MOVIE REVIEW : ‘NUMBER ONE’: FAMILIAR SETUP THAT FAILS

In “Number One With a Bullet” (selected theaters), Robert Carradine and Billy Dee Williams are the latest interracial police partners to assail the grimy, dangerous streets and back alleys of Los Angeles. Their quest is to get the goods on the city’s drug kingpin--a pursuit only fitfully stymied by the fact he has a well-placed stoolie inside the department.

The setup is so familiar, one can hardly fault the film makers when they veer off in favor of other pursuits (Carradine’s attempts to win back his ex-wife, Williams’ passion for jazz and the ladies, a hop-headed assassin who likes his work too much). However, in order to make the action and amusing plot non-sequiturs work, the film needs a strong grip on the reins that director Jack Smight doesn’t seem able to provide. “Number One” ambles along rather than building any sense of tension or danger. It also squanders a potential ace in developing a jocular rapport between the principals, because the story keeps them apart through most of the film.

It’s interesting to compare “Number One With a Bullet” (rated R for language and some violence) with last year’s “Running Scared.” Both films are saddled with essentially uninspired premises but the earlier film manages to overcome some of its shortcomings by poking fun at the very cliches essential to its existence.