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…