With his small, narrow-brimmed hat and featureless physiognomy, Detective Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle wasn't destined for the pantheon of movie cops, alongside Dirty Harry or his New York Police Department colleague Serpico. But Popeye Doyle was propelled by a rage, cynicism and violence that left an indelible imprint on the screen. So much so that Gene Hackman, who had been given the lead role in French Connection (after the producers had given up on Paul Newman and Steve McQueen, who were too expensive), the creator of this ordinary, monstrous character, became, overnight, one of the most sought-after actors in American cinema, which at the time – it was 1971 – was living under the rule of New Hollywood. The latter officially opened its ranks to him by awarding him the Oscar for Best Actor.

Attentive viewers had already spotted him in Arthur Penn's Bonnie and Clyde, four years earlier. There, he played Clyde Barrow's brother Buck, with enough intensity and nuance, from bonhomie to madness, to earn a Supporting Actor Oscar nomination. In 1967, Hackman was already 37 years old, older than the unconventional young men emerging at the time – Dustin Hoffman, Jack Nicholson or, a little later, Robert De Niro. Not only did he not have a youthful physique, his premature baldness made him look as if he belonged to another generation.

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