As long as there are criminals, films will be made about their exploits.. Though what we call "a gangster film" in the 1970's bears little resemblance to the classics of the 1930's, it is still a film about big-time criminals and organized crime Only the baddies have been changed to assist identification <br /><br />"Badge 373" is a case in point It is a simple story, based on the exploits of Eddie Egan, a real New York policeman who also, for good measure, plays a part in the film<br /><br />Ryan, a New York detective, is suspended for causing the death of a Puerto Rican dope runner Taking a job as a bartender, he learns that his old partner on the force has been killed Then, with the law against him because he is no longer a policeman, and harassed also by the villains, he sets out to avenge his friend's murder<br /><br />The twist is that these villains are no longer liquor and heroin smugglers, big-time gamblers or bank robbers They are Puerto Ricans Some of them are men who seek to foment a revolution on their island; others, led by a sinister figure in dark glasses called Sweet William, are the crooked element who will supply the necessary guns and ammunition Ryan, played by Robert Duvall, wages his own solitary war against both parties<br /><br />It's a rough, tough and ruthless film, in which Duvall is as brutal as his adversaries; towards the end, he callously chops down a night watchman in order to gain entrance to the Brooklyn docks In fact, it is very difficult to have sympathy for any of the characters in "Badge 373." Perhaps this is intentional Perhaps cinema audiences of the future will not require to identify sympathetically with the characters they watch<br /><br />Certainly, this was true in "The French Connection." No one could deny that it is a tremendously exciting film ... but could anyone have a feeling of sympathetic identification with the central cop character? Gene Hackman stirred the blood, but it was difficult to be concerned about whether he lived or died