Director Sidney Lumet noted that Pacino stayed in character throughout the day. His mood on set reflected his character’s state in the scene; if the scene was happy, he was joking; if it was tense, he was angry and lashed out.

To better inhabit the character of a plainclothes officer, Pacino often roamed New York City neighborhoods in character. In one famous incident, he was so deep in the role that he actually pulled over a truck driver and threatened to arrest him for exhaust pollution. Pacino spent significant time with the real Frank Serpico to prepare, even inviting him to stay at his home in Montauk. However, Serpico was eventually asked to stay away from the set by producer Martin Bregman to avoid making Pacino self-conscious or becoming a distraction. 

The production was incredibly rushed, with only five months between the start of filming and the film’s release. Despite the film’s focus on police corruption, the NYPD was surprisingly cooperative. Two officers were assigned to the production and reportedly became more helpful once they saw that Lumet was aiming for an authentic, non-Hollywood portrayal.

Filmed entirely on location in New York, the production captured the raw energy of the city during the early 1970s, contributing to the “gritty realism” for which the film is known.

On its release, Serpico became a critical and commercial success. At the same time, the film drew criticism from police officers. It received nominations at the Academy Awards and BAFTA Awards. Pacino earned the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama, while Salt and Wexler received the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

She was “discovered” by legendary director F.W. Murnau. After serving as a stand-in for Lil Dagover, she was cast as Gretchen in the silent masterpiece Faust (1926). This single role made her an international overnight sensation. Following her success in Germany, she moved to Hollywood in the late 1920s. She starred in several major United Artists productions, most notably opposite John Barrymore in Tempest (1928) and Eternal Love (1929).

Unlike many silent stars, she maintained her popularity into the sound era. She returned to Europe and became a staple in German, British, and Italian cinema. Some of her notable later works include The Great Desire (1930) and the award-winning Schloß Königswald (1988), which was her final film.

Horn’s life was as dramatic as her films. She was married four times and was known for her independent spirit; during the Nazi era, she reportedly refused to strictly follow the official party line and was eventually prosecuted for monetary offenses. In her autobiography, she detailed her interactions with figures like Joseph Goebbels and her time in Hollywood. She is remembered today as one of the most striking faces of the Weimar-era cinema.