Movie Type: Action Thriller, Police Detective Film
Themes: Rogue Cops, Terrorism, Rookie Cops
Main Cast: Clint Eastwood, Harry Guardino, Bradford Dillman, John Mitchum, DeVeren Bookwalter, Tyne Daly
Release Year: 1976
Country: US
Run Time: 96 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Number three in the Dirty Harry series, The Enforcer equips macho cop Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) with a female assistant, Kate Moore (Tyne Daly). Their quarry is a terrorist organization which has kidnapped the mayor of San Francisco (John Crawford). Harry goes undercover, attempting to root out the terrorists by beating up anybody who looks at him cross-eyed. When Harry and Kate discover that the mayor is being held at Alcatraz Island, it is only a matter of time before the climactic bloodbath. The Enforcer cleared enough at the box office to warrant yet another Dirty Harry opus, Sudden Impact. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
The third entry in the Dirty Harry action film series is one of the most underrated. The script by Stirling Silliphant and Dean Riesner leans a bit too heavily on verbal humor at times, but delivers its surprisingly complex scenario in an easily followed style punctuated by plenty of action. Director James Fargo gives the film a steady pace that allows the dramatic moments room to breathe, but keeps the story moving forward an energetic pace. He also shows considerable kinetic flair in the action scenes; highlights include Callahan busting up a hostage situation with his police car and an exciting rooftop chase that climaxes with a hair-raising plunge through a skylight. The Enforcer is also notable for humanizing Harry Callahan through his dealings with his female partner, Kate Moore. His transition from grudging respect to true acceptance of his partner adds an unexpected element of touching emotion to the proceedings. Eastwood handles this transition in a skillful low-key fashion that makes the softening of his gruff character believable, and Tyne Daly handles her role as Moore with a deft combination of wit and nervous charm. Other memorable performances include Bradford Dillman as Harry's perpetually enraged superior officer and Albert Popwell's moody turn as radical leader (and unexpected Callahan ally) Big Ed Mustapha. The one real problem with The Enforcer is that it lacks a singular villain worthy of its formidable hero. The film's hippie villains, inspired by the Symbionese Liberation Army, lack the strength or depth to pose a memorable threat to the hero. Despite this problem, The Enforcer remains a brisk action programmer that is worth the time for Clint Eastwood fans. ~ Donald Guarisco, All Movie Guide
John Crawford - Mayor; Bill Ackridge - Andy; Robert Behling - Autopsy Surgeon; Joe Bellan - Freddie the Fainter; Samantha Doane - Wanda; Dick Durock - Karl; Chuck Hicks - Huey; Robert Hoy - Buchinski; Jocelyn Jones - Miki; M.G. Kelly - Father John; Will MacMillian - Lt. Dobbs; Terry McGovern - Disc Jockey; Albert Popwell - Mustapha; Rudy Ramos - Mendez; John Roselius - Mayor's Driver; Jerry Walter - Krause; Michael Cavanaugh - Lalo; Fritz Manes - Detective #1; Brian Fong - Scoutmaster; Jan Stratton - Mrs. Grey; Bill Jelliffe - Johnny; Nick Pellegrino - Martin
Credit
Allen E. Smith - Art Director, Glenn Wright - Costume Designer, Joe Cavalier - First Assistant Director, James Fargo - Director, Joel Cox - Editor, Ferris Webster - Editor, Jerry Fielding - Composer (Music Score), Joe McKinney - Makeup, Richard C. Glouner - Cinematographer, Charles W. Short - Cinematographer, Robert Daley - Producer, Fritz Manes - Producer, Ira Bates - Set Designer, Les Fresholtz - Sound/Sound Designer, Bert Hallberg - Sound/Sound Designer, Wayne Van Horn - Stunts Coordinator, Gail Morgan Hickman - Screen Story, S.W. Schurr - Screen Story, Dean Riesner - Screenwriter, Stirling Silliphant - Screenwriter
The film opens as two gas company men are lured by a scantily-clad lady to a remote spot and killed by a man, Bobby Maxwell (DeVeren Bookwalter). Maxwell's gang, The People's Revolutionary Strike Force (PRSF), later use the gas men's uniforms and vehicle in a heist.
Meanwhile, Inspector Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) and his partner, Frank DiGeorgio (John Mitchum), are dispatched to a liquor store where a few men have taken four hostages. The standoff ends when Harry drives his squad car into the store and shoots up the gang. Back at the station, Harry is reprimanded for his 'Excessive use of force', the expenses on injured hostages and damage to the store and to his squad car, by his superior Captain McKay (Bradford Dillman), and is transferred from the Homicide unit to Personnel. Harry is part of judging the interview process for new inspectors the next day. Being told that three of eight new positions are going to be female, including Inspector Kate Moore (Tyne Daly), who has worked in Personnel for nine years, with no experience in homicide, having made no arrests nor having ever been in any violent situations. Harry is disapproving of her potential promotion to Inspector.
That night, the PRSF use the stolen gas service van to enter a U.S. Army weapons storage facility to steal weapons in support of their political goals. Meanwhile, DiGeorgio and another police officer find a dead guard at the facility and DiGeorgio looks around the warehouse for any suspicious activity. He eventually finds the terrorists and holds them at gunpoint, but Maxwell stabs him in the back. As he is collapsing, DiGeorgio shoots a female member of the gang. Despite protests of another gang member, Maxwell finishes her off and leaves DiGeorgio for dead.
The next morning at the hospital, with his last breath, DiGeorgio tells Callahan that the men were involved in a case several years before with "cutesy-pie, little boy names." DiGeorgio then dies of his stab wound. Inspector Moore is assigned as Harry's partner. Later in the day, a bomb explodes in the Hall of Justice and Callahan and Moore chase the PRSF bomber through the streets. Callahan obtains the help of Uhuru, the black militant group's leader "Big" Ed Mustapha (Albert Popwell), where the bomber had been a former member. Captain McKay later arrests the militants, as they are accused of the terrorist acts.
Eventually, just as they think the case is over, McKay, Moore and Callahan are about to be commended at the San Francisco City Hall by the Mayor (John Crawford). Callahan then angrily reveals to the Mayor that Mustapha has been helping him in the case in front of many journalists. He is stupidly suspended by McKay and leaves City Hall, furious. Moore follows him. They have a walk through the city, chatting about their personal lives. Thereafter, Harry respects her diligence.
In their final desperate act, the PRSF kidnaps the Mayor of San Francisco while he is returning from a baseball (San Francisco Giants) game and Harry goes undercover to root out Maxwell, tracking the gang to their hideout at Alcatraz Island. Soon enough, a shootout ensues between the two parties. Moore is briefly distracted when she sees Harry about to get shot by Maxwell and she yells for him to move. This saves Harry's life but, sadly, causes the end of hers when Maxwell shoots her. The mayor is saved when Maxwell is obliterated by Harry with a M72 LAW rocket. All the terrorists are killed, but, once again, Harry loses another partner.
The film made a total of $46,236,000 in U.S. theaters.[1] Overall this figure made it the most profitable of the Dirty Harry series for seven years until the release of Sudden Impact.[2]
Production notes
The working title was Moving Target, while another was Dirty Harry III.
In 1980, a writer sued Eastwood for plagiarism, accusing him of taking the title of the film from one of his works. Eastwood maintained that he was inspired by the 1951 Humphrey Bogart film, The Enforcer, which was also distributed by Warner Bros. The case was dismissed.
The two militant organizations depicted in the film — the People's Revolutionary Strike Force and Uhuru — were modeled on two real-life militant groups, the Symbionese Liberation Army, which kidnapped Patricia Hearst, and the Black Panther Party.
Throughout the film, several characters refer to the LAW rocket. This is the real-world M72 anti-tank weapon. The type depicted in the film is the M72A1, used during the Vietnam War.
Harry's new partner, Inspector Kate Moore, mentions Harry's previous partners who have died — Fanducci, who was mentioned in Dirty Harry, and Early Smith in Magnum Force. Another of Harry's partners, Chico Gonzalez, was injured during the events of the first film and left the police force to become a teacher.
Recurring characters Lieutenant Bressler (Harry Guardino) and Frank DiGeorgio (John Mitchum) reprise their roles for the last time in a Dirty Harry film. Bressler was Harry's boss in the first film of the series, while DiGeorgio appeared in the previous two. A new character, Captain Jerome McKay (Bradford Dillman), was introduced as Harry's superior officer. Dillman played a similar role, Captain Briggs, in Sudden Impact.
The music score for The Enforcer was written by Jerry Fielding, making The Enforcer the only Dirty Harry film without a score by Lalo Schifrin.
A brief scene inside San Francisco's City Hall was filmed outside Suite 200, then-Mayor George Moscone's office. The first film was filmed inside Suite 200, when Joseph Alioto was mayor.[citation needed]
This was originally intended to be the last "Dirty Harry" film of a trilogy. A poll conducted by Warner Bros in 1983 led to the development of a fourth film, Sudden Impact and the resurrection of the film series.
