Director
Claude Fournier
Producer
Marie-José Raymond
Writer
Claude Fournier
Cast
Harry Reems, Nicole Morin, Daniel Pilon, Paul Berval, Gilles Latulippe
contact
Cinémathèque Québécoise
LES CHIENS CHAUDS, also known as THE CLEAN-UP SQUAD, L'ESCOUADE EN OR, UNDER THE COVER COPS, HOT DOGS COPS and COPS AND OTHER LOVERS.
After cleaning up the streets of Toronto, the new head of the vice squad arrives at Montreal's Station 10 with the intention of hitting hard and getting results. Unfortunately for him, his team is a group of clumsy, lazy, and scheming cops. Instead of fighting the underworld, these cops are buddy-buddy with the local crooks. How can they return to the peaceful life they had before his arrival? By trapping their superior in the company of a high-class prostitute called Stella Moon (Estelle d'Amour in French) and taking compromising photos.
Viewers need only look at the film's cast to grasp what’s going on here. The police officers are played by Gilles Latulippe, Paul Berval (Benito Imbroglio), and Daniel Pilon, so the tone is already clear. The film also stars Harry Reems, a former porn actor who has appeared in DEEP THROAT, THE DEVIL IN MISS JONES and DEADLY WEAPONS (with Chesty Morgan), and who decided to take up “serious” filmmaking after running into trouble with the American justice system. In fact, it was he who, on meeting Claude Fournier at an event, is said to have told him, “Claude, I have an idea for a film for you.” Add to this cast Jean Lapointe and Ghyslain Tremblay, and you'll understand that LES CHIENS CHAUDS is a time capsule. Originally filmed in English, the Quebec dubbing adds a layer of psychotronica to the affair, with the voices of cult figures Yves Corbeil, Louise Deschâtelets, Benoit Marleau, André Montmorency... Music to your ears. The film was produced by Marie-José Raymond, with the support of John Dunning and André Link (executive producers), and the soundtrack was composed by Paul Baillargeon. It was a huge success across Canada, but marked the end of this type of cinema for the Fournier-Raymond duo, to whom we are awarding the Prix Denis-Héroux this year. The duo went on to make such films as BONHEUR D'OCCASION, LES TISSERANDS DU POUVOIR and JULIETTE POMERLEAU. – Translation: Rupert Bottenberg