Magnum Force (1973)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Ted Post

Writers:

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

Release Date:

25 December 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Clint Eastwood is Dirty Harry in Magnum Force

Plot:

Dirty Harry is on the trail of vigilante cops who are not above going beyond the law to kill the city's undesirables.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Police | Homicide | Pimp | Stakeout

Cast

Clint Eastwood	...	Insp. 'Dirty' Harry Callahan
Hal Holbrook	...	Lt. Neil Briggs
Mitch Ryan	...	Officer Charlie McCoy (as Mitchell Ryan)
David Soul	...	Officer John Davis
Tim Matheson	...	Officer Phil Sweet
Kip Niven	...	Officer Red Astrachan
Robert Urich	...	Officer Mike Grimes
Felton Perry	...	Insp. Early Smith
Maurice Argent	...	Nat Weinstein
Margaret Avery	...	Prostitute
Richard Devon	...	Carmine Ricca
Tony Giorgio	...	Frank Palancio
Jack Kosslyn	...	Walter
Bob March	...	Estabrook
Bob McClurg	...	Cab Driver
John Mitchum	...	Insp. Frank DiGiorgio
Russ Moro	...	Gino, Ricca's Driver
Clifford A. Pellow	...	Lou Guzman
Albert Popwell	...	J.J. Wilson
Christine White	...	Carol McCoy
Adele Yoshioka	...	Sunny
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Paul D'Amato	...	Store Crook (uncredited)
Michael L. Davis	...	Ricca's Bodyguard (uncredited)
Drew Eshelman	...	Neighbor (uncredited)
Will Hutchins	...	Stakeout Cop (uncredited)
Craig Kelly	...	Airport counterman (uncredited)
Tony Piazza	...	Police Cadet (uncredited)
Ray Saunders	...	Doctor Infirmary (uncredited)
Suzanne Somers	...	Pool Girl (uncredited)
Steve Treacy	...	Police Photographer (uncredited)

Directed by
Ted Post

Writing credits
Harry Julian Fink		(characters) and
Rita M. Fink		(characters) (as R.M. Fink)
John Milius		(story)
John Milius		(screenplay) and
Michael Cimino		(screenplay)

Produced by
Robert Daley	....	producer

Original Music by
Lalo Schifrin

Cinematography by
Frank Stanley

Film Editing by
Ferris Webster

Art Direction by
Jack T. Collis		(as Jack Collis)

Set Decoration by
John Lamphear

Makeup Department
Shirley Dolle	....	hair stylist
Joe McKinney	....	makeup artist

Production Management
John G. Wilson	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Wesley J. McAfee	....	first assistant director (as Wes McAfee)
Carl 'Major' Roup	....	second assistant director (as Carl Roup)
Al Silvani	....	second assistant director
Buddy Van Horn	....	second unit director

Art Department
Edward Aiona	....	property master
Douglas Freeman	....	set dresser

Sound Department
James R. Alexander	....	sound (as James Alexander)
Dan Wallin	....	sound re-recording mixer
Sergio Reyes	....	additional sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Sass Bedig	....	special effects
Jim Aupperle	....	mold assistant (uncredited)

Stunts
Dar Robinson	....	motorcycle stunt driver
Max Balchowsky	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jerry Brutsche	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bill Couch	....	stunts (uncredited)
Everett Creach	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bennie E. Dobbins	....	stunts (uncredited)
Ted Duncan	....	stunts (uncredited)
Gary Epper	....	stunts (uncredited)
Ted Grossman	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bob Harris	....	stunts (uncredited)
Chuck Hicks	....	stunts (uncredited)
Julie Ann Johnson	....	stunts (uncredited)
William T. Lane	....	stunts (uncredited)
Carey Loftin	....	stunts (uncredited)
Troy Melton	....	stunts (uncredited)
Eddie Mulder	....	stunts (uncredited)
Victor Paul	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jack Perkins	....	stunts (uncredited)
Dar Robinson	....	stunts (uncredited)
George Robotham	....	stunts (uncredited)
George Sawaya	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bill Shannon	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jerry Summers	....	stunts (uncredited)
Buddy Van Horn	....	stunts (uncredited)
Chuck Waters	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Bob Barber	....	assistant camera
Wynn Bowles	....	gaffer (as Wynn 'Bud' Bowles)
William N. Clark	....	camera operator (as William Clark)
Bud Howell	....	key grip (as Carmon 'Bud' Howell)
Cliff Ralke	....	assistant camera
Charles W. Short	....	director of photography: second unit (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jules Melillo	....	key costumer
Glenn Wright	....	costume supervisor (as Glenn T. Wright)

Music Department
Dan Wallin	....	score mixer

Other crew
Jack Kosslyn	....	dialogue supervisor
Carey Loftin	....	special action sequences
Hope McLachlin	....	script supervisor
Tom Piskura	....	assistant to producer
Carol Rydall	....	secretary to producer

Production Companies

• Malpaso Company, The
• Warner Bros. Pictures

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1973) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner-Columbia Films (1974) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Warner-Columbia Filmverleih (1974) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• CBS Television Network (1976) (USA) (TV)
• Warner Home Video (2001) (Germany) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2001) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Argentina Video Home (2002) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (2002) (Argentina) (VHS) (re-release)
• Sandrews (2002) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Warner Bros. (2002) (Argentina) (all media) (re-release)
• Warner Home Video (2003) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Bros. Entertainment Finland Oy (2008) (Finland) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Warner Home Video (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Warner Home Video (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD) (deluxe edition)
• Warner Home Video (2008) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2008) (Sweden) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Warner Home Video (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (19??) (Argentina) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Burbank Studios, The  production equipment
• Burbank Studios, The  production services
• Universal Title  titles and opticals

Also Known As:

Magnum .44 (Argentina) (Peru) (Venezuela) [es]
Dirty Harry II - Callahan (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
À coups de magnum (Canada: French title) [fr]
Dirty Harry går amok (Denmark) [da]
Ena magnum 44 gia ton epitheoriti Callahan (Greece) [el]
Harry - O Detective em Acção (Portugal) [pt]
Harry el fort (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
Harry, el fuerte (Spain) [es]
Magnum .44 (Finland) [fi]
Magnum .44 (Finland: Swedish title) [sv]
Silahin gücü (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Una 44 magnum per l'ispettore Callaghan (Italy) [it]

Runtime:

124 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:X (1973) (cut) | Singapore:M18 | Iceland:16 | Finland:K-16 (1974) (cut) | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Argentina:16 | Peru:18 | Finland:K-15 (2008) (uncut) (video rating) | Australia:MA (Cable TV rating) | Australia:R | Canada:18A | France:-12 | Italy:VM18 | Norway:18 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 (cut) | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

18th St. Overpass, Potrero Hill, San Francisco, California, USA

Company:

Malpaso Company, The

Trivia:

Two deleted scenes help explain why Harry grows to suspect John Davis and his pals with the killings of Charlie McCoy and the mobsters. One occurs between the funeral flight for McCoy and the combat championship; after the flight Harry and Davis drive from the airport to a bowling alley for a few drinks; a black youth is suddenly chased outside and assaulted by four toughs; Davis attacks the toughs while Harry dispatches one with his beer mug. After subduing the robbers Davis harangues a group of eyewitnesses for letting such crimes take place; Harry witnesses Davis' harangue and sees in it his own approach to crime fighting, albeit far more severe. Later, after examining the bullet from Davis' gun at the combat championship range, Harry checks on old issues of a police magazine, in which are articles condemning the revolving door justice allowed by liberal politics - articles authored by the four rookie cops. These scenes were deleted presumably because they were judged to be "padding" and not necessary to establishing Harry's suspicion of the four rookie cops.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: Reflected in the mirrored sunglasses.

Quotes:

Lieutenant Briggs: People are guilty until proven... I mean... God damn it, you know what I mean!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Blue Steel (1989)

Harry Callahan's Back On The Job

At the end of Dirty Harry, Clint Eastwood throws a way his badge and ID after ending the life of that evil piece of protoplasm Scorpio. The intention obviously was like High Noon when Gary Cooper just threw away the marshal's badge after killing four Miller brothers, Eastwood was quitting the San Francisco PD.

Well he must have thought better of it because Harry Callahan became such an iconic figure that the public wanted him back on the job. So Eastwood made the first of four sequels in Magnum Force.

Somebody is doing a great job in reviving the vigilante tradition of San Francisco with a string of assassinations, starting with the opening sequence of a shooting of a labor/racketeer who massacred a rival and his whole family. Shades of the United Mine Worker's Tony Boyle and what he did with Joseph Yablonski. A pimp who murders a prostitute who was withholding on him, there's another massacre at the house of a drug dealer, it's getting open season on criminals.

His supervisor Hal Holbrook hates his guts, but there's no one like Harry Callahan for these kinds of cases. Mitchell Ryan who's an old friend of Eastwood plays a cop falling apart at the seams and he looks good for it. And there's a group of four sharp shooting rookies on motorcycle patrol, Tim Matheson, David Soul, Kip Niven, and Robert Urich. Any one of them could be our vigilante.

In a way Magnum Force is the polar opposite of Charles Bronson's Death Wish films. Bronson's pretty good at selecting some of the right kind of criminal scum to eradicate, but doing this seems to offend Eastwood although Deity only knows, this has been his game for a long time.

There's a nice climatic sequence with an unarmed Eastwood dealing with the responsible party for all of this. Magnum Force is every bit the equal of Dirty Harry in action and violence.

In the end as Clint's famous tag line in this film says, it turns out that Dirty Harry was dealing with a man who did not know his limitations.