The Enforcer (1976 film)
Encyclopedia
The Enforcer is a 1976 American film, and the third in the Dirty Harry film series
. Directed by James Fargo
, it stars Clint Eastwood
as Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan, Tyne Daly
as Inspector Kate Moore and DeVeren Bookwalter
as terrorist leader/main antagonist Bobby Maxwell.
). Maxwell's gang, the People's Revolutionary Strike Force (PRSF), plans to use the gas men's uniforms and van as part of an ambitious series of crimes that will make them rich.
Inspector Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood
) and his partner Frank DiGiorgio (John Mitchum
), after dealing with a chronic fainter, arrive at a liquor store where robbers have taken hostages. The robbers demand a car with a police radio; the inspector provides one by driving his squad car into the store and shooting the robbers.
His superior Captain McKay (Bradford Dillman
) reprimands Callahan for "excessive use of force
", injuring the hostages, and causing more than $14,000 of damage to the store, and temporarily transfers him out of the Homicide unit. While assigned to Personnel, Callahan participates in the interview process for promotions, and learns that affirmative action means that three of the new inspectors will be female
including Kate Moore (Tyne Daly
), despite her very limited field experience.
The PRSF uses the gas company van to steal M72 LAW
rockets and other weapons from a warehouse. In the course of the robbery, three people are killed: a security guard that Maxwell kills for his keys; DiGiorgio, whom Maxwell stabs in the back after he stumbles in on the robbery after discovering the guard's body; one of Maxwell's accomplices is accidentally shot when DiGiorgio's gun goes off. Maxwell finishes her off as "dead weight" with DiGiorgio's weapon. To Callahan's distress, Moore is his new partner; she claims to understand the risk, noting that—besides DiGiorgio—two other partners of his have died. After watching an Army demonstration of the LAW rocket on a firing range, they visit the Hall of Justice to sit in on an autopsy on the security guard killed in the robbery. Shortly afterwards, a bomb explodes in the bathroom. Callahan and Moore chase down and capture the PRSF bomber, Henry Lee Caldwell, and meet "Big" Ed Mustapha (Albert Popwell
), leader of a black militant
group the bomber formerly belonged to.
Although Callahan makes a deal with Mustapha for information, McKay arrests the militants for the PRSF's crimes. Callahan angrily refuses to participate in a televised press conference in which the publicity-seeking Mayor
would commend him and Moore ("one of the first of her sex in the whole country") for solving the case, and McKay suspends him from duty. Moore supports Callahan and gains his respect.
The PRSF boldly kidnaps the Mayor after a Giants
game in a very orchestrated ambush. With Mustapha's help Callahan and Moore locate the gang at Alcatraz Island
, where they battle the kidnappers. Moore frees the Mayor but Maxwell kills her as she saves Callahan's life. He avenges Moore by killing Maxwell with a LAW rocket. The inspector is uninterested in the Mayor's gratitude, returning to his partner's corpse as McKay and others arrive.
and S.W. Schurr, with the title Moving Target. After seeing Dirty Harry
and Magnum Force
, the two fledgling writers decided to pen a screenplay of their own featuring the character of Inspector Harry Callahan. Inspired by the Patty Hearst kidnapping in 1974, the storyline had Inspector Harry Callahan going up against a violent militant group reminiscent of the Symbionese Liberation Army
. In the script, the militants kidnap and ransom the mayor of San Francisco.
After the screenplay was finished Hickman visited Eastwood's Carmel restaurant, The Hog's Breath Inn, and approached Eastwood's business partner, Paul Lippman, asking if he would give their effort to Eastwood. Lippman was initially hesitant, but finally agreed. Although Eastwood thought the script needed work, he liked the concept, particularly the priest with militant leanings and the portrayal of black militants, which was based on the Black Panther Party
.
Warner Brothers, meanwhile, eager to capitalize on the success of the two Dirty Harry films, had hired seasoned screenwriter Stirling Silliphant
to write a new Harry Callahan story. Silliphant wrote a script called Dirty Harry and More, in which the Callahan character was teamed up with an Asian-American woman partner named More. Eastwood liked the woman partner angle, but felt the script spent too much time on character and did not have enough action. Eastwood then showed the Hickman/Schurr script to Silliphant, and Silliphant agreed to rewrite it.
Silliphant wrote the script throughout late 1975 and early 1976 and delivered his draft to Eastwood in February 1976. While Eastwood approved, he believed there was still too much emphasis on the character relationships rather than the action and was concerned the fans might not approve. He then brought in screenwriter Dean Riesner
, who had worked on the scripts of Dirty Harry
and Coogan's Bluff
, to do revisions.
) and Frank DiGiorgio (John Mitchum
) reprise their roles for the last time in a Dirty Harry film. Bressler was Callahan's boss in the first film of the series, while DiGiorgio appeared in the previous two while he dies in this film. A new character, Captain Jerome McKay (Bradford Dillman
), was introduced as Callahan's superior officer. Dillman played a similar role, Captain Briggs, in Sudden Impact
.
Kate Moore was originally proposed to play the part of the female cop, but in the end it went to Tyne Daly
. Daly's casting was initially uncertain, given that she turned down the role three times. She objected to the way her character was treated in parts of the film and showed concern that two members of the police force falling in love on the job was problematic, given that they would be putting their lives in jeopardy by not reaching peak efficiency. Daly was permitted to read the drafts of the script developed by Riesner and had significant leeway in the development of her character, although after seeing the film at the premiere was horrified by the extent of the violence. Regarding Callahan's relationship with Moore, Eastwood stated:
After his disputes with Ted Post
on the set of the previous Dirty Harry installment, Eastwood fully intended to direct The Enforcer himself. Ironically, Eastwood's replacement of Philip Kaufman
on The Outlaw Josey Wales
(and the consequent need to handle post-production on that film) left Eastwood without enough time to prepare himself to direct The Enforcer. As a result, Eastwood gave the director's chair to James Fargo
, his longtime assistant director
, who made his debut as a full director on this film. Eastwood had the final say on all the critical decisions, but since the two men were far more familiar with each other's working styles than Eastwood had been with Ted Post, they rarely butted heads during production.
Filming commenced in the San Francisco bay area in the summer of 1976. Eastwood was initially still dubious about the quantity of his lines and preferred a less talkative approach, something perhaps embedded in him by Sergio Leone. The film ended up considerably shorter than the previous Dirty Harry films, and was cut to 95 minutes for its final running time.
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
. The film 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. Eastwood never intended to make more Dirty Harry films, but private agreements with the studio allowed him to do more "personal" films in exchange for doing the subsequent sequels.
and the film was criticized for its level of violence. A Variety review indicated that the film was a "worn out copy of Dirty Harry. ... The next project from this particular mold had better shape up or give up."
Eastwood's performance in the third installment was overshadowed by positive reviews given to Daly in her convincing role as the strong-minded female cop, which she would follow up with a similar and more famous role in Det. Mary Beth Lacey in the television series, Cagney and Lacey. Feminist reviewers in particular gave Daly rave reviews, with Marjorie Rosen remarking that Malpaso "had invented a heroine of steel" and Jean Hoelscher of Hollywood Reporter praising Eastwood for abandoning his ego in casting such a strong female actress in his film.
.
Dirty Harry (film series)
Dirty Harry is the name of a series of films and novels starring fictional San Francisco Police Department Homicide Division Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan, portrayed by Clint Eastwood...
. Directed by James Fargo
James Fargo
James Fargo is an American film director. He directed numerous films from 1976 to 1998. After serving as assistant director on many movies starring Clint Eastwood, he was then given the chance to direct the third Dirty Harry film, The Enforcer, in 1976. Later he also directed Eastwood in 1978's...
, it stars Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
as Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan, Tyne Daly
Tyne Daly
Tyne Daly is an American stage and screen actress, widely known for her work as Detective Mary Beth Lacey in the television series Cagney & Lacey and as Maxine Gray in the television series Judging Amy. She is also known for her role as Alice Henderson in television series Christy...
as Inspector Kate Moore and DeVeren Bookwalter
DeVeren Bookwalter
DeVeren Bookwalter was a theatre actor and director who became the first person to win three Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards for his production, direction and performance in Cyrano de Bergerac at the Globe Playhouse in 1975.Bookwalter served as a member of the board of trustees of the...
as terrorist leader/main antagonist Bobby Maxwell.
Plot
In Marin County, two gas company men are lured by a scantily-clad woman to a remote spot in Mill Valley and killed by Bobby Maxwell (DeVeren BookwalterDeVeren Bookwalter
DeVeren Bookwalter was a theatre actor and director who became the first person to win three Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards for his production, direction and performance in Cyrano de Bergerac at the Globe Playhouse in 1975.Bookwalter served as a member of the board of trustees of the...
). Maxwell's gang, the People's Revolutionary Strike Force (PRSF), plans to use the gas men's uniforms and van as part of an ambitious series of crimes that will make them rich.
Inspector Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
) and his partner Frank DiGiorgio (John Mitchum
John Mitchum
John Mitchum was an American actor from the 1940s in films and, later, television. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and the younger brother of Julie Mitchum and Robert Mitchum, he initially appeared in only unbilled and extra roles before gradually receiving bigger character parts in middle age...
), after dealing with a chronic fainter, arrive at a liquor store where robbers have taken hostages. The robbers demand a car with a police radio; the inspector provides one by driving his squad car into the store and shooting the robbers.
His superior Captain McKay (Bradford Dillman
Bradford Dillman
-Early life:Bradford Dillman was born on April 14, 1930 in San Francisco, California, the son of Josephine and Dean Dillman, a stockbroker. He studied at Town School for Boys and St. Ignatius High School. Later he attended the Hotchkiss boarding school in Connecticut, where he became involved in...
) reprimands Callahan for "excessive use of force
Excessive Force
Excessive Force is a musical side project started in 1991 by Sascha Konietzko of KMFDM and Buzz McCoy of My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult.-History:...
", injuring the hostages, and causing more than $14,000 of damage to the store, and temporarily transfers him out of the Homicide unit. While assigned to Personnel, Callahan participates in the interview process for promotions, and learns that affirmative action means that three of the new inspectors will be female
Affirmative action in the United States
In the United States, affirmative action refers to equal opportunity employment measures that Federal contractors and subcontractors are legally required to adopt. These measures are intended to prevent discrimination against employees or applicants for employment, on the basis of "color,...
including Kate Moore (Tyne Daly
Tyne Daly
Tyne Daly is an American stage and screen actress, widely known for her work as Detective Mary Beth Lacey in the television series Cagney & Lacey and as Maxine Gray in the television series Judging Amy. She is also known for her role as Alice Henderson in television series Christy...
), despite her very limited field experience.
The PRSF uses the gas company van to steal M72 LAW
M72 LAW
The M72 LAW is a portable one-shot 66 mm unguided anti-tank weapon, designed in the United States by Paul V. Choate, Charles B. Weeks, and Frank A. Spinale et al...
rockets and other weapons from a warehouse. In the course of the robbery, three people are killed: a security guard that Maxwell kills for his keys; DiGiorgio, whom Maxwell stabs in the back after he stumbles in on the robbery after discovering the guard's body; one of Maxwell's accomplices is accidentally shot when DiGiorgio's gun goes off. Maxwell finishes her off as "dead weight" with DiGiorgio's weapon. To Callahan's distress, Moore is his new partner; she claims to understand the risk, noting that—besides DiGiorgio—two other partners of his have died. After watching an Army demonstration of the LAW rocket on a firing range, they visit the Hall of Justice to sit in on an autopsy on the security guard killed in the robbery. Shortly afterwards, a bomb explodes in the bathroom. Callahan and Moore chase down and capture the PRSF bomber, Henry Lee Caldwell, and meet "Big" Ed Mustapha (Albert Popwell
Albert Popwell
Albert Popwell, , was an African American actor in television and films from the late 1960s. Born in New York City, Popwell started as a professional dancer before taking up a career in acting...
), leader of a black militant
Black Power
Black Power is a political slogan and a name for various associated ideologies. It is used in the movement among people of Black African descent throughout the world, though primarily by African Americans in the United States...
group the bomber formerly belonged to.
Although Callahan makes a deal with Mustapha for information, McKay arrests the militants for the PRSF's crimes. Callahan angrily refuses to participate in a televised press conference in which the publicity-seeking Mayor
Mayor of San Francisco
The Mayor of the City and County of San Francisco is the head of the executive branch of San Francisco's city and county government. The mayor has the duty to enforce city laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, the legislative branch....
would commend him and Moore ("one of the first of her sex in the whole country") for solving the case, and McKay suspends him from duty. Moore supports Callahan and gains his respect.
The PRSF boldly kidnaps the Mayor after a Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
game in a very orchestrated ambush. With Mustapha's help Callahan and Moore locate the gang at Alcatraz Island
Alcatraz Island
Alcatraz Island is an island located in the San Francisco Bay, offshore from San Francisco, California, United States. Often referred to as "The Rock" or simply "Traz", the small island was developed with facilities for a lighthouse, a military fortification, a military prison, and a Federal...
, where they battle the kidnappers. Moore frees the Mayor but Maxwell kills her as she saves Callahan's life. He avenges Moore by killing Maxwell with a LAW rocket. The inspector is uninterested in the Mayor's gratitude, returning to his partner's corpse as McKay and others arrive.
Cast
- Clint EastwoodClint EastwoodClinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
as Insp. Harry Callahan - Tyne DalyTyne DalyTyne Daly is an American stage and screen actress, widely known for her work as Detective Mary Beth Lacey in the television series Cagney & Lacey and as Maxine Gray in the television series Judging Amy. She is also known for her role as Alice Henderson in television series Christy...
as Insp. Kate Moore - Harry GuardinoHarry GuardinoHarry Guardino was an American actor whose career spanned from the early 1950s to the early 1990s. In 1964, he was cast in a short-lived CBS series entitled The Reporter, a drama about a hard-hitting investigative journalist named Danny Taylor. His principal co-star was Gary Merrill as city...
as Lt. Al Bressler - Bradford DillmanBradford Dillman-Early life:Bradford Dillman was born on April 14, 1930 in San Francisco, California, the son of Josephine and Dean Dillman, a stockbroker. He studied at Town School for Boys and St. Ignatius High School. Later he attended the Hotchkiss boarding school in Connecticut, where he became involved in...
as Capt. Jerome McKay - John MitchumJohn MitchumJohn Mitchum was an American actor from the 1940s in films and, later, television. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and the younger brother of Julie Mitchum and Robert Mitchum, he initially appeared in only unbilled and extra roles before gradually receiving bigger character parts in middle age...
as Insp. Frank DiGiorgio - DeVeren BookwalterDeVeren BookwalterDeVeren Bookwalter was a theatre actor and director who became the first person to win three Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards for his production, direction and performance in Cyrano de Bergerac at the Globe Playhouse in 1975.Bookwalter served as a member of the board of trustees of the...
as Bobby Maxwell - Albert PopwellAlbert PopwellAlbert Popwell, , was an African American actor in television and films from the late 1960s. Born in New York City, Popwell started as a professional dancer before taking up a career in acting...
as Big Ed Mustapha - John CrawfordJohn Crawford (actor)John Crawford was an American actor.Crawford was born Cleve Allen Richardson in Colfax, Washington. In films from the 1940s, Crawford appeared in bit parts for many years before playing leads in several films in the UK in the late 1950s and early 1960s...
as The Mayor - Michael Cavanaugh as Lalo
- Jocelyn JonesJocelyn JonesJocelyn Jones is a television and movie actress.Born in New York, Jones is the daughter of actor Henry Jones.She was a child actor, debuting at age eleven in The Defenders. She later taught acting for over 15 years at the Beverly Hills Playhouse...
as Miki - Dick DurockDick DurockRichard "Dick" Durock was an American stuntman and actor who has appeared in over eighty films and over seven hundred television episodes.- Biography :...
as Karl - M. G. Kelly as Father John
- Kenneth Boyd as Abdul
- Joe SpanoJoe SpanoJoseph Peter "Joe" Spano is an American actor who came to prominence through his role as Lt. Henry Goldblume on Hill Street Blues and is now well known for his work in NCIS as FBI Special Agent Tobias Fornell....
as Robber (uncredited)
Script
The first script was written in 1974 by two young San Francisco area film students, Gail Morgan HickmanGail Morgan Hickman
Gail Morgan Hickman is an American producer and writer of film and television.His first major writing credit was writing the story for the Dirty Harry film The Enforcer...
and S.W. Schurr, with the title Moving Target. After seeing Dirty Harry
Dirty Harry
Dirty Harry is a 1971 American crime thriller produced and directed by Don Siegel, the first in the Dirty Harry series. Clint Eastwood plays the title role, in his first outing as San Francisco Police Department Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan....
and Magnum Force
Magnum Force
Magnum Force is a 1973 American police thriller film and the second to feature Clint Eastwood as maverick cop Harry Callahan after the 1971 film Dirty Harry. Ted Post, who also directed Eastwood in TV's Rawhide and the feature film Hang 'Em High, directed the second film in the Dirty Harry series...
, the two fledgling writers decided to pen a screenplay of their own featuring the character of Inspector Harry Callahan. Inspired by the Patty Hearst kidnapping in 1974, the storyline had Inspector Harry Callahan going up against a violent militant group reminiscent of the Symbionese Liberation Army
Symbionese Liberation Army
The Symbionese Liberation Army was an American self-styled left-wing urban militant group active between 1973 and 1975 that considered itself a revolutionary vanguard army...
. In the script, the militants kidnap and ransom the mayor of San Francisco.
After the screenplay was finished Hickman visited Eastwood's Carmel restaurant, The Hog's Breath Inn, and approached Eastwood's business partner, Paul Lippman, asking if he would give their effort to Eastwood. Lippman was initially hesitant, but finally agreed. Although Eastwood thought the script needed work, he liked the concept, particularly the priest with militant leanings and the portrayal of black militants, which was based on the Black Panther Party
Black Panther Party
The Black Panther Party wasan African-American revolutionary leftist organization. It was active in the United States from 1966 until 1982....
.
Warner Brothers, meanwhile, eager to capitalize on the success of the two Dirty Harry films, had hired seasoned screenwriter Stirling Silliphant
Stirling Silliphant
Stirling Dale Silliphant was an American screenwriter and producer. He was born in Detroit, Michigan, moved to Glendale, California as a child, graduated from Hoover High School, and was educated at the University of Southern California...
to write a new Harry Callahan story. Silliphant wrote a script called Dirty Harry and More, in which the Callahan character was teamed up with an Asian-American woman partner named More. Eastwood liked the woman partner angle, but felt the script spent too much time on character and did not have enough action. Eastwood then showed the Hickman/Schurr script to Silliphant, and Silliphant agreed to rewrite it.
Silliphant wrote the script throughout late 1975 and early 1976 and delivered his draft to Eastwood in February 1976. While Eastwood approved, he believed there was still too much emphasis on the character relationships rather than the action and was concerned the fans might not approve. He then brought in screenwriter Dean Riesner
Dean Riesner
Dean Riesner was a prolific American film and television writer.Riesner's father was a silent film director, and Dean began acting in films at the age of five. His career at this young age ended because his mother wanted her son to have a real childhood...
, who had worked on the scripts of Dirty Harry
Dirty Harry
Dirty Harry is a 1971 American crime thriller produced and directed by Don Siegel, the first in the Dirty Harry series. Clint Eastwood plays the title role, in his first outing as San Francisco Police Department Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan....
and Coogan's Bluff
Coogan's Bluff
Coogan's Bluff is the name of a promontory located in upper Manhattan in New York City, starting at 155th Street. Rising abruptly from the Harlem River, it is colloquially regarded as the boundary between the neighborhoods of Harlem and Washington Heights....
, to do revisions.
Casting
Recurring characters Lieutenant Bressler (Harry GuardinoHarry Guardino
Harry Guardino was an American actor whose career spanned from the early 1950s to the early 1990s. In 1964, he was cast in a short-lived CBS series entitled The Reporter, a drama about a hard-hitting investigative journalist named Danny Taylor. His principal co-star was Gary Merrill as city...
) and Frank DiGiorgio (John Mitchum
John Mitchum
John Mitchum was an American actor from the 1940s in films and, later, television. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and the younger brother of Julie Mitchum and Robert Mitchum, he initially appeared in only unbilled and extra roles before gradually receiving bigger character parts in middle age...
) reprise their roles for the last time in a Dirty Harry film. Bressler was Callahan's boss in the first film of the series, while DiGiorgio appeared in the previous two while he dies in this film. A new character, Captain Jerome McKay (Bradford Dillman
Bradford Dillman
-Early life:Bradford Dillman was born on April 14, 1930 in San Francisco, California, the son of Josephine and Dean Dillman, a stockbroker. He studied at Town School for Boys and St. Ignatius High School. Later he attended the Hotchkiss boarding school in Connecticut, where he became involved in...
), was introduced as Callahan's superior officer. Dillman played a similar role, Captain Briggs, in Sudden Impact
Sudden Impact
Sudden Impact is a 1983 American crime thriller and the fourth film in the Dirty Harry series, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood...
.
Kate Moore was originally proposed to play the part of the female cop, but in the end it went to Tyne Daly
Tyne Daly
Tyne Daly is an American stage and screen actress, widely known for her work as Detective Mary Beth Lacey in the television series Cagney & Lacey and as Maxine Gray in the television series Judging Amy. She is also known for her role as Alice Henderson in television series Christy...
. Daly's casting was initially uncertain, given that she turned down the role three times. She objected to the way her character was treated in parts of the film and showed concern that two members of the police force falling in love on the job was problematic, given that they would be putting their lives in jeopardy by not reaching peak efficiency. Daly was permitted to read the drafts of the script developed by Riesner and had significant leeway in the development of her character, although after seeing the film at the premiere was horrified by the extent of the violence. Regarding Callahan's relationship with Moore, Eastwood stated:
Filming
When production began, the working title of the film was Dirty Harry III, in keeping with other sequels of the time. Eastwood, however, felt that the film needed a title of its own, and in the middle of production came up with The Enforcer.After his disputes with Ted Post
Ted Post
Ted Post is an American TV and film director.Born in Brooklyn, New York, he started his career in show business in 1938 working as an usher at Loew's Pitkin Theater. He abandoned plans to become an actor after training with Tamara Daykarhanova, and turned to directing summer theater...
on the set of the previous Dirty Harry installment, Eastwood fully intended to direct The Enforcer himself. Ironically, Eastwood's replacement of Philip Kaufman
Philip Kaufman
Philip Kaufman is an American film director and screenwriter. His movies have adapted novels of widely different types – from Milan Kundera’s The Unbearable Lightness of Being to Michael Crichton’s Rising Sun; from Tom Wolfe’s heroic epic The Right Stuff to the erotic writings of Anaïs Nin’s...
on The Outlaw Josey Wales
The Outlaw Josey Wales
The Outlaw Josey Wales is a 1976 American revisionist Western film set during and after the end of the American Civil War. It was directed by and starred Clint Eastwood , with Chief Dan George, Sondra Locke, Sam Bottoms, and Geraldine Keams.The film was adapted by Sonia Chernus and Philip Kaufman...
(and the consequent need to handle post-production on that film) left Eastwood without enough time to prepare himself to direct The Enforcer. As a result, Eastwood gave the director's chair to James Fargo
James Fargo
James Fargo is an American film director. He directed numerous films from 1976 to 1998. After serving as assistant director on many movies starring Clint Eastwood, he was then given the chance to direct the third Dirty Harry film, The Enforcer, in 1976. Later he also directed Eastwood in 1978's...
, his longtime assistant director
Assistant director
The role of an Assistant director include tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, maintaining order on the set. They also have to take care of health and safety of the crew...
, who made his debut as a full director on this film. Eastwood had the final say on all the critical decisions, but since the two men were far more familiar with each other's working styles than Eastwood had been with Ted Post, they rarely butted heads during production.
Filming commenced in the San Francisco bay area in the summer of 1976. Eastwood was initially still dubious about the quantity of his lines and preferred a less talkative approach, something perhaps embedded in him by Sergio Leone. The film ended up considerably shorter than the previous Dirty Harry films, and was cut to 95 minutes for its final running time.
The music score for The Enforcer was written by Jerry Fielding
Jerry Fielding
Jerry Fielding was an American radio, record, film and television composer, conductor, and musical director.-Childhood and education:...
, making The Enforcer the only Dirty Harry film without a score by Lalo Schifrin
Lalo Schifrin
Lalo Schifrin is an Argentine composer, pianist and conductor. He is best known for his film and TV scores, such as the "Theme from Mission: Impossible". He has received four Grammy Awards and six Oscar nominations...
. The film 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
Sudden Impact
Sudden Impact is a 1983 American crime thriller and the fourth film in the Dirty Harry series, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood...
and the resurrection of the film series. Eastwood never intended to make more Dirty Harry films, but private agreements with the studio allowed him to do more "personal" films in exchange for doing the subsequent sequels.
Reception
Critically, Eastwood's performance was poorly received and was named "Worst Actor of the Year" by the Harvard LampoonHarvard Lampoon
The Harvard Lampoon is an undergraduate humor publication founded in 1876 at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.-Overview:Published since 1876, The Harvard Lampoon is the world's longest continually published humor magazine. It is also the second longest-running English-language humor...
and the film was criticized for its level of violence. A Variety review indicated that the film was a "worn out copy of Dirty Harry. ... The next project from this particular mold had better shape up or give up."
Eastwood's performance in the third installment was overshadowed by positive reviews given to Daly in her convincing role as the strong-minded female cop, which she would follow up with a similar and more famous role in Det. Mary Beth Lacey in the television series, Cagney and Lacey. Feminist reviewers in particular gave Daly rave reviews, with Marjorie Rosen remarking that Malpaso "had invented a heroine of steel" and Jean Hoelscher of Hollywood Reporter praising Eastwood for abandoning his ego in casting such a strong female actress in his film.
Box office performance
Upon release in the fall of 1976, The Enforcer was a major commercial success and grossed a total of $100 million, $60 million in the United States and easily became Eastwood's best selling film to date, earning more than some of his previous films combined. Overall this figure made it the most profitable of the Dirty Harry series for seven years until the release of Sudden ImpactSudden Impact
Sudden Impact is a 1983 American crime thriller and the fourth film in the Dirty Harry series, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood...
.