Year of Eastwood #28

Sudden Impact

Starring: Eastwood, Sondra Locke

Directed by Eastwood

I’m really starting to worry about Clint. Somehow trouble just seems to follow him wherever he goes. The poor guy goes into a café to get a cup of joe and the joint’s getting robbed. Can’t the guy just get a lousy cup of coffee? Instead, he’s gotta pull out the piece and start busting the place up. Of course, the fat cats down at city hall don’t like Clint’s ‘methods’ so they’re constantly busting his balls. Sure, maybe crashing a wedding reception and giving some mobster a heart attack ain’t by the book, but hey the guy gets results.

To top things off, all these criminals that get off on technicalities are constantly chasing Clint thru the streets of San Fran and burning up his car. It ain’t cheap getting your car reupholstered all those times. The guy can’t even hang out in a dumpster without a bunch of gangsters trying to shoot him up. What Clint really could use is a vacation … Roadtrip!

So Clint decides to get out of town for a few days. Maybe see a few sights, take in some local colour. I hear that wine country is a nice place to spend a few days. Sure nuff, the first town he pulls into - he stumbles right into the middle of a bank robbery. If it weren’t for bad luck…

Speaking of bad luck - this sequel falls smack dab into those dark days of the Sondra Locke era, so you can bet Clint is going to include his main squeeze in on the action. Oh Sondra, you temptress, why must you mock me over and over again? Sondra seems like a perfectly normal, well-adjusted gal - restoring vintage carousel ponies - but look closer at her twisted paintings of bunny rabbits and dragons and you’ll see that crazy look in her eyes.

Sondra’s hiding a dark secret from her past … and now she’s seeking revenge against the thugs who did those terrible things to her and her sister (now an inanimate object) many years ago. Lookout, she’s got a gun! She likes to put one bullet in the head, one in the shorts. All the boys think she’s a spy, she’s got psycho Sondra eyes.

Clint is hot on Sondra’s trail. Usually one step behind every target on her to-do list. The thugs are led by Large Marge - a cackling, bitch-smacking wench who chews up every scene she’s in. I’m sure theatre crowds cheered when Clint popped her a good one.

BTW, the trivia answer is Sudden Impact. The question is … which Dirty Harry sequel spawned the uber catchphrase “Go ahead, make my day.” Used by US Presidents and witty pundits the world over. But this ain’t your father’s Dirty Harry. The 80’s seem light years away from the gritty 70’s crime drams. Sure, Insp. Harry Callahan is still at it, smacking punks around, but now the soundtrack’s got a hip, beat-box scratching intro … one more to go…

Year of Eastwood #27

The Enforcer (1976)

Starring: Eastwood
Directed by James Fargo

Listen up jive-ass turkeys, a few years have gone by and Clint is back again for the Dirtiest Harry of them all. Or at least that’s what some marketing genius came up with to promote Clint’s third take on Inspector Harry Callahan. Actually, this time out Harry doesn’t seem to be quite as edgy or violent, he’s still just as curmudgeonly and difficult to get along with as ever.

The Dirty Harry films were not only successful as exciting action films, but also served as social commentaries to the frustration building in the 70’s. The original film tackled the topic of an ineffective judicial system and Magnum Force examines the effects of out-of-control vigilante tactics. This time around Clint takes on radical political groups that are terrorizing the nation with their hippy, Charles Manson-loving, dope smoking attempts to overthrow the establishment that’s always trying to keep the Man down.

Well, lookee here, it’s the fuzz … Clint’s not too concerned what your political affiliation is - you break the law, and he’s gonna chase you around on rooftops until he brings you down. The People’s Revolutionary Strike Force has taken the mayor of San Fran captive and demanding that their message be heard … actually, they’re demanding $5 million dollars. So instead of some deep, insightful social commentary on the state of our nation, they just really want to get paid.

Clint kills off another one of his partners, so this time they pair him up with a female sidekick. Now, I’m not saying that Clint is sexist or anything, but most of the women in Dirty Harry don’t even have names - so for him to now get paired up with a chick - well, that don’t sit too well with Clint. Tyne Daly follows Clint around for most of the movie, but in the end she gets to shoot a couple of bad guys - but in the end, she can’t escape the curse that is being Clint’s partner. Dead.

Apparently, Clint was a little jealous of all the attention his co-star, his .44 magnum, was getting, because The Enforcer has to introduce an even larger weapon to show that pansy gun just who’s in charge. A single-shot, over the shoulder, missile launcher blows up a few things and Clint even uses it in the big finale to blow up the bad guy. Plus, it’s disposable so you don’t have to worry about it wanting more screen time. Last I heard, Clyde the monkey and the .44 were in talks to do a buddy picture together.

The Enforcer abandons the second film’s attempt to humanize Dirty Harry. There’s no scenes of personal life or struggling to balance his checkbook. Nope, this time the movie just goes from scenes of Clint busting his car thru a bank to get the bad guys to scenes of the radical hippies plotting their big schemes until we get the big finale out on Alcatraz island … where I hear you can get a really good deal on a studio apartment.

The early Dirty Harry movies were great popcorn action flicks with a message behind all the shocking violence. With the trilogy, Clint had created a classic Hollywood icon. Originally, Clint planned to put this character to rest after three films, but audiences wanted more (and I’m sure the paycheck was pretty good too) so there’s still two more sequels to go … perhaps he should of quit after three …

Year of Eastwood

Half-way point

26 down ... 26 to go. Hard to believe that what started six months ago is still going on, but Year of Eastwood is half-way over. What have we learned so far? Not a whole heck of a lot ... but there have been a few surprises (the Eiger Sanction) and a few disappointments (Heartbreak Ridge, I'm looking at you).

Top Five at the Half-way

1. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
2. Eiger Sanction
3. Dirty Harry
4. In the Line of Fire
5. Unforgiven

So, stay tuned for the final 26 - except there might be a bit of delay because right now The Enforcer is a "very long wait" on my Netflix queue ...

Year of Eastwood #26

Magnum Force (1973)

Starring: Eastwood
Directed by Ted Post

Clint hit pay dirt with Dirty Harry. The film was a phenomenon that made Clint the biggest star in the world and Clint finally had the ultimate prize of any actor … a catchphrase he could take to the bank. “Do you feel lucky, punk” was being used at every office meeting, dinner table, and wife swap around the country, so naturally a sequel was inevitable. And two years later, Clint gave the public what they wanted … Insp. Harry Callahan was back with Magnum Force.

Before today's sequel fatique, a sequel usually meant a bump up in budget, better effects, and a fine-tuned machine running on all cylinders. A few sequels come to mind that might in fact be better than their predecessors … Godfather 2, Empire Strikes Back, and Aliens. Of course, when there’s money to be made the result is a gluttony of sequels to every successful film that comes along - even when the sequel is just a retread of the original. My personal favorite is Weekend at Bernie’s 2. The guys are still trying to party it up with a rapidly decomposing corpse. For the love of God, put the poor man in the ground already.

But Magnum Force ups the ante on Dirty Harry’s success. The film poses an interesting question ... what is the result if everyone started copying Harry’s antics of taking the law into their own hands? Clint has his hands full with a group of vigilante cops inspired by Harry’s success and plan on executing every criminal they see fit. While Harry goes around shooting hi-jackers and robbers - the vigilante cops kill mobsters, hippies, and pimps. How is what they’re handing down any different then Harry’s methods? Apparently, Harry brings down the bad guys in the line of fire while the cops just track down people in their motorcycles and shoot them in the head.

In the original film, Dirty Harry was a singularly-driven man focused on his pursuit of justice. Magnum Force attempts to show the more human side of Harry. Clint hangs out with some friends, enjoys some beers, and even gets it on with Sunny from downstairs. Life is looking pretty good for Harry, but once again not so much for his partners … this one gets blown up from a bomb in his mailbox.

Look for a cameo from a pre-Three's Company Suzanne Somers. She's skinny-dipping at some hippy party ... then she gets shot. Guess those vigilantes were doing a pre-emptive strike against the Thigh Master.

Watching Magnum Force today, 25 years later, it’s easy to see the effect this gritty crime drama had on other forms of entertainment. TV dramas like Baretta featured the rogue crime fighter chasing down killers week after week. Even 70’s porn embraced the Dirty Harry storyline - loner private dicks fighting crime in between banging hot chicks. (Not that I would have any idea what 70’s porn is all about - but Dirk Diggler’s claim to fame was his series of Brock Landers, Private Eye films.)

In fact, the opening credits of Magnum Force has a certain 70’s porn feel to it. A long steady shot of Harry’s impressive tool - his .44 Magnum - while the wakka chikka wakka soundtrack plays in the background. And wait for it, wait for it. Finally, the money shot as the gun turns slowly to the camera and unloads it’s chamber right at the camera.

Year of Eastwood #25

Dirty Harry (1971)

Starring: Eastwood
Directed by Don Siegel

Movies just don’t get any bigger than Dirty Harry - the film was a phenomenon in the early 70’s and spawned four sequels. In the 60’s, family entertainment was the rule in entertainment as Americans still flocked to see musicals, but Eastwood’s Paint Your Wagon effectively killed off that genre. During the next decade there was a dramatic shift in the realism of American cinema. Films featured crime, violence, and rebellion against authority in a way that audiences cheered for the underdog.

Clint is Inspector Harry Callahan, but you can call him Dirty. Why? Because the San Francisco police department calls on Clint for every dirty job in town. Clint is the original maverick cop, playing by his own rules and constantly in trouble with his incompetent bosses. He gets away with it because he gets results. In his spare time, Clint stops bank robbers during his lunch break and punches out, I mean, rescues roof jumpers.

But Clint has met his match in the Scorpio killer. A crazed, serial killer who likes to pick off victims with his high powered rifle from atop San Francisco buildings. Whoever they found to play this psycho sure gets the job done. All jittery and creepy - kinda like Bud Cort on acid - Scorpio rapes, kills, smacks kids around, and apparently really likes scavenger hunts. The killer was based on the Zodiac killer who terrorized San Francisco in the 70’s. In a bit of art imitating life imitating art, the film Zodiac released last year mentions the effect of Dirty Harry on the real-life events going on in California at the time.

Clint tracks down Scorpio, stabs him in the leg and shoots him on the 50 yard line of the old 49ers stadium. Turns out that Scorpio walks (or limps) because he didn’t have a warrant for kicking down his door and torturing the suspect. Clint thinks the law’s gone crazy and he stalks Scorpio at playgrounds and strip clubs until he cant take it no more so he hijacks a school bus and demands $200,000 cash and a plane ticket out of town. But Clint is waiting for him on a bridge and he jumps on top of the bus and beats the crap out of Scorpio and then delivers the iconic line “You’ve got to ask yourself one question: ‘Do I feel lucky?’ Well do ya, punk?” Scorpio's watched lots of Texas Hold'em on ESPN so he grabs for his gun ... Clint shoots him.

Dirty Harry finally matches Clint up with a co-star strong enough to match Clint’s screen presence - a .44 magnum, which I hear will blow your head clean off. Now, actually being assigned as Clint’s sidekick is obviously a not such a good gig. He always gets the bad guy, but apparently he’s not so good at watching his partner’s back. The last few officers forced to ride shotgun with Clint ended up dead or injured. Sure enough, the unlucky sap teamed up with Clint at the beginning of the movie ends up in a wheelchair, deciding instead to pursue a career in parking meters.

Clint has said that he just wanted to make an action film, but a renegade cop with no concept of police brutality resonated with an audience weary of increasing urban crime. Dirty Harry’s unconventional methods connected with a nation also frustrated with a justice system that had become so bogged down in legalese that victims seemed to take a back seat to criminal rights. Crowds responded to Dirty Harry’s vigilante approach, catapulting Clint’s impressive career into the stratosphere as the biggest movie star in the world.