The Dead Pool (1988)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Buddy Van Horn

Writers (WGA):

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

Release Date:

13 July 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

Dirty Harry Just Learned A New Game

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Reporter | Murder | Prison | Mafia | Drug Overdose

Cast

Clint Eastwood	...	Insp. 'Dirty' Harry Callahan
Patricia Clarkson	...	Samantha Walker
Liam Neeson	...	Peter Swan
Evan C. Kim	...	Insp. Al Quan
David Hunt	...	Harlan Rook / Ed Butler
Michael Currie	...	Capt. Donnelly
Michael Goodwin	...	Lt. Ackerman
Darwin Gillett	...	Patrick Snow
Anthony Charnota	...	Lou Janero
Christopher P. Beale	...	Dist. Atty. Thomas McSherry
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)

Also Known As:

Dirty Harry in The Dead Pool (USA) (poster title)

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Spain:18 | Canada:14+ (Ontario) | USA:R (certificate #29247) | Singapore:PG (cut) | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1989) | Finland:K-18 (uncut) (1988) | Singapore:NC-16 | Netherlands:12 | France:Unrated | Germany:16 (re-rating) (2008) | Australia:M | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | West Germany:18

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

This was the only Dirty Harry movie not to feature Albert Popwell. He played a robber in "Dirty Harry", a pimp in "Magnum Force", a militant in "The Enforcer, and Horace King in "Sudden Impact"

Goofs:

Continuity: Before Nolan Kennard's car is blown up, it is shown sitting in his driveway when he adjusts his rear view mirror. After it is blown up, it's shown out on the street.

Quotes:

Harry Callahan: Do you have any kids, lieutenant?
Lt. Ackerman: Me? No.
Harry Callahan: Lucky for them.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "South Park: The Wacky Molestation Adventure (#4.16)" (2000)

Soundtrack:

WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE

Last ''Dirty Harry'' And A Good One

This was the fifth and last "Dirty Harry" movie with Clint Eastwood playing the hero again, Inspector Harry Callahan, cleaning up the streets of San Francisco from all the scumbag criminals. I've always found "The Dead Pool" to be one of his best in this series.

It's entertaining with pretty taut suspense and always fun to go back and see a young Jim Carrey. It's always cool, too, to watch those little remote-control cars with bombs attached go speeding through the streets underneath automobiles. At an hour-and-a-half, there are no dry spots in this film, either.

The female lead, Patricia Clarkson, is not one of my favorites. Eastwood seems to like those skinny blonds. Evan Kim, playing "Harry's" new partner, "Al Quan," was a likable guy. Even Harry's slightly more low-key in this movie, his language more tame and he gets in a few comedic zingers as well. Carrey plays a totally-despicable drugged-out rock star but he doesn't last long in the film. Carry and Liam Neeson play low-life people and combine to put some sleaze into the story.

Despite the usual less-than-credible action scenes at the end (where the villains miss from point-blank range, etc.), this is still a very entertaining movie and one of my favorites among the "Dirty Harry" films. Clint went out in style with this film.