drugs are.
- After a particularly ridiculous surveillance/chase scene between Popeye and Charnier, everything seems to go quiet.
- Captain Simonson is none too pleased that Popeye has been working the case for so long and hasn't found any evidence. He takes him off the case.
- On his way home, Popeye walks through a park, when he's shot at by a sniper on a nearby roof.
- A bystander is killed and he pursues the shooter, kicking off grueling chase between Popeye (in a civilian car) and Nicoli (in nothing less than a subway train, on elevated tracks.) In the end, an injured and breathless Popeye kills Nicoli by shooting him in the back.
- After this attempt on his life, Popeye is back on the case. Sal has picked up a car from a hotel valet in Manhattan, and Popeye and Cloudy tail it to a remote neighborhood.
- Sal parks it and leaves it, and the cops keep an eye on it, waiting to see what will happen. Popeye is convinced that this car, a Lincoln with French plates, is dirty.
- He can't explain why, but he wants an opportunity to find out. Finally, some neighborhood ruffians set upon the car, saying that they were only going to steal the tires. The cops take the opportunity to check out the car, but "there's nothing in except a New York City road map." Popeye is sure, though, so they get the car towed to the forensic garage at the police lot.
- The forensic mechanic, Popeye, and Cloudy discover that the car is heavier than it should be, and has been since it left Marseille.
- After ripping apart the car, they at last discover the drugs beneath the rocker panels. Popeye's hunch confirmed, they release the car back to Henri Devereaux and watch to see how it'll all play out.
- A little later, Popeye tails Charnier and Sal, who have by now gained possession of the car. However, they get caught behind a traffic jam, and lose the Lincoln.
- Realizing that the highway on-ramp to the bridge is the only way off of Ward's Island, he and Cloudy, the Feds, and some beat cops set up a dragnet.
- Sure enough, Sal and Charnier come back that way, with the Lincoln, but turn when they see the cops, who follow them to the site of the deal.
- Popeye sees Charnier run into an abandoned building, and sets off after him. Cloudy joins him. They hear a noise and Popeye shoots, killing Mulderig.
- As Mulderig lay there dead, Popeye seems entirely nonplussed and continues to run out of the shot.
- Many of the criminals are brought to justice, and Popeye is transferred out of Narcotics.