Alain Chanier (Fernando Rey) is a dapper businessman from Marseilles, France, who is in reality a drug lord working on a big score - to sell $32 million worth of 89% pure heroin to New York City. But his potential buyer - small-time hood Salvatore Boca - is being tailed by two undercover NYC cops, James "Popeye" Doyle (Gene Hackman) and Buddy "Cloudy" Russo (Roy Scheider). The more Popeye and Cloudy dig, the closer they get - to where Chanier agrees to an attempt on Popeye's life that results in a brutal train hijacking and automobile pursuit, and eventually to a showdown btw police and mobsters outside the city.

otsoNY Comments: The traffic jam on the Brooklyn Bridge was shot without permission.

Brooklyn Bridge, Lower East Side, Manhattan.   The Brooklyn Bridge, built btw 1869 and 1883, connects Manhattan with New York's most populous borough, Brooklyn, at the time one of the country's largest cities. The bridge is one of the most magnificent landmarks in New York.

Madison Avenue and East 67th Street, Manhattan.

Flower Shop, 27 East 67th Street and Madison Avenue, Manhattan.

Park Avenue and East 38th Street, Manhattan.

Car Park, East 38th Street (btw Park Avenue and Madison Avenue) Manhattan.

Times Square, Manhattan.   Times Square is a major commercial intersection, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Street.

Diner, 138 Delancey Street (btw Norfolk and Suffolk Streets) Mnahattan.   Ratner's has since closed and replaced by Sleepy's bed shop.

otsoNY Comments: Ratner’s, on Delancey, had been NYC’s oldest kosher restaurant before its 2002 closing after 97 years in business.

840 Madison Avenue (btw East 69th and 70th Streets) Manhattan.

Madison Avenue (btw East 69th and 70th Streets) Manhattan.

Subway, 5th Avenue (btw East 59th and 60th Streets) Manhattan.

otsoNY Comments: The car chase was filmed over 5 weeks beneath the Bensonhurst Elevated Railway of Brooklyn’s Stillwell Line from Bay 50th Street Station along Stillwell Avenue and into 86th Street and finally right into New Utrecht Avenue, ending at 62nd Street Station.

Stillwell Avenue, Brooklyn.

62nd Street Station, 62nd Street and New Utrecht Avenue, Brooklyn.

otsoNY Comments: Special thanks to Geoff for supplying these photographs.

Roosevelt Hotel, East 45th Street and Madison Avenue, Manhattan.

Roosevelt Hotel

The Roosevelt Hotel is a prominent landmark situated in midtown New York City and was named in honour of President Theodore Roosevelt. The New York City hotel opened September 22, 1924 and just celebrated its 80th anniversary in 2004. Its historic heritage is reflected in the meticulously restored interiors, designed to capture the original architecture and offer modern-day amenities. With 1,015 well-appointed New York City hotel accommodations, including 52 luxurious suites, The Roosevelt Hotel combines the classic styling of yesteryear with the modern conveniences of today.

Roosevelt Hotel website

otsoNY Comments: In both of the scenes below as the car is being unloaded from the cargo ship, there is a glimpse of the Manhattan skyline and you can clearly see the first of the World Trade Center towers under construction.