One of my all time favorites.

Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

Good concept, poorly executed.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

My Dad took me to see this in the theatre when I was 11 and we both loved it. For the last couple of decades my Dad has been asking me if I could find a copy so we could watch it again. I finally found a copy and we sat down to watch it after almost 45 years. My Dad was thrilled! We both really wanted to love it as much as we did in 1973. We didn't.Everything was way over the top! Brutally corny and ham-fisted. We watched about 15 minutes (I was prepared to suffer through the whole movie if necessary) when my Dad said, "Yah. Okay. This is crap", and I had to agree.We wanted to LOVE this movie. We had such great memories of seeing it in the theatre, yet we couldn't stand it for more than about 15 minutes.I was so relieved that he wanted to turn it off, but I was so disappointed that this movie wasn't what we remembered.If you watch this today and love it I really envy you. 10 out of 10, aged down to an unwatchable 1. Average: 5

Overlong, over the top buddy-cop action comedy stars James Caan and Alan Arkin as a thoroughly dysfunctional pair of San Francisco police detectives. Caan plays Freebie, Arkin is the Bean. They're so stubbornly determined to nail mafia bigwigs in the city - among them, numbers racketeer Red Meyers (Jack Kruschen) - that they throw all caution to the wind. They also leave a huge trail of destruction in their wake, getting involved in numerous intense chases."Freebie and the Bean" will still be somewhat refreshing for some members of the audience due to Freebies' Archie Bunker-style humour. The decidedly un-P.C. script is by Robert Kaufman, based on a story by executive producer Floyd Mutrux. Richard Rush of "The Stunt Man" fame produces and directs, and the movie is at its liveliest when it comes to the vehicular carnage. Charles Bail is the stunt coordinator and second unit director, and his action scenes are amazing. Viewers will love the car-through-the-wall gag (and the corresponding deadpan reactions of an old couple in an apartment).Caan and Arkin are energetic as they constantly bicker and banter with each other; the problem for this viewer, though, was that the script is never really that funny; it's seriously lacking in real wit.There are some good actors in the supporting cast. Other than Kruschen, we have Alex Rocco as an uptight district attorney, John Garwood as the dopey chauffeur, Paul Koslo (having yet another bad hair day) as criminal lowlife Whitey, and Valerie Harper in a delightful cameo playing Beans' wife. Mike Kellin (as our heroes' superior) and Loretta Swit (as Meyers' wife), unfortunately, end up with very little to do. An uncredited Evel Knievel plays a motorcyclist.The opening sequence definitely sets a tone, as Freebie and the Bean take Meyers' garbage and actually empty it into their own car in order to search it.Five out of 10.

You cannot fault this movie from two of the best actors of their generation. It is full of surprises and twists. It is said to be the inspiration for Starskie and Hutch. It is not easy to find this movie on DVD, but it is worth looking for if you enjoy non-PC action and fast dialogue that has since been copied in so many cop movies. I have met the 'bad guy' Jack Kruschen, and he is actually one of the nicest guys you could meet, cast against character in this movie. Whatever you think of cop movies, you will find Freebie and the Bean has twists you cannot predict, and when they stuff their ears before a gun battle you will recognise that the movie is closer to reality than most all others you have seen.

Really great interaction as it shows the interaction between two cops who come from different worlds, but still care for each other. I love the gags, Car into the apartment, and especially the scene in the bowling alley mens room. The bullet falling on the floor...and then all heck breaks loose!!I see that scene every time I go into a mens room. And it's been 20+ years since I've seen the movie. It's a Classic! Alan Arkin is as great as he is in "The In-Laws". .Another Classic. And James Caen... Plays the totally believable cop who uses the system to get as much for himself as is possible.