Sudden Impact (1983)

A rape victim is exacting revenge on her agressors in a small town outside San Francisco. Dirty Harry, on suspension for angering his superiors (again), is assigned to the case.

Director:

Clint Eastwood

Writers:

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

Stars:

Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Pat Hingle

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Clint Eastwood	...	Harry Callahan
Sondra Locke	...	Jennifer Spencer
Pat Hingle	...	Chief Jannings
Bradford Dillman	...	Captain Briggs
Paul Drake	...	Mick
Audrie Neenan	...	Ray Parkins (as Audrie J. Neenan)
Jack Thibeau	...	Kruger
Michael Currie	...	Lt. Donnelly
Albert Popwell	...	Horace King
Mark Keyloun	...	Officer Bennett
Kevyn Major Howard	...	Hawkins
Bette Ford	...	Leah
Nancy Parsons	...	Mrs. Kruger
Joe Bellan	...	Burly Detective
Wendell Wellman	...	Tyrone

Storyline

A vicious serial-killer is on the loose in San Francisco and the police trace a link to a small town further down the coast. When Harry Callahan upsets the press and the mayor in his usual style, he's shipped out of town to investigate while the heat is on. With the help of his new Magnum handgun Harry goes on the trail leaving behind the usual trail of dead criminals along the way.

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Plot Keywords:

criminal | rape victim | police | rape | revenge | 

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Taglines:

Dirty Harry is at it again.

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Genres:

Action | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 December 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

Impacto fulminante

Filming Locations:

1000-1600 Pacific Avenue, Santa Cruz, California, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$67,600,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros, Malpaso Company, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The scene where Callahan chases the robber in the senior citizen bus was filmed at and around the Pacific Garden Mall in Santa Cruz, California. This area was heavily damaged in the Loma Prieta earthquake on 17 October 1989. Many of the buildings in this scene had to be razed, due to extensive earthquake damage.

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Goofs

When Harry is target shooting outdoors, the target in the long shots is in shadow under trees, but upon close-ups it is clearly in full sunlight.

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Quotes

Horace King: So I heard you got a forced vacation.
Harry Callahan: [takes his magnum gun out] Uh-huh.
Horace King: You still use the Magnum .44?
Harry Callahan: Pretty powerful. You want see?
Horace King: Sure.
Harry Callahan: [shoots a tree stump and some metal. Tons of wood splinters go all over the place in the bullets make shattering circles in the metal!]
Horace King: Look, you got start being careful. I think you really should go on vacation.
Harry Callahan: Forget it. I never take a vacation.
Horace King: Well either that or quit.
Harry Callahan: That's good idea right there. I really should quit. Then I can handle the law my own ...
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in Jackie Brown (1997)

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Soundtracks

"THIS SIDE OF FOREVER"
Performed by Roberta Flack
Music by Lalo Schifrin
Lyrics by DeWayne Blackwell (as Dewayne Blackwell)

User Reviews

lacking in some ways and stronger in others, it's a good- if mixed- Eastwood bag

It's a strange thing to see a film where some scenes work rather weakly (if only in comparison to other films in its legacy), and others in a 'sub-plot' or supporting story are surprisingly provocative and strong. Sudden Impact is one of those cases, where Clint Eastwood as star/producer/director shows when he can be at his best, or at his lessor of times when dealing with a crime/mystery/detective story in his Dirty Harry fame. We get that 'make my day' line, and un-like in the first film where his 'do I feel lucky' speech was playful and cool the first time and the second time at the end tough as nails, here it's switched around. He gets into another shamble with the department, as usual, when he tries to fight crime 'his' way, in particular with a diner robbery (inspiration for Pulp Fiction?) and with a high speed pursuit with a senior citizen bus. He's told to 'take a vacation', and that's the last thing on his mind. This whole main plot isn't very convincing aside from the expectancy of the story and lines, which just adds to the frustration. But soon his story merges with the sub-plot that Eastwood develops from the start.

Enter Sandra Locke's character, Jennifer Spencer, whom we soon learn after some (appropriately) mysterious scenes that she and her shy sister were victims of a cruel, unjust sexual assault (err, outright rape), and is sleekly, undercover-like, getting revenge. Her scenes and story are the strongest parts of the film, the most intense, and finally when it goes into Callahan's storyline (he's getting facts in the same small town she's in on a murder), the film finally finds a focus between Eastwood's classic form of clearly defined good vs. evil (though sometimes blurred, to be sure). Eastwood films the flashbacks, not to say too much about them, expertly, in a fresh, experimental style; the trademark Lalo Schifrin score is totally atmospheric in these scenes and in others. It almost seems like a couple of times an art-house sensibility has crept into Eastwood's firmly straightforward storytelling style, which helps make the film watchable.

It's a shame, though, that in the end it goes more for the expectable (or maybe not expectable) points, and until the third act Callahan doesn't have much to do except his usual 'it's smith...Wesson...and me' shtick. However, with Locke he gets out of her a very good performance (more subtle and touching than the one in the Gauntlet) and an exciting climax at an amusement park. In a way I do and don't agree with Ebert's remark that it's like a 'music video' in Eastwood's style here. I admit there is comparisons with the simplicity of both, the directness, but the scenes where Eastwood does break form are superior to those of any music video. It's cheesy, it's hard-edged, it's not up to par with the first two 'Harry' pictures, but hey, there could be worse ways to spend a couple hours with the master of the .44.