The French Connection Trivia Quiz

Answer: Narcotics

"The French Connection" refers to a heroin smuggling ring shipping from Europe to the United States through New York. In the film, they are attempting to smuggle 120 pounds (55 kilos) of very pure heroin - 89 percent pure, according to the chemist. According to Director William Friedkin, the chemistry scene used real heroin, not a substitute.
While the story in the film is fictional, it is based on real events. There really was a heroin trafficking network between France and the United States that involved the Sicilian and American mafia. And Eddie Egan and Sonny Grosso were detectives with the NYPD who solved many of the major drug cases of the 1960s. The events the story is based on happened between October 1961 and February 1962.
For a good movie about human trafficking, see "Taken" (2008). For a great movie about smuggling gold, watch the James Bond classic "Goldfinger" (1964).

Answer: James

His partner refers to him as "Jimmy" several times early in the film.
Gene Hackman won an Academy Award for Best Actor as Doyle; he also won the Golden Globe and BAFTA. Hackman helped set the standard for all future renegade cops to follow.
There are many great moments for Doyle in "The French Connection" including the chase with the elevated train. The best may be at the end, when Charnier runs directly into the roadblock and Doyle is there to wave at him. Hackman walking towards the camera is one of the iconic film shots of the 1970s.
Hackman began acting in 1956. The role that first gained him major notice was Buck Barrow in "Bonnie and Clyde" (1967). Hackman has been nominated for the Academy Award five times and won twice. His second was for "Unforgiven" (1992). Hackman announced his retirement in 2004, with his last role being former President Monroe "Eagle" Cole in "Welcome to Mooseport" (2004).
There were a wide range of actors considered to play Doyle. They included Peter Boyle, James Caan, Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, Lee Marvin and even Jackie Gleason.
If you to see a movie about an NYPD cop named Frank, try "Serpico" (1973).
For a rogue New York detective named John, see "Shaft" (1971). Ernest Tidyman, who wrote the screenplay for "French Connection" also wrote the novel and screenplay for "Shaft".
There is a famous renegade cop named Harry, but he worked in San Francisco.

Answer: True

Absolutely 100 percent true. Egan played Simonson, fulfilling the "brusque boss" role required in all movies about renegade police officers. Egan and his partner Sonny Grosso served as technical consultants on the film. Grosso played FBI Agent Klein.
The early scene with Doyle dressed as Santa Claus is based on an actual tactic used by Eddie Egan on the streets of Brooklyn. The "picking your feet in Poughkeepsie" routine is also based on interrogation techniques used by Egan and Grosso.

Answer: Roy Scheider

Roy Scheider earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for playing Buddy Russo. Scheider starred in several of the best films of the 1970s: he was police chief Martin Brody in "Jaws" (1975) and a fictional Bob Fosse in "All That Jazz" (1979).
Scheider was a boxer before he went into acting, and had a 14-1 record as an amateur. He started acting in 1963, in "The Curse of the Living Corpse". Most of his future films were much better, and he acted consistently up to his death in 2008.
Perkins (1932-92) is best known as Norman Bates from "Psycho" (1960).
James Caan (b 1940) has played many tough guys roles over the years, including Sonny Corleone in "The Godfather" (1972). He actually turned down the role of "Popeye" Doyle.
Aiello (born 1933) began acting in 1973, a few years after "The French Connection" was filmed. But he often portrays Italian-Americans, which Russo was.
The Russo character is based on Sonny Grasso, who was the "good cop" to Egan's "bad cop" He tended to restrain Egan's worst impulses.

Answer: Marseille

At the very start of the film, there is a caption saying "Marseille".
Marseille is the second largest city in France. It is one of the oldest inhabited regions of France, dating back 30,000 years. Greek settlements in Marseille date to 600 BC. Marseilles has historically been a port city, and it is still one of the largest ports in Europe, and a major importer of petroleum. And the national anthem of France is named after soldiers from the city.
The scene where the French policeman gets shot was in the Old Town section of Marseilles. Charnier and Nicoli meet Devereaux at the Château d'If. The scenes at Charnier's home were filmed in Casis, a town 20 kilometers east of Marseilles.

Answer: Restaurant

Sal and Angie run a diner. Salvatore is the American end of "The French Connection". He is strictly small time, hoping to break into the big time. Boca hopes to make $500 thousand off a batch of heroin with a street value of potentially $32 million. Sal's drug dealing career comes to a sudden, violent end when he is gunned down by Buddy Russo.
Tony Lo Bianco played Sal and Arlene Farber played Angie. Like Scheider, Lo Bianco was a boxer before he went into acting. Lo Bianco frequently plays tough guys, often mafiosi.

Answer: Washington DC

Although the scene is brief, it is clear that they are in Washington. The US Capitol is directly behind them in one shot. The scene in Washington was the only US-based scene to be shot outside of New York City.
In the scene, Charnier and Sal meet to discuss the timetable for moving the drugs. The FBI are probably listening in, because in the scene immediately before FBI Agent Klein follows Sal and can be seen buying a ticket to Washington.

Answer: Porkpie

A pork pie hat is a felt hat with a broad flat top and a wide outer brim. Eddie Egan, the real life cop who inspired the film, actually did wear a pork pie hat, so that is another case of art following reality.
Buster Keaton wore a pork pie in many of his films, and the style was popular in the 1930s and 1940s. Art Carney often wore a pork pie hat in the character of Ed Norton on "The Honeymooners" (1951-55). The hat style did have a brief resurgence in the 1970s following the release of "The French Connection".
Despite having French in the title, there are no berets, and certainly not on Gene Hackman. If you want to see Hackman in a Stetson, watch "Unforgiven" (1992).
A fedora is an Indiana Jones hat. It is a felt hat, like a pork pie, but with much different styling.

Answer: Beneath the rocker panels

The cops tear apart Devereaux's Lincoln Continental. The police mechanic tells Doyle, "I tore out everything but the rocker panels." Under the universal principle that you always find something in the last place you look, they open up the rocker panels, and discover 120 pounds of drugs. That is one of the places where the smugglers hid drugs in the real story.
Irving Abrahams, who plays Irv the police mechanic, was the real-life NYPD mechanic who helped Egan and Grosso crack the "French Connection" case.
The car is returned to Devereaux, who delivers it to Charnier. The French narcotics trafficker then delivers the drugs to his US buyers, and shortly afterwards they are all captured by the police.

Answer: Henri Devereaux

Devereaux spent four years in federal prison. He is the actor who allowed his car to be used to smuggle the drugs.
Weinstock, the attorney for the drug cartel, had his case dismissed. Angie Boca was convicted of a misdemeanor, but had her sentence suspended.
Charnier was never caught, and was believed to have remained in France. In the 1975 sequel, Doyle travels to France and eventually tracks down and kills Charnier.