“Beverly Hills Cop” (1984) starring Eddie Murphy / Z-View

Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

Director: Martin Brest

Screenplay:  Daniel Petrie Jr.; story by Danilo Bach, Daniel Petrie Jr.

Stars:  Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Lisa Eilbacher, Ronny Cox, Steven Berkoff, James Russo, Jonathan Banks, Stephen Elliott, Gilbert R. Hill, Paul Reiser, Frank Pesce, Paul Reiser and Bronson Pinchot.

Tagline: He’s been chased, thrown through a window, and arrested. Eddie Murphy is a Detroit cop on vacation in Beverly Hills.

The Plot…

Axel Foley is a quick-witted Detroit street cop who doesn’t play by the rules.  Axel is surprised when Mikey, his ex-con childhood friend,  suddenly shows up.  Mikey says he’s doing well and living in Beverly Hills now.

That night Mikey is killed.  It turns out he was in possession of German bearer bonds.

Axel takes vacation time and heads to Beverly Hills to find Mikey’s killers.

The heat is on!

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

At one point, Sylvester Stallone was attached to star in Beverly Hills Cop.  Although it was intended to be a comedy, Stallone’s rewrite took out the humor and made it more of a straight action film.  That wasn’t want the producers wanted.  Sly bowed out with the understanding he could keep his script ideas.  Stallone turned those ideas into his film Cobra.

Eddie Murphy, John Ashton and Judge Reinhold improvised many of their lines.

Bronson Pinchot’s Serge was supposed to interact with another store salesman and Axel Foley. Pinchot’s improvs and accent were so funny, the other salesman’s part was substantially reduced and Pinchot’s role increased.

The movie proved so popular in test screenings, Paramount approved sequels before the film’s official release.

Beverly Hills Cop features the feature film debut of Damon Wayans.  He is listed in the credits as Banana Man.

The mansion that appears in the final shootout was once owned by silent film star Harold Lloyd.  The estate was also used in the final shootout in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s film Commando.  Ironically, in both films a character named Jenny was being rescued.

Director Martin Brest appears as the desk clerk who checks Axel out of the hotel at the end of the film.

Beverly Hills Cop is a great comedy/action film.  It leans more into comedy than action, but there is a heaping helping of both.

Beverly Hills Cop (1984) rates 4 of 5 stars.