City Heat (1984)

Director:

Richard Benjamin

Writers:

Blake Edwards (story)
Blake Edwards (writer) ...

Release Date:

7 December 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy

Tagline:

Take Clint the street-smart cop . . . take Burt the wise-guy private eye . . . and then take cover!

Plot:

A slick private eye and tough police lieutenant--once partners, now bitter enemies--reluctantly team up to investigate a murder.

Plot Keywords:

1930s | Car Explosion | Spilled Coffee | Shot Multiple Times | Cadillac

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Clint Eastwood	...	Lieutenant Speer
Burt Reynolds	...	Mike Murphy
Jane Alexander	...	Addy
Madeline Kahn	...	Caroline Howley
Rip Torn	...	Primo Pitt
Irene Cara	...	Ginny Lee
Richard Roundtree	...	Dehl Swift
Tony Lo Bianco	...	Leon Coll
William Sanderson	...	Lonnie Ash
Nicholas Worth	...	Troy Roker
Robert Davi	...	Nino
Jude Farese	...	Dub Slack
John Hancock	...	Fat Freddy
Jack Thibeau	...	Garage Soldier
Gerald S. O'Loughlin	...	Counterman Louie

Also Known As:

Kansas City Jazz (USA) (original script title)

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Spain:13 | Canada:14+ (Ontario) | USA:PG (certificate #27552) | Netherlands:12 | West Germany:16 | South Korea:15 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (1985) | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | Singapore:PG

Company:

Malpaso Company, The

Trivia:

Edwards hired Robert Davi to play the main villain after seeing him in "The Gangster Chronicles" (1981). But after Edwards left the project, Davi's role was reduced considerably.

Goofs:

Continuity: The doctor tells Lt. Speer that Ginny broke her arm when she was hit by the car. However, when she reappears at the end of the movie singing in the club, she is not wearing a cast or showing any sign of injury.

Quotes:

Lt. Speer: How about a fast game of sleeper?
Poolroom thug: What's that?
Lt. Speer: That's where you take your best shot, and I put you to sleep.
Lt. Speer: [cracks him over the head with a pool cue]

Movie Connections:

Features Horse Feathers (1932)

Soundtrack:

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

Not Your Pink Panther, Nor Your Day Punk

This is one of the only times that Clint Eastwood & Burt Reynolds got together. The casting is with great imagination. It was actually made at a good time for both actors and the support cast is good. So what went wrong? Blake Edwards script for this one is just not as funny as other films he wrote. The situation seems contrived and this was a time when Eastwood was doing actions films. The action is just missing here. While Reynolds could do comedy, it seems that both actors didn't get to do in this movie what sold tickets for their fans.

When the movie ends, it just kind of ends in a stand off and you get the feeling like you needed an ending that just isn't here. It is fun seeing these two actors together in this film, but the script is the missing element. Richard Benjamin, a funny man directed, and I am surprised he didn't do better with it as he knows what good comedy is.

While the movie is fun, it is not funny enough. Blake Edwards saved better material for his Pink Panther movies I guess.