L'Épreuve de force

Clint Eastwood plays a Phoenix cop sent to Las Vegas to bring a witness back to testify at a mobster's trial. The witness is a tough, smart prostitute, played by Sondra Locke. The two clash instantly but soon find they have to rely on each other to survive because nobody seems to want Locke to make it to Phoenix alive.

Underrated Eastwood movie that blends road trip comedy, romantic comedy, action, and drama all into one. Gritty and violent with an epic amount of gunfire for a '70s movie. Today that would all be CGI and lame. Clint's great. Sondra Locke has probably her best movie role here. Very good supporting cast of familiar faces. Like I said, this one's pretty underrated. If you're an Eastwood fan, you definitely should check it out.

The Gauntlet is the second of six films that Clint Eastwood did with Sondra Locke, an amount that certainly qualifies them as a screen team of note. They were for 15 years a team off the screen as well.

The Gauntlet casts Locke as a hooker who is being subpoenaed as a witness in an organized crime case. She's in Las Vegas where if you'll recall prostitution is legal and apparently she's learned some interesting information. More interesting than she realizes because there are some people who want to make very certain she does not reach Phoenix where the Maricopa County District Attorney has her for a witness.

Assigned to the case is Clint Eastwood who is characterized by himself as a tired old time server of a cop. He's not by reputation with the Phoenix, PD a Harry Callahan. But to the regret of forces who want to see Locke dead and consider him an incompetent and expendable, Clint fools them all.

As a film The Gauntlet goes at a good clip and the suspense from the first attack against Eastwood and Locke does not let up for a second. The dialog between Eastwood and Locke is crisp and entertaining and the action sequences well staged. The two leads get good support from Pat Hingle as Eastwood's luckless partner and William Prince the corrupt Chief of the Phoenix PD.

I'm not sure whether Prince wants Locke dead for her testimony linking him to organized crime or for the fact she can testify to some alternate sexual practices he favors. Either way Prince is absolutely manic about making sure they never get to Phoenix alive.

For fans of Clint Eastwood, The Gauntlet is one of his best films, one of my favorites of his, and something not to be missed.

"The Gauntlet" is an action film that works best if you don't expect very much from it. It's not a Dirty Harry film nor does the film make a lot of sense...especially at the very end. Nevertheless, for Clint Eastwood fans it probably packs enough in it to make them happy...all others consider twice before watching.

Eastwood had just finished making his third Dirty Harry film when he then made "The Gauntlet". I am sure many expected to see the self- confident and murderous officer Callahan once again, but his Ben Shockley in "The Gauntlet" is in many ways very much unlike Callahan. He's a drunk, a lousy cop and someone no one would expect much from...hence this is why he was chosen for a special assignment. The Police Commissioner (William Prince) wants Shockley to go to Vegas to bring in a prisoner who is expected to testify in a mob case. However, it soon becomes obvious no one wants him to bring the girl (Sondra Locke) back alive...and the Vegas and Phoenix police forces are itching to kill them both.

So why do I only give this one a 5? Well, the film is pretty much mindless action much of the time, but the reason for this relatively low score for a Clint Eastwood film is the ending...an ending which seems incredibly fake and silly. All semblance to reality seems to vanish and the ending is basically intended to satisfy the primal, not the intellectual. Pretty silly ending...as is the bizarro romance.

A rundown cop who's always on the drink named Ben Shockley is assigned to accompany a foul-mouthed prostitute in Las Vegas to a protection program across the country in Phoenix to testify against highly placed authority figure, although first they have to get through a gauntlet of bad cops and the mob who actually want them both dead. So now the odds aren't in their favour, but Shockley is determine to do his job, no matter how big the odds are against them.

Classic Eastwood is on show here people. Although, it's not one of his greatest nor particularly original. But this reasonably familiar cop / action film delivers what it intended to do by giving us a taut little road movie across baron landscapes with a tremendous amount of brutally fast-paced shootouts and grand chase scenes. I mean a lot! To sum it up, shootouts, shootouts and even more shootouts. Watch things go boom with a lot going on at such a furious pace! What more could you want?

So you ask, why is this nothing out of the ordinary? Because this kind of thing wasn't particularly new within this era of films. There were definite shades of Dirty Harry; Eastwood's character Shockley was the exact opposite to Harry though. The one thing you'll notice is that there is no real excuse or depth behind the plot, but to stage one chaotic and stretched out shootout after another. Sometimes they feel like they go on forever! Nonetheless, they might be far-fetched and fail logic, but they're rather well set-up by director Eastwood. Giving us a sudden burst around each corner and because of that there's hardly a mundane moment… uh, maybe Eastwood did overkill certain shootouts, but it did get the blood pumping! So, when the "exaggerated" climax hits the screen - at least the film was consistent in that aspect.

The performances were top-notch, with Eastwood's persona making any film his in watchable. He gives a stellar performance. Sondra Locke as Gus Mally was perfect. The chemistry between the leads was outstanding. The scathing and rough dialogue amongst them was a treat with great use of sarcasm and offbeat humour. The biting conversations truly built on the paranoia at hand with many top one-liners. This gives the film a buddy type of feel. Other key factors are the soothing blues soundtrack, well established camera shots that capture a beautiful landscape, but also the panic of the situation they face. While, there might be underlining themes running throughout the plot, I just didn't read too much into it.

Just leave your brain at the door and enjoy the total chaos and destruction that follows with your screen being sprayed with bullets! Definitely recommended for fans of Eastwood and gritty action films.

This baroque and utterly implausible action drama subscribes to the over-the-top theory of movie making. Huge quantities of bullets, bikers and bad apples are unleashed on Mr.Eastwood, Ms. Locke, his remand witness, and us, the audience. Eastwood executes the gauntlet with great resolve and resourcefulness: he even knows how to fortify a bus with armored plates. Clint is in peak form and Locke will never again reach the heights that she does here. Clearly, the two have wonderful screen chemistry and would remain together as a couple for more than a decade. Watching the film today, I think there is a scene that went missing--or was cut. It occurred at the beginning of the movie and involved the sadistic police commissioner and Locke's prostitute. The scene is later described in great detail by Locke when she and Clint are on the lam in a desert cave. So where is it? My dad took me to see this "R" rated film on a bitterly cold night in early February '78--it was released in late '77. I think he was unaware of the rating because I did get an eyeful that night. Make sure you see this movie letterboxed in order to absorb all the destructive power and subtle artistry on display.