Freebie and the Bean is a 1974 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Richard Rush. It stars James Caan as the hot-headed detective Freebie and Alan Arkin as his more reserved partner, Bean. The film follows two San Francisco plainclothes policemen whose relentless pursuit of crime boss Red Meyers spirals into chaotic car chases and citywide destruction. The screenplay by Robert Kaufman, based on a story by Floyd Mutrux, centres on the duo's efforts to arrest Meyers after obtaining key evidence. They subsequently discover a contract on his life, which forces them to act as reluctant bodyguards amid escalating mayhem and comedic mishaps. The film blends high-energy action with black humour, highlighting the partners' contrasting personalities and their disregard for collateral damage in their quest for justice. Produced by Warner Bros, the movie was a decent success at the box office and even spawned a TV series.
The film is notable for its multiple car chases and crashes. Years later, The Blues Brothers (1980) would rack up more accidents and cause more vehicular mayhem, but Freebie and the Bean got there first. The chases and crashes are shot by the great Laszlo Kovacs, though he does a better job when the action is more subdued. In fact, forty cars were wrecked in this movie, a record until the madness that was The Blues Brothers came out in 1980. The film seems to have been inspired in part by The French Connection, only taking its idea of two cops who are not exactly angels further into more comedic territory. There is no doubt about it: the two heroes in this film are complete bastards, but it is never meant to be taken seriously.
The characters are defined by their contrasting personalities. Freebie is a white, impulsive detective driven by a desire for thrills and promotion to the vice squad, often bending rules in pursuit of results. In contrast, Bean is a Mexican-American officer who adheres strictly to procedure, prioritising his family life, including his role as a devoted father. The story begins with the duo conducting prolonged surveillance on crime boss Red Meyers, whom they have tailed for over a year, uncovering evidence of his leadership in a major extortion racket involving hijackings and organised crime. Their investigation intensifies when they learn of a contract on Meyers' life by a hitman from Detroit. Since their witness, Harry Motley, is due to arrive Monday to corroborate the evidence against Meyers, the district attorney orders Freebie and Bean to protect him until then. This setup forces the reluctant partners into a high-stakes bodyguard role, blending their routine stakeout with urgent defensive actions.
As tensions rise, the narrative escalates through multiple chaotic car chases across San Francisco's streets, destroying vehicles and infrastructure in a frenzy of destruction. Freebie's reckless tactics, such as ramming suspects and ignoring protocol, repeatedly endanger the mission and strain their partnership, highlighting the personal toll of their work. The film contains some scenes which are almost incongruous and would probably be cut out if it was made today. The madcap pace that the film has for the majority of its running time is almost brought to a halt by a subplot where the Bean thinks his wife is cheating and Freebie feeds this obsession. When he interrogates his wife, the scene somehow manages the very difficult task of being funny and disturbing at the same time; the Bean is acting like a total idiot, but it looks like he could also beat the crap out of his poor wife who has been trying to pleasantly surprise him. He does not even apologise for treating her like shit, just tells her she is not as dumb as she looks. These guys are arse-holes whose only redeeming feature is probably their love for each other.
The film's score, by Dominic Frontiere, is infectious and in part a series of variations on a single theme which he partially reworked in his main theme from The Stuntman. It shows that sometimes music which openly laughs can work, as in a scene where the two are chasing each other and brawling in a park and it is the music more than anything else that makes it all so funny. The score deserves a release, but then this film has been treated abominably over the years despite its initial success, strong cult following, and it usually being liked by people who have the privilege of seeing it. It is gleefully anarchic, hysterically funny, astoundingly inventive, and just a bit odd.
The film is also notable for its supporting cast. Valerie Harper is listed only as "Bean's wife" and, remember, these are supporting characters, not walk-on parts. Christopher Morley played a transvestite, and years after Freebie and the Bean, Morley was cast as a female friend of Laura on General Hospital, so convincingly that no one watching the show knew it was a man. Later, it was revealed on an episode that he was, in fact, a man. Word has it, though not confirmed, that this was the inspiration for Tootsie (1982).
The film's director, Richard Rush, enjoyed little success in Hollywood until Freebie and the Bean, and when he found it, set to work on his most acclaimed film, The Stunt Man (1980), with Peter O'Toole. That film sat in limbo for a couple of years until it found a distributor in 1980 and it was not until fourteen years later that he directed his next, and last, theatrical release, Color of Night (1994). James Caan was coming out of the best years of his career. After working through the sixties in smaller films, like The Rain People (1969) or his most well-known film of the decade, Lady in a Cage (1964), Caan found international fame as Sonny Corleone in The Godfather in 1972. The following year he was in the Neil Simon hit Cinderella Liberty and after Freebie and the Bean, he would continue to flourish, landing his arguably best role in 1990 with the lead in the adaptation of Stephen King's Misery. Alan Arkin was a star, too, in 1973 but not one on a rise.
The film's screenplay is by Robert Kaufman, with a story by Floyd Mutrux. The producer is Richard Rush. The cinematography is by Laszlo Kovacs. The film editor is Michael McLean and Fredric Steinkamp. The art director is Hilyard Brown. The set decorator is Ruby Levitt. The cast includes Alan Arkin (Bean), James Caan (Freebie), Loretta Swit (Mildred - Meyers' Wife), Jack Kruschen (Red Meyers), Mike Kellin (Lt. Rosen), Paul Koslo (Whitey), Linda Marsh (Barbara - Freebie's Girl), John Garwood (Chauffeur), Alex Rocco (D.A.), Valerie Harper (Consuelo - Bean's Wife), and Christopher Morley (Transvestite).
Freebie and the Bean may not have invented the buddy movie, a dubious claim at best, but it works as one, with James Caan and Alan Arkin working in perfect comic synchronization. It is a shame they did not do more together. The film has its good moments and bad. It is certainly very un-PC. Some elements like Freebie's constant ribbing of his partner's Mexican origins and its treatment of a gay character would no doubt get many people moaning if it were made today, but by God folk are just so uptight about such things these days, and actually to me it is a much wittier sharper and, above all, funnier film than the majority of film comedy today which just seems to want to be as crude as possible. In any case, this movie never fails to make me laugh, to the point that I am almost starting to laugh now even thinking about it. Humour is of course very subjective. More action junkies should see Freebie And The Bean too though, because it features some incredible chases and stunt work from the days when car crashes were all real.
Despite being a decent success at the box office and even spawning a TV series, this film does not seem too well known now and did not even get a DVD release until 2009, which tells two things: a Blu-ray release will not happen, and Warner Bros just does not like the movie. It is a film that has been treated abominably over the years despite its initial success, strong cult following, and it usually being liked by people who have the privilege of seeing it. The film is gleefully anarchic, hysterically funny, astoundingly inventive, and just a bit odd. It is a favourite for many fans of the buddy-cop genre, being one that started it all back in 1974. For some, this is their favourite cinematic cop duo, even over others like Riggs and Murtaugh, Tango and Cash, Cates and Hammond, Turner and Hooch, and Carter and Lee.
The plot begins with Freebie and Bean, two plainclothes cops in San Francisco, first seen emptying garbage. There is a good reason for their actions though, which is that they are searching for evidence that will bring down a local, corrupt businessman called Myers, and lo and behold, torn up into a number of pieces is exactly the kind of note they have sought. However, after trying and failing to track down another criminal who may be involved, and as usual not being proud about how they go about assembling their case – violence and threats being mandatory – they are brought in by the D.A. who tells them they cannot get their arrest warrant until early next week. This is unfortunate, as Myers has a contract out on his head, and may not survive the next few days. The film is a favourite for many, and for good reason.