Chinatown
A private detective investigating an adultery case stumbles on to a scheme of murder that has something to do with water.
- Director: Roman Polanski
- Genre:Crime / Mystery / Thriller
- Runtime:131 minutes
Cast
Jack Nicholson : J.J. Gittes
Faye Dunaway : Evelyn Mulwray
John Huston : Noah Cross
Perry Lopez : Escobar
John Hillerman : Yelburton
A woman hires private investigator J.J. “Jake” Gittes (Jack Nicholson) to perform surveillance on Hollis Mulwray, the chief engineer for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. The woman (Diane Ladd) claims to be Mulwray’s wife Evelyn, who suspects him of adultery.
Gittes tails Mulwray. In a public meeting about a proposed bond issue for new dam construction, Mr. Mulwray argues that the proposed dam will be physically unsound and opposes the bond issue, which eventually passes. Following Mulwray to several Water and Power-related sites, they discover the dumping of fresh water into the ocean in spite of the late summer drought. Gittes’s associate photographs Mulwray arguing with an elderly man outside the Pig ‘n Whistle eatery in Hollywood, and only overhears the words “apple core” over traffic noise (a corruption of the word “albacore”).
Gittes’s tail finally hits paydirt when he photographs Mulwray with his young mistress. When the photos hit the front page of the paper the next day, Gittes is confronted by the real Evelyn Mulwray (Faye Dunaway), who serves him with a lawsuit. Gittes realizes he had been duped by a phony Mrs. Mulwray, and to repair his reputation, he must figure out who was behind the hiring, and why.
Gittes convinces Evelyn Mulwray that he was only unwittingly involved in her personal business and she agrees to dismiss her lawsuit. She nervously reveals that her maiden name was “Cross” and that Mulwray used to be her father’s business partner. Visiting the Department of Water and Power, Gittes recognizes photographs of the same elderly man Mulwray was photographed quarreling with, and learns his name: Noah Cross (John Huston). Mulwray and Cross once privately owned the water department.
Gittes looks for Mulwray at the Oak Pass reservoir but finds police detectives there instead, including Lt. Lou Escobar (Perry Lopez), with whom Gittes used to work as an officer in Chinatown. Escobar and his men are investigating Mulwray’s death by drowning and are recovering the body. At headquarters, Evelyn falsely tells Escobar that she did hire Gittes at the outset to put an end to rumors about Mulwray’s adultery, expecting nothing to come of it. Gittes tells Evelyn that he suspects that Mulwray was murdered. Evelyn hires Gittes to investigate Mulwray’s death. Read more
