Movie set in South Bronx

Press, 1 December 1988, Page 11

Movie set in South Bronx

Paul Newman appears as the non-conformist police Patrolman Murphy, an 18-year veteran, twice promoted to sergeant, and twice demoted, in the Thursday Night Movie, “Fort Apache, the Bronx,” (screening at 8.30 tonight). The title refers to the nickname given to the 41st police precinct in New York City’s South Bronx — a violent and devastated area which has the city’s highest crime rate. “This is not a police station, but a fort in enemy country,” says one of its officers. Newman, who is keenly aware of political and environmental issues, and involved in the Civil Rights movement, says, “There’s a South Bronx in every major city. We’re hoping that, by showing the conditions in this area as they actually exist, audiences will be shocked and will demand action to have them improved. “At one time the 41st precinct was considered the most dangerous in the country, and the cops assigned to it were under constant seige. “The South Bronx is a real mess; burnt-out buildings, rubble and garbage all over the place.” “Fort Apache, the Bronx” is based on the day-to-day real-life experiences of two former 41st precinct police officers, Tom Mulhearn and Pete Tessitore, and it was to them that Newman went in order to develop his characterisation. Commenting on the

result of the actor's research, Tessitore says, “we described a lot of our own experiences and I’m sure that was helpful to him, but what really impressed us was his power of observation, the way he was able to pick up the mannerisms and jargon of cops on the beat.” Adds Mulhearn: “He really captures the humour of the men in the precinct. “You couldn’t tell the story of Fort Apache without showing that side of the officers. In the midst of very difficult circumstances the men would joke and kid around to relieve the tension of work. “We did crazy things, like singing through the microphone of the patrol car, wearing funny wigs, serenading prostitutes ... one day we drove around with a monkey in the car.” Humour aside, the film’s director Daniel Petrie sees the Bronx as “the worst example of urban blight in the world.”