The French Connection

The French Connection is based on the real life story of NYC Detectives Eddie "Popeye" Egan and Sonny "Cloudy" Grasso. The plot centers around what was at the time the largest drug bust in the US - around $20M street value of heroin, that's a lot of junk in the trunk, baby.
This is another classic film where you would think everything went like clockwork on its way to winning five Oscars in 1971 (beating Stanley Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange") for best picture...hell to the no it didn't...IN FACT...
Every single studio passed on the screenplay. 20th Century Fox eventually picked it up after a first pass - The French Connection went on to win Oscars for best picture, screenplay, director, actor and editor.
Gene Hackson, who starred as "Popeye" was not exactly the first choice of director, William "The Prince of Darkness" Friedkin, or the real Popeye. Peter Boyle and Jackie Gleason were two of many slotted ahead of Gene for the role....Hackman won the Oscar for best actor.
Detective Sonny Grasso protested the iconic post-chase scene where Popeye shoots the hitman in the back (too cowardly). This scene was so popular in test screenings that it became the film's poster.
The studio fought the film's title "The French Connection" all the way into post-production. The studio wanted a more gritty title.
"Bullet" connection - Phil D'Antoni, producer, also produced Bullet a few years earlier. His goal was to somehow top Bullet's car chase in The French Connection....the solution was to incorporate NYC's L-train and have Popeye (in a car) chasing the hitman in the L-train thru NYC. And the stunt driver? Yep, that's Bill Hickman, the same stunt driver who drove the mob's Dodge Charger in Bullet.
Best Quote:
"Do you pick your feet in Paughkeepsie?" - Det. Popeye Doyle.
This was a real quote that Det. Eddie "Popeye" Egan used to rattle and confuse suspects...it made no sense, he knew it....to this day Gene Hackman says people stop and ask him to explain what the hell this line was all about.