Magnum Force (1973)

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

Director:

Ted Post

Writers:

Harry Julian Fink (original material), Rita M. Fink (original material),

Stars:

Clint Eastwood, Hal Holbrook, Mitch Ryan

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Clint Eastwood	...	Harry Callahan
Hal Holbrook	...	Lt. Briggs
Mitch Ryan	...	McCoy (as Mitchell Ryan)
David Soul	...	Davis
Tim Matheson	...	Sweet
Kip Niven	...	Astrachan
Robert Urich	...	Grimes
Felton Perry	...	Early Smith
Maurice Argent	...	Nat Weinstein
Margaret Avery	...	Prostitute
Richard Devon	...	Ricca
Tony Giorgio	...	Palancio
Jack Kosslyn	...	Walter
Bob March	...	Estabrook
Bob McClurg	...	Cab Driver

Storyline

San Francisco Police Inspector 'Dirty' Harry Callahan and his new partner, Early Smith have been temporarily reassigned from Homicide to Stakeout Duty. Meanwhile, those of the city's criminals who manage to avoid punishment by the courts are nevertheless being killed by unknown assassins. Callahan begins to investigate the murders despite the orders of his superior officer, Lieutenant Briggs. A man has to know his limitations...

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Plot Keywords:

dirty harry | police | murder | partner | pimp | 

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Taglines:

Clint Eastwood is back in 'Full Force' as Dirty Harry in "Magnum Force."

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Genres:

Action | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 December 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Vigilance

Filming Locations:

1501 Leavenworth Street, San Francisco, California, USA

Box Office

Gross:

SEK 2,295,452 (Sweden)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros, Malpaso Company, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At 124 mins, this is the longest of all the films in the Dirty Harry series.

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Goofs

When Harry walks up to the limousine in which Ricca and his men have been murdered, he puts his hands on the car's door sill and partially rolled-down window, contaminating an active crime scene which is still under investigation. No veteran homicide detective would do this.

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Quotes

[last lines]
Harry Callahan: A man's GOT to know his limitations.

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Crazy Credits

The credits are played over a hand (presumably Harry's) holding a 44 Magnum against a red background. As such, this is the only Dirty Harry movie in which the opening credits are not played over San Francisco scenery.

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Connections

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

User Reviews

Year Of The Gun

It's all about the man, his politics, and his methods. Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) is a tough, no-nonsense cop. In this second "Dirty Harry" movie, Callahan is on the trail of a ruthless vigilante gang. The story starts off well enough, with a fair amount of suspense. As the plot moves along, however, it becomes less tight and more drawn out. Suspense fizzles. And the puzzle solution is revealed too soon.

The film conveys an angry tone, especially directed at the American court system. The idea is that the "law" doesn't really protect innocent people. So we need loners like Dirty Harry to hunt down the bad guys. The film glorifies guns, a symbol of "rough justice". As such, Harry is very much a modern representative of the Old West cowboy gunslinger. Right is right; wrong is wrong; there's no in-between. I hate that overly simplistic mentality.

Color cinematography is fine; there's some good overhead camera shots. Many scenes take place on city streets. Way too much time is spent on car chases. Acting is acceptable. I especially liked the performance of the always reliable Hal Holbrook.

The original "Dirty Harry" was quite suspenseful. By contrast, "Magnum Force" is much less so. Still, it's not a bad movie, if you don't mind lots of car chases and the sounds of screeching tires, and if you adhere to a philosophy that a lone tough-guy cop can protect us, with the help of his trusty "44-Magnum", "the most powerful handgun in the world".