MAGNUM FORCE
Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry Movies
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SPECIALS:
Clint Eastwood in The Man with No Name Trilogy
Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry Movies
IMAGES:
Clint Eastwood Posters, Prints, Photos, Framed, Mounted Images
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Magnum Force (1973)
CAST
Harry Callahan, Clint Eastwood; Lieutenant Briggs, Hal Holbrook; Early Smith, Felton Perry; Charlie McCoy, Mitchell Ryan; Davis, David Soul; Sweet, Tim Matheson; Grimmes, Robert Urich; Astrachan, Kip Niven; Carol McCoy, Christine White; Sunny, Adele Yoshioka.
CREDITS
Producer, Robert Daley. Director, Ted Post. Screenplay, John Milius, Michael Cimino. Based on a story by John Minus, from original material by Harry Julian Fink, R. M. Fink. Photography, Frank Stanley. Editor, Ferris Webster. Music, Lalo Schifrin. Art director, Jack Collis. Assistant director, Wes McAfee. Released by Warner Bros. Color by Technicolor and in Panavision. Running time: 124 minutes.
Magnum Force was a follow-up to Eastwood's 1971 smash hit Dirty Harry. That film, while being hailed by many and panned by just as many, had become Eastwood's most successful movie. He now felt it time to return to the screen as Dirty Harry, and audiences were only too eager to prove his hunch correct.
In Magnum Force, the Harry character is undeniably more subdued than in the original film, although he is quite definitely still a man who shoots first and asks questions later. "Shooting is all right," he tells a group of Nazi-like policemen, "as long as the right people get shot." This was all too obviously to alert audiences that this was still the same tough guy Eastwood had played before, although a bit mellower when it came to upholding the traditions of the system.
Critics were quick to scoff at the softening of the Harry character. In fact, some reviewers saw it as a means to bribe their supposedly liberal instincts into giving the film a more favorable notice by playing up to liberal politics. There was no controversy, at least at the box office, in terms of the public. This film far outgrossed its predecessor and proved that the old addage about sequels being poor imitations was simply not true in this case.
Magnum Force lacked the impact and originality of Dirty Harry, but under Ted Post's capable direction, it remained an engrossing, fast-paced thriller. There are countless shoot-outs to keep the audience on the edge of their seats, and once again, Eastwood is plainly visible doing most of his own stunts, which greatly benefits the authenticity of the action sequences. Clint seemed less enthusiastic about his character than he appeared to be the first time around. His performance is solid enough but not as penetrating as it was in Dirty Harry. This is a minor criticism, however, of a first-rate action thriller that remains one of Eastwood's biggest successes.
SYNOPSIS
When an old partner is killed during an apparently routine investigation, Detective Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) takes charge of the case both on and off-duty. At the same time, San Francisco is being swept with a series of mysterious, vigilante-type slayings of suspected criminals. Lieutenant Briggs (Hal Holbrook), to whom Harry reports, assigns a young detective named Smith (Felton Perry) to act as Callahan's partner.
The trail of evidence suggest to Harry that his friend had stumbled onto the vigilantes and had been killed to prevent him from arresting them. This hunch proves correct when he eventually finds that a group of young police officers are acting on their own in killing criminals. Callahan is asked to join them, but he angers them with his refusal on the grounds that they are just as criminal as the people they have murdered. Callahan suspects correctly that he is now marked for death.
Harry upsets Briggs with his accusations about his fellow officers, and Briggs tries to convince him that his theories are incorrect, despite evidence to the contrary. As a further warning, Harry receives news that Smith has been killed by a bomb in his mailbox. Harry avoids falling prey to a similar setup.
Before he can act, Harry is taken for a ride by Briggs, ostensibly to discuss the case. However, Briggs draws a gun on Harry and admits to being the head of the vigilante squad. Harry disarms Briggs in a tense struggle and is pursued to a waterfront pier by Briggs's men. A highspeed motorcycle chase ends with Harry killing his adversaries. A final confrontation with Briggs ends when Harry tosses a bomb into his superior's getaway car.
REVIEWS
Mr. Eastwood's unshakable cool makes me miss Richard Widmark's style in playing this kind of part. All that Eastwood can manage is a frown that suggests tension. The excitement is mainly in the camerawork, which is stunning.
Nora Sayre, New York Times
Magnum Force is another cop opera with a decent twist to its story but a slow motion style. . . . It eventually leaves one not caring how much it turns out. [It's] a picture that needs to crack along if it is to work. As it is, it picks its way so carefully that we tire of it as we would tire of watching an uninspired ant negotiate a maze.
Variety
The story is simple one, rather far fetched, but capable of supplying large outbursts of violent action that gives Eastwood the opportunity to exemplify absolute equanimity under the most extreme pressure. Afterwards, he's still as calm as before. He makes a wonderful hero, as practically everyone in the country has already noticed.
Archer Winsten, New York Post
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