City Heat (1984)

User Rating:

5.1/10   

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:

Blake Edwards was the original writer and director on the project. He stepped aside as director after creative differences with star Clint Eastwood.

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: And just what were you gonna do after the bomb went off?
Mike Murphy: Gee, I don't know, Ollie.

Movie Connections:

Features Horse Feathers (1932)

Soundtrack:

Get Happy

A little humid, but fun

By most accounts, Clint Eastwood hijacked his long-awaited teaming with fellow superstar Burt Reynolds and the credits bear this out. After showing writer-director Blake Edwards the door, Eastwood recruited the more malleable Richard Benjamin to direct (in his autobiography, Reynolds said Benjamin was "terrified" of Eastwood), ordered Edwards' script be given a rewrite by Joseph Stinson whose only other credit was the previous year's Dirty Harry film, "Sudden Impact," brought in key players from his Malpaso crew (notably Fritz Manes as producer and Lennie Niehaus as composer), and even dumped Edwards' title, "Kansas City Jazz," in favor of the equally imaginative (I'm kidding) "City Heat."

Despite Dirty Harry's takeover, "City Heat" emerges as a showcase for Reynolds. He has the most screen time and the zippiest dialogue, but playing against a typically wooden Eastwood also heightens the opportunity for Reynolds to reap laughs with his more extroverted approach. The contrast between the two is very entertaining.

Critics were quick to dismiss this Christmas 1984 release as a bomb which it certainly appeared to be beside the Eddie Murphy blockbuster, "Beverly Hills Cop," in release at the same time. It is disappointing (Edwards would likely have given it more class), but by no means a dud. It breezes along at a comfortable pace, mixes its laughs evenly with action, and should make for a satisfying indulgence for fans of the two stars.