Who or what is the laughing policeman? I've only seen snippets of the film, unfortunately. It looks like it's a solid film if I could just see it from the beginning.
shareThe Laughing Policeman refers to Jake Martin (Martin Beck in the original novel). It's sarcastic, because the character never laughs or smiles, he's usually serious and miserable.
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Really? There wasn't even any reference to the record in the film and Jake hardly laughed. He may have been a hard@$$, but Dern was a more livelier character.
The film got exciting towards the end as the two got nearer the killer.
Out of interest, I wondered what happened to Jake and Leo at the end. I assume they got re-assigned for not obeying orders and endangering innocent lives.
I loved Matthau's glum humor. He was a master.
In the book, is the cop given the phonograph record, because he never smiled?
Carpe Noctem
Incidentally, The Laughing Policeman is an actual song & not something made up for the novel. It's a British music hall tune by Charles Penrose from the early 1900's & it's available on iTunes! He sings about a policeman & laughs a lot & it really does put a smile on your face.
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