48 Hrs.

"You're gonna be sorry you ever met me!"

"I'm already sorry."

Convict Albert Ganz (Remar) escapes from prison with help from Billy Bear (Landham), an old friend.  They kill several guards while making their escape.  Their first act is to visit other men from their group, killing one and kidnapping the girlfriend of the other for motivation.  They are found by the cops, which leads to a shootout that kills two of the officers.  The third is Jack Cates (Nolte), who loses his gun to Ganz, and is motivated to put them back behind bars.

Cates finds the last member of their group, Reggie Hammond (Murphy), is still behind bars.  Cates and Reggie agree to work together, but only have 48 hours until Reggie has to be back in prison.  Can they put aside their animosity and trust each other long enough to meet the deadline?


This film is credited as being one of the first "buddy cop" movies.  This film was also Eddie Murphy's film debut.  Originally the story was conceived as a vehicle for Clint Eastwood and Richard Pryor, but sitting on the hold for 2 years it was revamped for Nick Nolte and SNL breakout Murphy.  This film launched Murphy into stardom... he followed it up with two more extremely popular films: Beverly Hills Cop and Trading Places.

The film works due to a strong cast, with Nolte and Murphy playing off each other well.  The female characters don't really have a purpose, except to motivate the plot, but they are mostly one-dimensional.  James Remar is menacing as the villain, with Sonny Landham also bringing that edge.  It is a well-made, well-written, well-acted film and worth the accolades it received (and still receives).

The film was a success and endures as a classic buddy cop film.  In 1990, Murphy and Nolte returned for a sequel Another 48 Hrs. (with Murphy's name appearing first in the credits), again with Walter Hill in the director's chair.

48 Hrs. (1982) 96 minutes
Rating: R for pervasive language, violent content, sexual references and brief nudity
Director: Walter Hill
Starring: Nick Nolte as Jack Cates
Eddie Murphy as Reggie Hammond
Annette O'Toole as Elaine Marshall
James Remar as Albert Ganz
Sonny Landham as Billy Bear
David Patrick Kelly as Luther
Frank McRae as Captain Haden
Brion James as Ben Kehoe