The Dead Pool (1988)

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)
Dödsspelet (Sweden) [sv]
Das Todesspiel (West Germany) [de]
Dirty Harry V - Das Todesspiel (West Germany) [de]
Dirty Harry i dødsspillet (Denmark) [da]
Dirty Harry na Lista Negra (Brazil) [pt]
Dirty Harry och dödspelet (Finland: Swedish title) [sv]
Holtbiztos tipp (Hungary) [hu]
L'inspecteur Harry est la dernière cible (France) [fr]
La dernière cible (France) [fr]
La lista negra (Spain) [es]
Les enjeux de la mort (Canada: French title) [fr]
Likainen Harry ja murhapooli (Finland) [fi]
Na Lista do Assassino (Portugal) [pt]
Pula smierci (Poland) [pl]
Scommessa con la morte (Italy) [it]
Stoihima thanatou (Greece) [el]

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) | Brazil:14 | 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:

Cameo: [Guns N' Roses]the members of Guns N' Roses (W. Axl Rose, Slash, Izzy Stradlin, Duff McKagan and Steven Adler) appear into the film in the funeral sequence. Also, the Guns N' Roses song "Welcome to the Jungle" is used in the film.

Goofs:

Plot holes: Callahan and Quan as members of the San Francisco Police Dept. are being chased through the streets by a madman with a radio controlled car bomb, and they don't radio for help? They don't call for backup, relay their position, they don't have portable police radios or even use the supposed police radio in their car. The SFPD would have been all over that chase long before it ended.

Quotes:

Butcher Hicks: [Harry pays Hicks his box of smokes for just standing] That's it?
Harry Callahan: That's it. Oh, you see that dirtbag I was talking to down there?
[points to Janero]
Harry Callahan: He says that smoking can cause cancer, and anyone who smokes as much as you do is one dumb son-of-a-bitch!
[Hicks growls menacingly and stares daggers at Janero who shuts himself back in his cell]

Movie Connections:

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

Soundtrack:

WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE

Harry's last entry in which is sent to stop vicious murderer killing celebrities

Rock-hard and taciturn Harry Callahan is called on one again, this time when occur rare death of celebs registered into a black pool .But also the Callahan's name appears on the list. Being the first suspect a terror cinema director(an effective Liam Neeson)filming a picture titled ¨Hotel Satan¨. Two-fisted Harry and his new partner cop(Kim) try to track down a vicious murderous. Harry Callahan strides grimly throughout streets San Francisco in pursuit of the cruel baddie. Then the killer hijacks a TV journalist(Patricia Clarson).Silly and thrilling scenes when the murderer sends a toy-car directed by remote control and strapped to a explosive onto the streets of San Francisco pursuing the couple cops. Whatever your reservations about Harry's expeditious methods we know he'll always vanquish , shooting in cold blood with his Magnum 44 pistol( in fact, as is titled the second entry, Magnum force) and abusing on civil rights.

Fifth and last entry in Harry's series is less gripping and inferior its predecessors. Tension, action packed,crisped edition, suspenseful,thrills abound in this exciting outing . Although there are lots of action and entertainment this time doesn't feature Callahan's classic lines such as ¨Do you feel lucky¨(on Dirty Harry) or ¨Go ahead make my day¨(on Sudden impact), however he also says some original phrases.Jim Carrey does a brief and sympathetic apparition as a rock star. Usual musical score by Lalo Schifrin with a lousy soundtrack on the main titles composed by synthesizer. Good cinematography by Jack N. Green, Eastwood's habitual. The motion picture is regularly directed by Buddy van Horn who made with Eastwood some films. Rating : 5,5. Acceptable and passable.