Director Sidney Lumet had one of his biggest successes with Serpico (1973), a film about a policeman's reactions to corruption within the force. Lumet would often return to the film's themes in subsequent movies, especially with Prince of the City, Q & A (1990), and Night Falls on Manhattan (1997).

Based on a true story, Prince of the City stars Treat Williams as narcotics squad veteran Danny Ciello. Along with his partners, he has been stealing from the drug dealers as well as arresting them. Often, drugs taken from dealers are given to pathetic junkies, whom the police use as stoolies. Some of the policemen use the drugs as well, and all of them are on the take.

But their upscale neighborhood mansions do not escape the notice of federal investigators. When cornered by them, Ciello offers to wear a 'wire', on the condition of immunity for himself and his partners (played by Jerry Orbach, Richard Foronjy, Don Billett and Kenny Marino). When the extent of Ciello's guilt becomes obvious, he eventually rats out his partners as well.

He becomes an outcast among his fellow cops, and even many of the agents that he works with despise him. Most venal is District Attorney Polito (James Tolkan), an intense, reptilian man who believes that all cops are inherently corrupt. At the same time, Ciello does help to clean up the NYC vice squad, although at great personal cost. Ciello's faithful wife is played by Lindsay Crouse.

Prince of the City is very lengthy at nearly three hours. The proliferation of cops, crooks, and feds becomes bewildering. There's also a certain repetition to the story, as Ciello goes on yet another dangerous mission wearing a wire, explains himself yet again to the understandably skeptical feds, etc.

How you regard the film may depend on how much sympathy you have for Ciello. Is he rat who would sell out his mother to save his skin? Or is he a mostly honest cop who wishes to redeem his career? The more the film tries to suggest the latter, the more it seems that Ciello is just a corrupt cop who blew the whistle when he was caught. He is put through hell, and lied to by the Feds. But it is a trap of his own making.

The New York Film Critics Circle awarded Lumet as Best Director for Prince of the City. Lumet was also nominated for a Golden Globe as Best Director, and by the Academy Awards for best adapted screenplay (along with Jay Presson Allen). Other Golden Globe nominations included Best Picture and Best Actor (Treat Williams). (50/100)




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