Electra Glide in Blue

An Arizona motorcycle cop (Robert Blake), desperate for a promotion to homicide, gets his chance while investigating a murder in the desert.

Electra Glide in Blue is a surprisingly good movie. Watching it, you’d never suspect that it was director James William Guercio’s first film. From the opening shot to the final frame Guercio shows a lot of style. While the credit for much of this probably goes to cinematographer Conrad Hall, it was Guercio who took a pay cut in order to secure him.

The script, aside from a few bad patches of dialog, is solid and does a good job of illustrating the subtle ways Blake’s character is affected by his height. It’s touches like this that elevate the movie to near greatness, but a few weak supporting players keep it from perfection.