Magnum Force (1973)

Director:

Ted Post

Writers:

Harry Julian Fink (characters) and
Rita M. Fink (characters) ...

Release Date:

25 December 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Clint Eastwood is Dirty Harry in Magnum Force

Plot:

Dirty Harry is on the trail of vigilante cops who are not above going beyond the law to kill the city's undesirables.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Police | Homicide | Pimp | Stakeout

Cast

Clint Eastwood	...	Insp. 'Dirty' Harry Callahan
Hal Holbrook	...	Lt. Neil Briggs
Mitch Ryan	...	Officer Charlie McCoy (as Mitchell Ryan)
David Soul	...	Officer John Davis
Tim Matheson	...	Officer Phil Sweet
Kip Niven	...	Officer Red Astrachan
Robert Urich	...	Officer Mike Grimes
Felton Perry	...	Insp. Early Smith
Maurice Argent	...	Nat Weinstein
Margaret Avery	...	Prostitute
Richard Devon	...	Carmine Ricca
Tony Giorgio	...	Frank Palancio
Jack Kosslyn	...	Walter
Bob March	...	Estabrook
Bob McClurg	...	Cab Driver

Runtime:

124 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:X (1973) (cut) | Singapore:M18 | Iceland:16 | Finland:K-16 (1974) (cut) | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Argentina:16 | Peru:18 | Finland:K-15 (2008) (uncut) (video rating) | Australia:MA (Cable TV rating) | Brazil:14 | Australia:R | Canada:18A | France:-12 | Italy:VM18 | Norway:18 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 (cut) | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

18th St. Overpass, Potrero Hill, San Francisco, California, USA

Company:

Malpaso Company, The

Trivia:

Two deleted scenes help explain why Harry grows to suspect John Davis and his pals with the killings of Charlie McCoy and the mobsters. One occurs between the funeral flight for McCoy and the combat championship; after the flight Harry and Davis drive from the airport to a bowling alley for a few drinks; a black youth is suddenly chased outside and assaulted by four toughs; Davis attacks the toughs while Harry dispatches one with his beer mug. After subduing the robbers Davis harangues a group of eyewitnesses for letting such crimes take place; Harry witnesses Davis' harangue and sees in it his own approach to crime fighting, albeit far more severe. Later, after examining the bullet from Davis' gun at the combat championship range, Harry checks on old issues of a police magazine, in which are articles condemning the revolving door justice allowed by liberal politics - articles authored by the four rookie cops. These scenes were deleted presumably because they were judged to be "padding" and not necessary to establishing Harry's suspicion of the four rookie cops.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: After Callahan removes the bomb from his own mailbox, he looks up at a man on the nearby stairs. As a car drives by on the street, the lights from it cast the shadow of the boom operator onto the wall.

Quotes:

Officer Davis: I feel somewhat responsible.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "20 to 1: Memorable Movie Characters (#3.11)" (2006)

A sequel with a new story...

This sequel to the entertaining "Dirty Harry" stands with few peers when it comes to successful follow-ups. Most don't stand on their own feet but Magnum Force does solidly. Changing the plot but not the style is good formula in movies, rather than playing out what was already done in the original, which is why so many sequels fail. "Magnum Force" is my second favorite film by Eastwood after "High Plains Drifter". Harry still likes to do things his way although rather than focusing his energy on the bad guys, he's focused on some crooked cops in his own department! Follows in the original's footsteps with lots of great views of San Francisco (My Birthplace!) I always feel at home when watching this movie. This is another film that is played a lot on TV because its so good on it's own. Felton Perry does a good job as Harry's partner, comparable to Reni Santoni in the original Dirty Harry. Didn't like any of the sequels that followed this movie with the exception of Dead Pool. Magnum Force is a film that rates highly as watchable again & again.