Editing Magnum Force

{{Short description|1973 American film}}
{{For|the Heltah Skeltah album|Magnum Force (album)}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Magnum Force
| image          = Magnum Force.jpg
| caption        = Theatrical release poster by [[Bill Gold]]
| director       = [[Ted Post]]
| producer       = [[Robert Daley (filmmaker)|Robert Daley]]
| screenplay     = [[John Milius]]<br />[[Michael Cimino]]
| story          = John Milius
| based_on       = {{based on|Characters|[[Harry Julian Fink]]<br />[[R.M. Fink]]}}
| starring       = [[Clint Eastwood]]<br />[[Hal Holbrook]]<br />[[Mitchell Ryan]]<br />[[David Soul]]<br />[[Felton Perry]]<br />[[Robert Urich]]
| music          = [[Lalo Schifrin]]
| cinematography = [[Frank Stanley (cinematographer)|Frank Stanley]]
| editing        = [[Ferris Webster]]
| studio         = [[Malpaso Productions|The Malpaso Company]]
| distributor    = [[Warner Bros. Pictures|Warner Bros.]]
| released       = {{Film date|1973|12|25}}
| runtime        = 123 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = 
| gross          = $44.6 million (U.S.A.)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=magnumforce.htm|publisher=[[Box Office Mojo]]|title=Magnum Force (1973)|access-date=May 26, 2014|archive-date=May 28, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140528010530/http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=magnumforce.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>
}}
'''''Magnum Force''''' is a 1973 American [[action-thriller film]] and the second to feature [[Clint Eastwood]] as maverick cop [[Dirty Harry (character)|Harry Callahan]] after the 1971 film ''[[Dirty Harry]]''. [[Ted Post]], who had previously worked with Eastwood on ''[[Rawhide (TV series)|Rawhide]]'' and ''[[Hang 'Em High]]'', directed the film. The screenplay was written by [[John Milius]] and [[Michael Cimino]] (who later worked with Eastwood on ''[[Thunderbolt and Lightfoot]]''). The film score was composed by [[Lalo Schifrin]]. This film features early appearances by [[David Soul]], [[Tim Matheson]], and [[Robert Urich]]. At 123 minutes, it is the longest of [[Dirty Harry (film series)|the five ''Dirty Harry'' films]].

== Plot ==
In 1973, after being [[Acquittal|acquitted]] of a mass murder on a [[legal technicality]], Carmine Ricca, a mobster and the boss of the Italian-American [[San Francisco Mafia]], drives away from court in his limousine. While traveling on a city road, the driver is pulled over by a [[San Francisco Police Department]] (SFPD) [[Police officer|motorcycle cop]], who calmly guns down all of the occupants of the car. Inspector [[Dirty Harry (character)|Harry Callahan]] visits the crime scene with his new partner, Earlington "Early" Smith, despite the fact that the two are supposed to be on [[stakeout]] duty. Their superior, Lieutenant Neil Briggs, seems eager to keep Callahan out of the murder investigation.

While visiting the airport, Callahan helps deal with two men trying to hijack an airplane. He later meets rookie officers Phil Sweet, John Davis, Alan "Red" Astrachan, and Mike Grimes while visiting the police firing range. Sweet is an ex-[[United States Army Rangers|Army Ranger]] and [[Vietnam War|Vietnam veteran]] with great marksmanship skills, and his friends are not that different. Elsewhere, a motorcycle cop shoots up a pool party, leaving no usable evidence of his crime.

As Callahan and Early take down criminals at a drugstore, a [[Procuring (prostitution)|pimp]] murders a prostitute for withholding money from him. The next day, the pimp is killed by a patrolman. While investigating the scene, Callahan realizes that the culprit is a cop. He assumes the culprit to be his old friend Charlie McCoy, who has become despondent and suicidal after leaving his wife. Later, a motorcycle cop murders drug kingpin Lou Guzman. The killer, revealed to be Davis, encounters McCoy in the parking garage and guns him down.

At an annual shooting competition, Callahan learns that Davis was the first officer to arrive after the murders of Guzman and McCoy. He retrieves a slug from Davis' weapon and has ballistics match it to the bullets from the Guzman murder. Callahan begins to suspect that a secret [[death squad]] within the SFPD is responsible for the killings. Briggs insists that Ricca's former Mafia associate, Frank Palancio, is the real culprit. Callahan persuades Briggs to assign Davis and Sweet as backup for a raid on Palancio's offices. However, Palancio and his gang of mafiosi are tipped off via a phone call, Sweet is killed by a shotgun blast, and all of Palancio's men die in the ensuing shootout. Palancio attempts to escape, but Callahan jumps on the hood of his car, causing him to lose control and crash into a crane, killing him.

Briggs angrily suspends Callahan for the death of Sweet. After returning home, Callahan finds Davis, Astrachan, and Grimes waiting for him, presenting him with an [[ultimatum]] to side with them; Callahan refuses. While checking his mailbox, Callahan discovers a bomb left by the [[Vigilantism|vigilantes]] and manages to defuse it. A second bomb, however, kills Early before Callahan can warn him.

Callahan informs Briggs about the bomb and discovers Briggs is the secret leader of the death squad. Briggs defends his actions, claiming that he is only doing what the broken legal system cannot; Callahan responds that he knows the system is flawed, but he has chosen to stand by it until someone comes up with something better. At gunpoint, Briggs orders Callahan to drive to an undisclosed location while being followed by Grimes. Callahan manages to disarm Briggs and force him out of the car before running Grimes over.

Davis and Astrachan appear, causing Callahan to flee onto a [[USS Badoeng Strait|derelict aircraft carrier]] in a [[Ship breaking|shipbreaker's yard]]. Callahan kills Astrachan and takes his motorcycle, leading Davis in a series of jumps [[USS Rabaul|between ships]]. The chase ends with Davis driving off the ship into [[San Francisco Bay]] and dying on impact. Callahan is then confronted at gunpoint by Briggs. The lieutenant mocks Callahan and threatens to have him prosecuted. As Callahan backs away from the car, he surreptitiously activates the timer on his mailbox bomb and tosses it in the back seat, which explodes and kills Briggs moments later. Callahan then repeats a comment similar to something he said to Briggs earlier: "A man's got to know his limitations."

== Cast ==
{{Cast listing|
* [[Clint Eastwood]] as Inspector [[Dirty Harry (character)|"Dirty" Harry Callahan]]{{efn|group=note|Harry's surname is spelled "Calahan" in the closing credits of ''Magnum Force.'' It is "Callahan" in every other film in the ''Dirty Harry'' series.}}
* [[Hal Holbrook]] as Lieutenant Neil Briggs
* [[David Soul]] as Officer John Davis
* [[Tim Matheson]] as Officer Phil Sweet
* [[Kip Niven]] as Officer Alan "Red" Astrachan
* [[Robert Urich]] as Officer Mike Grimes
* [[Felton Perry]] as Inspector Earlington "Early" Smith
* [[Mitchell Ryan]] as Officer Charlie McCoy
* [[Margaret Avery]] as Prostitute
* Bob McClurg as cab driver
* [[John Mitchum]] as Inspector Frank DiGiorgio{{efn|group=note|Frank's surname is spelled "DiGorgio" in the closing credits of ''Magnum Force.''}}
* [[Albert Popwell]] as Pimp
* Clifford A. Pellow as Lou Guzman
* [[Richard Devon]] as Carmine Ricca
* [[Christine White (actress)|Christine White]] as Carol McCoy
* [[Tony Giorgio]] as Frank Palancio
* [[Maurice Argent]] as Nat Weinstein
* Jack Kosslyn as Walter
* Bob March as Estabrook
* Adele Yoshioka as Sunny
* [[Will Hutchins]] as Stakeout Cop (uncredited)
* [[Suzanne Somers]] as newly engaged woman in pool (uncredited)
* [[Robert Trebor]] as Reporter (uncredited)
}}

== Production ==

=== Development ===
Writer John Milius came up with a storyline in which a group of young rogue officers in the SFPD systematically exterminate the city's worst criminals, conveying the idea that even worse rogue cops than Dirty Harry exist.<ref name="McGilligan233">McGilligan (1999), p.233</ref> [[Terrence Malick]] had introduced the concept in an unused draft for the first film; director [[Don Siegel]] disliked the idea and had Malick's draft thrown out, but Clint Eastwood remembered it for this film. Eastwood specifically wanted to convey that, despite the 1971 film's perceived politics, Harry was not a complete vigilante. David Soul, Tim Matheson, Robert Urich, and Kip Niven were cast as the young vigilante cops.<ref name="McGilligan234">McGilligan (1999), p.234</ref> Milius was a gun aficionado and political conservative, and the film would extensively feature gun shooting in practice, competition, and on the job.<ref name="McGilligan234" /> Given this strong theme in the film, the title was soon changed from ''Vigilance'' to ''Magnum Force'' in deference to the [[.44 Magnum]] that Harry liked to use. Milius thought it was important to remind the audiences of the original film by incorporating the line, "Do ya feel lucky?" repeated in the opening credits.<ref name="McGilligan234" />

With Milius committed to filming ''[[Dillinger (1973 film)|Dillinger]]'', [[Michael Cimino]] was later hired to revise the script, overseen by Ted Post, who was to direct. According to Milius, his script did not contain any of the final action sequences (the car chase and climax on the aircraft carriers). His was a "simple script".<ref name="commentary">John Milius commentary on Magnum Force Deluxe Edition DVD</ref> The addition of the character Sunny was done at the suggestion of Eastwood, who reportedly received letters from women asking for "a female to hit on Harry" (not the other way around).<ref name="commentary" />

Milius later said he did not like the film and wished Don Siegel had directed it, as originally intended:

{{blockquote|Of all the films I had anything to do with, I like it least. They changed a lot of things in a cheap and distasteful manner. The whole ending is wrong, it wasn't mine at all. All movies had a motorcycle or car chase at the time&nbsp;— except Westerns. They have a scene where this black girl's pimp forces [[Drano]] down her throat. In the script, they merely went into the morgue and Harry said, "I don't feel bad for that son of a b****, 'cause two weeks ago one of his girls was in here and he'd poured Drano down her throat." I think it's better to hear about it than to see it later; also, it goes right back to the character again; you understand Harry's feelings about it. All the stuff they put in about the Japanese girl - they put in a scene where the star gets to f*** some girl, and it's pretty hard to get it out. My ''Dirty Harry'' scripts never had Harry knowing any girls too well other than hookers, because he was a lonely guy who lived alone and didn't like to associate with people. He could never be close enough to a woman to have any sort of affair. A bitter, lonely man who liked his work.<ref name="comment">{{cite news|title=STOKED|last=Thompson|first= Richard|newspaper= Film Comment 12.4|date=July 1976 | pages=10–21}}</ref>}}

=== Directing ===
Eastwood himself was initially offered the role of director, but declined. Ted Post, who had previously directed Eastwood in [[Rawhide (TV series)|''Rawhide'']] and ''[[Hang 'Em High]]'', was hired. [[Buddy Van Horn]] was the [[second unit director]]. Both Eastwood and Van Horn went on to direct the final two entries in the series, ''[[Sudden Impact]]'' and ''[[The Dead Pool]]'', respectively.

=== Filming ===
[[Frank Stanley (cinematographer)|Frank Stanley]] was hired as cinematographer. Filming commenced in late April 1973.<ref name="McGilligan234" /> During filming, Eastwood encountered numerous disputes with Post over who was calling the shots in directing the film, and Eastwood refused to authorize two important scenes directed by Post in the film because of time and expenses; one of them was at the climax to the film with a long shot of Eastwood on his motorcycle as he confronts the rogue cops.<ref name="McGilligan235">McGilligan (1999), p.235</ref> As with many of his films, Eastwood was intent on shooting it as smoothly as possible, often refusing to do retakes over certain scenes.  Post later remarked: "A lot of the things he said were based on pure, selfish ignorance, and showed that he was the man who controlled the power. By ''Magnum Force'', Clint's ego began applying for statehood".<ref name="McGilligan235" /> Post remained bitter with Eastwood for many years and claims disagreements over the filming affected his career afterwards.<ref name="McGilligan236">McGilligan (1999), p.236</ref> According to second unit director of photography Rexford Metz, "Eastwood would not take the time to perfect a situation. If you've got 70% of a shot worked out, that's sufficient for him, because he knows his audience will accept it."<ref name="McGilligan235" />

== Music ==
The orchestra, arranged and conducted by Lalo Schifrin, included:<ref>{{cite web |title=Magnum Force |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/jots.200017440 |website=Library of Congress}}</ref>
* [[Bud Shank]] — [[Reed (mouthpiece)|reeds]]
* [[Carol Kaye]] — bass guitar
* [[Howard Roberts]], [[Dennis Budimir]], [[Tommy Tedesco]] — guitar
* [[Max Bennett (musician)|Max Bennett]] — double bass
* [[Emil Richards]] — percussion

== Controversy ==
The film received negative publicity in 1974 when the scene where the prostitute is killed with [[drain cleaner]] was found to have allegedly inspired the [[Hi-Fi murders]], with the two killers believing the method would be as efficient as it was portrayed in the film. The killers said that they were looking for a unique murder method when they stumbled upon the film, and had they not seen the movie, would have chosen a method from another film. The drain cleaner reference was repeated in at least two other films, including ''[[Heathers]]'' (1988) and ''[[Urban Legend (film)|Urban Legend]]'' (1998).
According to John Milius, this drain-cleaner scene was never meant to be filmed, but was only mentioned in his original script.<ref name="commentary" />

== Release ==

=== Box office ===
In the film's opening week, it grossed $6,871,011 from 401 theatres.<ref>Munn, p. 142</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=January 9, 1974|title=Magnum Force – Warner Bros. Advert|pages=14–15}}</ref> In the United States, the film made a total of $44,680,473,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/1973/0DHA2.php|publisher=The Numbers|title=Magnum Force, Box Office Information|access-date=February 11, 2012|archive-date=May 31, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120531010255/http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/1973/0DHA2.php|url-status=live}}</ref> making it more successful than the [[Dirty Harry|first film]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://boxofficemojo.com/franchises/chart/?id=dirtyharry.htm|publisher=[[Box Office Mojo]]|title=Dirty Harry Franchise Box Office Information|access-date=February 11, 2012|archive-date=May 5, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120505184449/http://boxofficemojo.com/franchises/chart/?id=dirtyharry.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> and the [[1973 in film|sixth highest-grossing film of 1973]].

[[Theatrical rental]]s were $19.4 million in the United States and Canada and $9.5 million overseas for a worldwide total of $28.9 million.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=All-time Film Rental Champs|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=January 7, 1976|page=20}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|title=$205-$210-Mil Warner Rental Range|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=December 29, 1976|page=3|last=Murphy|first=A.D.}}</ref>

=== Reception ===
''[[The New York Times]]'' critics such as [[Nora Sayre]] criticized the conflicting moral themes of the film, and [[Frank Rich]] believed it "was the same old stuff".<ref name="McGilligan236" /> [[Gene Siskel]] of the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of four and wrote: "The problem with ''Magnum Force'' is that this new side of Harry—his antivigilantism—is never made believable in the context of his continuing tendency to brandish his .44 Magnum revolver as if it were his phallus. The new, 'Clean Harry' doesn't cut it. Some of the film's action sequences do."<ref>Siskel, Gene (December 27, 1973). "The best of these police thrillers comes away 'Laughing'". ''[[Chicago Tribune]]''. Section 2, p. 2.</ref> [[Kevin Thomas (film critic)|Kevin Thomas]] of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' found the film "too preoccupied in celebrating violence to keep it in focus."<ref>Thomas, Kevin (December 25, 1973). "A Violent 'Magnum' Arrives". ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''. Part IV, p. 29.</ref> [[Pauline Kael]], a harsh critic of Eastwood's for many years, mocked his performance as Dirty Harry, commenting, "He isn't an actor, so one could hardly call him a bad actor. He'd have to do something before we could consider him bad at it. And acting isn't required of him in ''Magnum Force''."<ref name="McGilligan236" /> Gary Arnold of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' was positive, praising the film as "an ingenious and exciting crime thriller" with "a less self-righteous message" than the original ''Dirty Harry''.<ref>Arnold, Gary (January 1, 1974). "Magnum Force". ''[[The Washington Post]]''. C1.</ref> Gary Crowdus wrote in ''[[Cineaste (magazine)|Cinéaste]]'', "We are left with the comforting assurance that when we need him, Harry (and all the cops like him who do the 'dirty' jobs no one else wants) will be there protecting us from the lunatic fringes of both Left and Right. Sure, Harry may be a little trigger-happy, but at least he shoots the right people. The problem, however, one which the film raises but never resolves, is who determines the definition of 'right' people?"<ref>Crowdus, Gary (1974). "Magnum Force". ''[[Cineaste (magazine)|Cinéaste]]''. Vol. VI, No. 2. p. 54.</ref>

On [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film has a score of 70% based on 27 reviews, with the critic consensus being: "''Magnum Force'' ups the ante for the ''Dirty Harry'' franchise with faster action and thrilling stuntwork."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/magnum_force/ |title=Magnum Force (1973) |work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |publisher=[[Fandango Media]] |access-date=January 16, 2024 |archive-date=April 16, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416010630/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/magnum_force |url-status=live }}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Film}}
* [[List of American films of 1973]]
* ''[[Extreme Justice (film)|Extreme Justice]]''

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|group=note}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
* {{cite book |last= McGilligan |first= Patrick |title= Clint: The Life and Legend |publisher= [[HarperCollins]] |year= 1999|isbn=0-00-638354-8|location=London}}
* {{cite book|last=Munn|first=Michael|title=Clint Eastwood: Hollywood's Loner|publisher=Robson Books|location=London|year=1992|isbn=0-86051-790-X}}
* {{cite book|last=Street|first=Joe|title=Dirty Harry's America: Clint Eastwood, Harry Callahan, and the Conservative Backlash|publisher=[[University Press of Florida]]|year=2016|isbn=978-0-8130-6167-2}}

== External links ==
* {{IMDb title|0070355}}
* {{TCMDb title|22580}}
* {{AFI film|55013}}

{{Dirty Harry}}
{{Ted Post}}
{{John Milius}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1973 films]]
[[Category:1974 controversies in the United States]]
[[Category:1970s action thriller films]]
[[Category:1970s vigilante films]]
[[Category:American action thriller films]]
[[Category:American sequel films]]
[[Category:Dirty Harry]]
[[Category:Fictional portrayals of the San Francisco Police Department]]
[[Category:Films about police brutality]]
[[Category:Films about terrorism in the United States]]
[[Category:Films directed by Ted Post]]
[[Category:Films set in San Francisco]]
[[Category:Films set in the San Francisco Bay Area]]
[[Category:Films shot in San Francisco]]
[[Category:Films set in 1972]]
[[Category:American serial killer films]]
[[Category:Films about police corruption]]
[[Category:American vigilante films]]
[[Category:Films about police misconduct]]
[[Category:American police detective films]]
[[Category:Warner Bros. films]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by John Milius]]
[[Category:Films scored by Lalo Schifrin]]
[[Category:American neo-noir films]]
[[Category:1970s English-language films]]
[[Category:1970s American films]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Michael Cimino]]
[[Category:English-language action thriller films]]
[[Category:Malpaso Productions films]]