Officer Serpico was not your everyday policeman. He was a devotee of opera and ballet. His pets included an English Sheepdog, a Guatemalan macaw and a white mouse. He had a pad in the village, he dressed like a hippie and wore one gold earring. He had no problems with women.

But what erally made him different was that he would not be bought. Many of his fellow officers considered Frank Serpico the most dangerous man alive - an honest cop.