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) (as R.M. Fink)

Stars:

Clint Eastwood, Hal Holbrook, Mitchell Ryan

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Clint Eastwood	...	Harry Calahan
Hal Holbrook	...	Lt. Briggs
Mitchell Ryan	...	McCoy
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...

---

Plot Keywords:

cult film | dirty harry | partner | murder | police | 

---

Taglines:

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

---

Genres:

Action | Crime | Mystery | Thriller

---

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 (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to Clint Eastwood biographer Marc Eliot the addition of a black partner Early Smith was a "conscious attempt by Warner to ameliorate the outrage that the punk in the 'Do you feel lucky?' scene (in 'Dirty Harry') was black."

---

Goofs

While Harry and his partner are following Palancio (and ask for directions to San Quentin), the four lights mounted on their vehicle are visible in Harry's sunglasses. Also the shadow of the camera mounted on the side of their vehicle repeatedly comes in and out of view as the car turns.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Harry Callahan: [at end of main titles] This is a 44. Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and it could blow your head clean off. Do you feel lucky?
[fires at the audience]

---

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.

---

Connections

Follows Dirty Harry (1971)

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".