oldtime.us Set against the backdrop of the glamor, grit and noir of early 1950s Los Angeles, the film revolves around three Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers caught up in corruption, sex, lies, and murder following a multiple murder at the Nite Owl coffee shop. The story expands to encompass organized crime, political corruption, heroin, pornography, prostitution, tabloid journalism and institutional racism, which result in a huge body count. The novel's title refers to the infamous 1950s scandal magazine Confidential, portrayed fictionally as Hush-Hush (although a tabloid magazine called Hush-Hush also existed in the 1950s.[1]) Sergeant Edmund Exley (Pearce), the son of a legendary LAPD Inspector, is a brilliant officer in his own right, determined to outdo his father. Ed's intelligence, his education, his glasses, his insistence on following regulations, and his cold demeanor all contribute to his social isolation from other officers. He increases this resentment after volunteering to testify against other cops in an infamous police brutality case (the Bloody Christmas incident) early on, insisting on a promotion to Detective Lieutenant (which he receives) against the advice of Captain Dudley Smith (James Cromwell). The captain believed that Exley's honesty and actions as a "snitch" would interfere with his ability to supervise detectives. Exley was motivated by the murder of his father by "Rollo Tomasi", a sense of justice, and his personal ambition.