A short and pudgy man, aware that he is being tailed, makes a telephone call at the San Francisco bus terminal late at night. He and about seven others board a bus just before its departure. The fat man's eyes are on a tall, dark-haired fellow. The latter, despite all of the empty seats, sits next to an attractive nurse. An auto speeds past the moving bus and comes to a stop at the next bus stop. Wearing a brown trench coat and carrying a piece of luggage, the car driver boards the bus just in time. We do not see his face. There seems to be a slight acknowledgment from Fatman as Trench Coat walks past him to the rear of the bus. After he sits down Trench Coat dons on a pair of black gloves, zippering them up. From his luggage he removes and assembles a submachine gun ("a greaser"). As he stands up and aims his weapon, Fatman gets up and exclaims, "Not yet!" Ignoring him, Trench Coat fires away at all of the passengers, including Fatman, and the bus driver, killing them all except one, who will die shortly after. The bus crashes to a stop in Chinatown. Trench Coat exits the vehicle calmly and escapes.
The police eventually arrive; SFPD Sgt. Jake Martin (Walter Mathau) is shocked when he discovers the body of the tall, dark-haired fellow. That was his partner Detective Dave Evans. But he was supposed to be on leave, unless he was on a special assignment. But was he? Fatman on the bus was Gus Niles. What was his relation to the killer? Why was Evans being set up? What about the other victims? We recognize that will be in a film that mostly deals with police work in tracking down each of the murdered passengers in order to find clues. Although many of the passengers have sordid pasts, most of the police work will lead to dead ends. Along the way we see emphasis placed on the hospital emergency room treatment of the wounded. Also, we will see a swat team in action and see what happens when street people are shaken up by the cops. Whether Haight/Ashbury or Laguna Street or Chinatown or the ghetto, the neighborhoods will tell us something about the people and their lifestyles. There will be prostitutes, petty criminals, hippies, and motorcycle gangs.
Main leads include Insp. Leo Larsen (Bruce Dern) and Insp. James Larrimore (Louis Gossett Jr.). Larsen will be Martin's new partner. Martin has made it perfectly clear early on that he has little use for Larsen. And the feeling is mutual. There will even be some tension between Larsen and Larrimore. The latter will disappear from the movie with three-quarters of an hour left. Despite lack of support from their immediate superior, Martin and Larsen will have to unravel it all out and confront the bad guy. The climax almost seems unnecessary, although Martin did say that the police have to spook him out. But were the killer's last actions really obligatory? See the movie and find out. Positives are good acting and nice on-location shooting!
The police eventually arrive; SFPD Sgt. Jake Martin (Walter Mathau) is shocked when he discovers the body of the tall, dark-haired fellow. That was his partner Detective Dave Evans. But he was supposed to be on leave, unless he was on a special assignment. But was he? Fatman on the bus was Gus Niles. What was his relation to the killer? Why was Evans being set up? What about the other victims? We recognize that will be in a film that mostly deals with police work in tracking down each of the murdered passengers in order to find clues. Although many of the passengers have sordid pasts, most of the police work will lead to dead ends. Along the way we see emphasis placed on the hospital emergency room treatment of the wounded. Also, we will see a swat team in action and see what happens when street people are shaken up by the cops. Whether Haight/Ashbury or Laguna Street or Chinatown or the ghetto, the neighborhoods will tell us something about the people and their lifestyles. There will be prostitutes, petty criminals, hippies, and motorcycle gangs.
Main leads include Insp. Leo Larsen (Bruce Dern) and Insp. James Larrimore (Louis Gossett Jr.). Larsen will be Martin's new partner. Martin has made it perfectly clear early on that he has little use for Larsen. And the feeling is mutual. There will even be some tension between Larsen and Larrimore. The latter will disappear from the movie with three-quarters of an hour left. Despite lack of support from their immediate superior, Martin and Larsen will have to unravel it all out and confront the bad guy. The climax almost seems unnecessary, although Martin did say that the police have to spook him out. But were the killer's last actions really obligatory? See the movie and find out. Positives are good acting and nice on-location shooting!