Director: Don Siegel
Cast: Clint Eastwood, Andy Robinson, Harry Guardino, John Vernon
Have I Seen It Before: Yes, at some point. Although I’ll admit that I was drawn to the film less for Eastwood’s iconic portrayal of Callahan, and more as an avowed Deep Space Nine fan, I showed up for Andy Robinson’s (Andrew J. Robinson, to his friends) turn as “the killer.”
Is that the most desperately nerdy reason to watch an Eastwood film? It might be, but I also can’t imagine I’m the only one that came to the film that way.
Did I Like It: And there is certainly something to be said for that performance. Robinson is cowardly, dastardly, sniveling, and any other adjective you might use to describe a cartoon heavy, all with still making the Killer always seem as if he is some kind of horrid mutation of a human, but human nonetheless. The pitch-black soul he brings to the film makes a misanthrope like Harry (Eastwood) never seem like he is anything other than the bad guy.
Is Harry Callahan a complete misanthrope? Characters around him certainly seem to think so. But he is kind to his partner and his wife, even though he never really wanted the partner around to begin with. He doesn’t have a chip on his shoulder reflexively, every chip was placed there by someone looking for an easy way out of responsibility. All of that preceding paragraph may start to make one think that I’m somehow going to change my own politics and start talking to empty chairs onstage. Let me assure you, if Harry could get over his own dick for a moment, he might have avoided an honest screw up by putting the heat on the Killer without a search warrant or probable cause, allowing him to be released. Harry is really dumb, but he means well. I offer into evidence his final action in the film, chucking his badge into the water. How does Magnum Force (1973) begin? Him fishing for a badge? Only one way to find out, I suppose.