| | | | Beverly Hills Cop
(1984) |
he story of Beverly Hills Cop is another that starts with high octane, high gloss producers Don Simpson & Jerry Bruckheimer ("Flashdance", "Top Gun").
It is 1977 and Simpson, then a young executive at Paramount Pictures called in Danilo Bach a screenwriter to discuss what Bach thought was a rather unispiring premise for a story... An East LA cop gets transferred to Beverly Hills. Other than that there was no story.
Simpson envisaged that the movie would be a kind of cross between Clint Eastwood's "Dirty Harry", Warren Beatty's "Shampoo" and Roman Polanski's "Chinatown".
In any event Bach apparantly wasn't inspired and told the producer that he'd think about it. When a dearth of more interesting projets appeared, Bach pitched a slightly more defined version to Simpson. In this version, the cop would be from an East Coast city to investigate a murder that he believed was perpitrated by a smooth Bevely Hills businessman and would be turn Beverly Hills upside down with his 'rough town' investigative methods.
Simpson and his then-boss Michael Eisner loved the idea and the movie that would eventually become Beverly Hills Cop was born. In his original screenplay called "Beverly Drive" Bach's character was called "Elly Axel" and he was from Pittsburgh, investigating the brutal murder of a friend. Elly's character goes to Beverly Hills on the trail of his killer where he focusses his attention on a wealthy Beverly Hills businessman name Dagliesh whilst co-operating loosely with the local police through a 'by the book' leutenant named "Bogamil".
You can clearly see the the elements of the final movie are present even in that first draft, but the script completely lacked the humour that was to be everywhere in the final film.
Bach was instructed to make changes, but after a few more attempts, and yet more writers, changes at the studio meant that the project went stale.
Simpson in the meantime made "Flashdance" and needed a follow up project. With a new writer in the form of Daniel Petrei Jr. to inject much more humour. Petrie delivered a new script with humour in abundance, with the central character now called "Axel Elly", from Detroit (Brucheimers home town) rather than Pittsburgh.
The script attracted the attention of actor Mickey Rourke who was interested in playing the central character. He ordered rewrites and then left the project after he lost interest.
Enter action hero Sylvester Stallone. Stallone himself then rewrote the script and removed the humour as he was only interested in playing a straight faced cop with an exotic gun. Finally after losing interest himself (Stallone would go on to use some of his story ideas in "Cobra") the project attracted yet onother writer in the shape of Chip Proser, who would later pen the producers' smash hit "Top Gun".
Finally Eddie Murphy, having just had two big hits in the shape of "Trading Places" and "48 Hrs" entered the scene cast as the now re-named "Axel Foley".
Years later many people would still be arguing bitterly about who had thought of Murphy for the central role.
Beverly Hills Cop went on to make over $15m on its opening weekend, an unheard of amount on so few screens (it opened on just over 1,500). It was a new genre of movie (the 'action-comedy') and in its wake the careers of many of the leading hollywood men like Stallone and Schwarzenegger were made.
Of course, Murphy was instant gold. His character's irreverant scam techniques became the stuff of legends.
 Don't forget that Beverly Hills Cop is now available to order on Widescreen DVD using our special 80s Retro Assistant...
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One of the best of the decade. A mould breaking movie that invented the "action comedy" movie genre. A true classic and example of 80's movie excellence.
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The genesis of the Beverly Hills Cop story allegedly lay with Simpsons then-boss Michael Eisner who was stoppped one night by the police in Beverly Hills, though Simpson would for years (until his untimely death in 1996) hotly deny that Eisner was the source of the idea. 
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Beverly Hills Cop bought Judge Reinhold public recognition at a level he had never experienced before. "Two days before the movie opened," he recalled, "I went to the same bank I’d been going to for five years and the teller asked me for two pieces of I.D. A week after the film was released, I had a whole family waving to me from a station wagon on the freeway, yelling out their windows for my autograph!"
Beverly Hills Cop 4? Producer Jerry Bruckheimer told Entertainment Weekly Online that he is in talks with Eddie Murphy about bringing back Axel Foley. Bruckheimer reveals, "We're putting together a story right now. We haven't quite figured it out, but we're getting close." It is in production and due for release in 2009.
Axel foley's hand gun is a 9mm Browning highpower 35 -Thanks to Roger Morgan
Lisa Eilbacher was one of the actresses considered for the part of Princess Leia in "Star Wars" back in 1975-76. -Thanks to Ashley Page
Actor/comedian Damon Wayons makes a cameo appearance as the fruit vendor Axel gets his bananas from to pull off his "banana in the tail-pipe" prank. -Thanks to Dan Renfrow
Bronson Pinchott also played Balki on "Perfect Strangers" -Thanks to April Amos
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Find much more great trivia in the filmmaker's commentary on the Beverly Hills Cop DVD.
Rediscover your favorites! If you like
Beverly Hills Cop or 80's Action classics, then be sure to
check out this list: ..... Angel ..... Raiders of the Lost Ark ..... Die Hard ..... Predator ..... Terminator ..... Black Rain ..... 48 HRS ..... Untouchables ..... Lethal Weapon ..... Rocky IV ..... Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior ..... Top Gun ..... Highlander ..... Streets Of Fire ..... Commando .....[More]
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The completed movie made such an impression on Paramount executives that they comitted to a sequel moments after the first private executive screening of the completed film.
Axel's boss, Inspector Todd, was in fact a real life Detroit police detective at the time!!! The director noticed him during a trip to the police station and hired him for the part!
Bronson Pinchot invented the persona of "Serge" himself after being inspired by all the shop assistants in Beverly Hills whose nationality was ambiguous. His meeting with Axel in the art gallery was almost entirely ad-libbed and had to be done many times due to members of the cast and crew breaking up with laughter.
The hilarious bit where Axel rolls up to the Harrow club in his "crappy blue chevy-nova" and says something like "Put it in a good spot, all this sh*t happened the last time I parked here" was a witty ad-lib by Murphy, as was the entire "SuperCop" story he tells to Bogamil. -Thanks to Nik Fin
The shot in the beginning where you see the Ford sign on a water tower was shot from the Rouge River bridge portion of I-75 in southwest Detroit. The tower is actually a part of the Ford Rouge plant where Ford Motor began. Many of the chase scenes with the cigarettes in the truck were shot on Fort St. going from southwest Detroit into Downtown.
There's a part when Eddie Murphy's character is throwing one of the Beverly Hills thugs over a buffet table at a fancy "Harrow" country club. If you watch is closely, or freeze frame just as his face is seen, you can clearly notice that it's a stunt man throwing him over the table. In fact, the stunt man looks kind of like Richard Pryor! But he's clearly built better than Murphy (or Pryor for that matter). -Thanks to Joel Gallant
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|  |  |  | | Beverly Hills Cop
Locations |
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 Featured Movie Location: The "Beverly Palm" Hotel, where Axel Foley Stays
Wanna see the real life filming location used for The "Beverly Palm" Hotel, where Axel Foley Stays in the movie? These scenes were actually shot at The Regal Biltmore Hotel, located in Los Angeles, S. California. [New! Show Google Map]
The room used for Axel's hotel room actually exists at the Biltomore location too, although it was extensively 'upgraded' with additional furniture and artworks for the movie.
The cop precinct is The Beverly Hills City hall on Santa Monica Boulevard.
The exclusive "Harrow Club" where Foley wrecks the buffet was actually "The Caltech Athaneaum" at 551 South Hill Avenue in Pasadena.
Victor Maitland's mansion was in fact two locations. The exterior was located in Santa Monica Canyon near the beach. The interior was another house in Lake Hollywood that may have been located at Hightower Drive in Hollywood. Can anyone help with addresses of either location?
Victor Maitland's warehouse is located off Wilshire Boulevard.
The "Art Gallery" on Rodeo drive which was featured often in the movie, was in real life a shoe store on Wilshire Boulevard(run by the now defunct Milgram & Kagen Shoes, Chicago Ill.) [Thanks to MickeyT]
The city hall in the movie is actually Pasadena city hall. [Thanks to Tom]
Some parts of Detroit were also used for the opening scenes.
Featured Link: The Biltmore Hotel
Can you help? Do you know any of the Los Angeles, S. California (or any other) filming locations used for Beverly Hills Cop, particularly the street addresses of the LA Locations? [Please send them in]
|  | | | | ![[16:9 -Widescreen Enhanced]](16_9.gif) | ![[5.1 CH SURROUND]](dd5.gif) | Trailer, Commentary, Featurette |
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Comments: Special edition disk also features Locations map, casting featurette, music of Beverly Hills Cop and photo gallery. |
| | | | Trailer, Commentary, Featurette |
| Our
Comments: Special edition disk same as USA release. |
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A monster high octane soundtrack contained all the main tracks from the movie including such smash hits as "The Heat Is On!". Use our search feature to find it on CD.
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Soundtrack Available:
On CD
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