The Dead Pool (1988)

Dirty Harry Callahan must stop a sick secret contest to murder local celebrities, which includes himself as a target.

Director:

Buddy Van Horn

Writers:

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

Stars:

Clint Eastwood, Patricia Clarkson, Liam Neeson

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Clint Eastwood	...	Harry Callahan
Patricia Clarkson	...	Samantha Walker
Liam Neeson	...	Peter Swan
Evan C. Kim	...	Al Quan
David Hunt	...	Harlan Rook
Michael Currie	...	Captain Donnelly
Michael Goodwin	...	Lt. Ackerman
Darwin Gillett	...	Patrick Snow
Anthony Charnota	...	Lou Janero
Christopher P. Beale	...	D.A. Thomas McSherry (as Christopher Beale)
John Allen Vick	...	Lt. Ruskowski
Jeff Richmond	...	Freeway Reporter #1
Patrick N. Van Horn	...	Freeway Reporter #2 (as Patrick Van Horn)
Sigrid Wurschmidt	...	Freeway Reporter #3
Jim Carrey	...	Johnny Squares (as James Carrey)

Storyline

For Inspector 'Dirty' Harry Callahan, fame and celebrity status is not his lifestyle, especially when it interferes with his job. But right after putting one of San Francisco's crime bosses in prison, Callahan ends up in the status quo as well as being written in a list for a game called, 'The Dead Pool', where his life is now in the line along with other famous celebrities that are mysteriously dying. Callahan is up against the media attention, an enraged hit man, and a new killer, who's attempting to throw off the dead pool game anyway possible. Callahan has to find the connection between the killings and the perpetrator, before the game can be declared over.

---

Plot Keywords:

dirty harry | reporter | murder | mafia | chinatown | 

---

Taglines:

Dirty Harry Just Learned A New Game

---

Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 July 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dirty Harry in The Dead Pool

Filming Locations:

1954 Mason Street, North Beach, San Francisco, California, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$37,903,295 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros, Malpaso Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to the book "Clint Eastwood: Hollywood's Loner" (1992) by Michael Munn, Clint Eastwood once said of this movie: "It's fun, once in a while, to have a character you can go back to. It's like revisiting an old friend you haven't seen for a long time. You figure "I'll go back and see how he feels about things now".

---

Goofs

During the final chase scene, Callahan and the bad guy are running down a wharf. In one view, Callahan is running through a column of steam. in the next cut, he is well beyond the steam, and the bad guy is running through it. Yet again, in the next cut, Callahan is exiting the column of steam.

---

Quotes

Peter Swan: Do you mind, gentlemen? I happen to be at a funeral.
Harry Callahan: Like to talk to you about your list.
Peter Swan: It's no big secret. Most of the cast and crew knew about it. I didn't tell you because the dead pool is just a harmless game.
Harry Callahan: Sounds pretty sick to me.
Peter Swan: Let me tell you something, Callahan. People... people are fascinated with death and violence. That's why my films make money. They're an escape, a vicarious release of fear. Same thing with this game. Nobody takes my films *or* the dead pool seriously.
Harry Callahan: Well...
[...]

---

Connections

Featured in David Walliams' Awfully Good: Awfully Good Movies (2011)

---

Soundtracks

"WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE"
Written by W. Axl Rose, Slash, Steven Adler, Izzy Stradlin and Duff McKagan
Performed by Guns N' Roses
Courtesy of Geffen Records
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products

User Reviews

Dirty Harry still has it

Dirty Harry still has it. This film has all the mayhem, the violence, the wisecracks, the whole formula. Patricia Clarkson's delicate beauty is a good counterpoint to Eastwood's ruggedness. It was interesting to see actors like Neeson and Carrey paying their dues. When I first saw this film, I didn't realize that the "car chase" scene, running from the toy Corvette, was a spoof of Bullitt, but on viewing this time, I found the homage hilarious. No, this film isn't the equal of "Dirty Harry" but it's not bad at all for a fourth sequel.