I NEVER CEASE TO BE AMAZED AT THE FLEXIBILITY OF EASTWOOD'S ACTING. HE AND CHARLES BRONSON ARE TRULY GREAT ACTORS.
Cowboy cop in New York
Arizona Deputy Coogan (Clint Eastwood) is assigned to go to New York City and escort a young punk (Don Stroud) back to Arizona for trial. This is a solid, if forgettable, early pairing of Eastwood and his friend, director Don Siegel, who would go on to make the unforgettable crime classic "Dirty Harry" a few years later. "Coogan's Bluff" is mostly a fish out of water story, a cowboy lost in the urban maze of Manhatten, although he always manages to get the upper hand, and is not as dim as all the city slickers imagine him to be. Susan Clark is thrown in as a rimantic interest for Coogan, although her contribution to the plot is to be the parole officer of a girl who knows where to find Eastwood's prisoner. Eastwood is, well, Eastwood, he dosen't change much in any of his movies, always the strong, silent type. Lee J. Cobb is pretty good a the big city detective who tries to keep Coogan from interfereing with the city's efforts to get the prisoner. It was doing alright until the scene where Eastwood goes into a very hippie hash rave. It is in this one scene where Eastwood seems totally out of his depth. I know it was supposed to show Coogan's discomfort and alienation, but I still didnt care for it. Still, it's pretty cool, a good way to kill a few hours.
On the side of the law . . .
The year 1968 was a busy one for Clint Eastwood, as Hang em High, Where Eagles Dare and Coogan's Bluff, all hit the big screen. Coogan's Bluff marks the first collaboration between Eastwood and director Don Siegel. The pair would team up in five other films, including Dirty Harry.
Deputy Sheriff Coogan (Eastwood) is an Arizona lawman sent to New York City to bring back extradited prisoner James Ringerman. A routine matter becomes complicated when Coogan is ambushed, and Ringerman escapes custody, leaving the chagrined lawman with bump on the head, and a burning desire to recapture him. Lee J. Cobb delivers a blustery performance as Lt. McElroy, the NYPD detective in charge of the case, exasperated by the out of towner's failure to follow established protocols. Employing the methods that served him well in Arizona, Coogan adapts to life in the big city as he tracks the fugitive, with a disturbed McElroy following in his wake. While not terribly deep, this is a very entertaining tale of pursuit set in the psychedelic 60's. Urban life is portrayed none too warmly, as city dwellers seem to prey on each other. The look at the clash of cultures is interesting, though brute force seems to work wherever you are. Eastwood became a star in spaghetti westerns, and while still playing a cowboy of sorts, he begins his transition to the cop roles that would become a standard for him in the 70's.
The supporting cast is terrific. Don Stroud is ideally suited to the role of Ringerman, and his performance is nearly flawless. You really want to slug the guy. Susan Clark is very good as a somewhat idealistic probation officer, smitten with the ways of the man from out west. Trisha Sterling's quirky off beat performance as Ringerman's spaced out girlfriend, "Linny Raven" is also well done. Sterling is the daughter of actress Ann Sothern. Also appearing in his first Eastwood film is Albert Popwell, the actor probably most well known for being asked at gunpoint if he "felt lucky" in Dirty Harry.
Thought of as a precursor to the TV program McCloud, Coogan's Bluff is grittier, and has a shorter time frame that compresses the action and raises the level of tension as it focuses on pursuit. The Eastwood/Siegel collaboration gets off to good start in the Big Apple. This is the also the first Eastwood film to feature a score by composer Lalo Schifrin. Highlights are his rousing opening theme, and the wacky Pigeon-Toed Orange Peel nightclub number. Ah yes, do you remember the 60's?
Clint Eastwood is a down-and-out cop who is sent on a routine mission to pick up a witness and deliver her to the Phoenix courthouse. Sounds easy until he realizes he's been set up by the man who gave him this simple assignment. The interplay between Eastwood and the witness, a clever prostitute played by the actor's former girlfriend, Sondra Locke, is tough and playful. They obviously had strong chemistry. The story is highly implausible at times, but the action sequences are satisfying. Eastwood directs The Gauntlet very much in the style of his Academy Award-winning Western Unforgiven. Although the body count is surprisingly low for an Eastwood action film, a house, several cars, and a large bus get shot through with more holes than a big wheel of Swiss cheese.... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Clint Eastwood - Sondra Locke Director(s): Clint Eastwood DVD Release Date: Released the 04 September 2001 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Clint Eastwood (making his very assured directorial debut) is a poetry-spouting stud-muffin DJ stalked by a maniacally amorous fan after a misguided one-night stand in this enjoyably schlocky, undeniably effective film about good intentions gone murderously wacky. Although many of the very '70s trappings presented here may ultimately be too dated to be taken seriously (including a very self-indulgent jazz number and a hilariously gooey seduction number between Eastwood and Donna Mills), the core premise of infatuation taken out of bounds remains uncomfortably plausible--and was influential enough to be appropriated by one of the biggest hits of the '80s. (Here's a hint--it starred Michael Douglas, Glenn Close, and a very unfortunate bunny rabbit). A well-staged and occasionally... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Clint Eastwood - Jessica Walter Director(s): Clint Eastwood DVD Release Date: Released the 18 September 2001 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Jeff Bridges actually corralled an Oscar nomination for his spirited, oddball performance in this genre crime story, directed by first-timer Michael Cimino who (a short two films later) would bring down a studio with Heaven's Gate. Clint Eastwood plays a bank robber par excellence with a flair for explosives who is being hunted by his former partners, who think he has their loot from their last job. Bridges is his eager apprentice and sidekick, who helps him escape; when Eastwood finally makes peace with his hunters, Bridges convinces them to try a daring robbery--but things inevitably go awry. The relationship between Eastwood and Bridges is both funny and touching in this, one of Eastwood's better post-Dirty Harry efforts. --Marshall FineMore Info about this DVD Actor(s): Clint Eastwood - Jeff Bridges Director(s): Michael Cimino DVD Release Date: Released the 13 June 2000 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Clint Eastwood held the dual role of director and star of this 1975 spy thriller, which makes up for sluggish pacing with a breathtaking climax on a treacherous peak in the Swiss Alps. The plot kicks into gear when Eastwood, playing a retired assassin, is recruited back into a secret organization to avenge the murder of an old friend. He's then blackmailed into making a second "hit"; this time his target is one of three men who will be attempting to conquer the Eiger, a dangerous peak in Switzerland. Himself an accomplished climber, Eastwood's character joins the expedition with George Kennedy as leader of the ground crew. Shifting loyalties, apparent betrayals, and paranoid suspicion factor into the suspenseful climax on the sheer face of the mountain. This memorable sequence--for... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Clint Eastwood - George Kennedy Director(s): Clint Eastwood DVD Release Date: Released the 15 December 1998 Usually ships in 24 hours
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The screenwriter of Escape from Alcatraz, Richard Tuggle, sold a second script to Clint Eastwood on the condition that he be allowed to direct it. The result is a near classic, a grim psycho-thriller set in New Orleans, which remains one of the star's boldest attempts to undercut his unshakable rock-bound image. It was interpreted by some critics as an exercise in self-exploration, although that might be stretching it. Still, as a cop whose own kinky yearnings are pulled to the surface as he investigates a series of stalker murders of women, Eastwood often seems tormented by self-doubt, and that was a new flavor for him. The French-Canadian actress Geneviève Bujold plays the seductive Cajun shrink who helps Clint get in touch with his dark side. The great thing is that the... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Clint Eastwood - Geneviève Bujold Director(s): Richard Tuggle DVD Release Date: Released the 02 September 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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