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6.8/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6.8/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Disorderly Conduct remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you like movies where the cop is just as crooked as the people he is chasing, you might find something to chew on here. It is not exactly high art, but it has a certain frantic energy. If you need your protagonists to be morally upright heroes, though, you are going to hate Dick Fay. He spends most of the runtime just being plain petty.
Spencer Tracy is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. You can see him trying to inject some actual human frustration into a script that feels like it was written on the back of a cocktail napkin. There is this one scene where he’s just standing in a doorway, looking tired, and it tells you more about his character than ten minutes of the actual dialogue.
The whole plot kicks off because he gives a ticket to a wealthy girl. It feels like such a 1930s problem. The shift from motorcycle patrol to foot patrol is treated like the end of the world. It’s funny how much weight the movie puts on that demotion.
It reminds me a little bit of the energy you get in The Interferin' Gent where everyone is just rushing to the next plot point without checking if the previous one made sense. Things happen because the script says they have to, not because the characters are actually driving the bus.
The dialogue is snappy in that old-timey way, but it loses steam fast. There are these little bursts of aggression that seem to come out of nowhere. One minute they are talking about lunch, the next someone is threatening to ruin a life. It gives me whiplash. 😅
Is it a classic? No. Is it a fun watch for a rainy afternoon? Maybe. It has that gritty, slightly dusty feel of a film that was made to fill a double feature slot. Don't expect to have your life changed, but if you enjoy watching actors try to salvage a thin story, you'll be fine.
I kept waiting for a big payoff that never really landed. The ending just kind of happens. It’s like the writers realized they hit their page count and just stopped typing mid-sentence. You either find that endearing or you find it really, really annoying.
IMDb 5
1919
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