Un shérif à New-York

Clint Eastwood has always been one of the most career-savvy superstars of all time. Looking over his filmography, since his career breakthrough it is obvious he has never done a film strictly for the money and has solid reasons behind every film he has made. Even his worst films have a purpose: "The Rookie," for instance, which most people would agree is a career low, was obviously made to satisfy the brass at Warner Bros. by delivering a modern-day Dirty Harry clone so he would be left alone to work on his Academy Award-winning classic "Unforgiven," which came out two years later. So it is with "Coogan's Bluff," which most viewers would probably dismiss as second-rate Eastwood, but in reality served as a savvy bridge from Westerns (the type of genre he was primarily known for at the time) into more modern day roles.

As directed by his mentor Don Siegel, "Coogan's Bluff" actually opens in the Arizona desert, which strongly resembles the background of his spaghetti westerns. Indeed, the first character we see is a loincloth-attired man, who appears to be Indian, so the audience is tricked into thinking they're watching a western. Then, we see a jeep driving down a dirt road, with a stetson-wearing Clint at the wheel. He is Dept. Sheriff Coogan, and there we see our first view of Clint as a modern lawman. It isn't long before he's in New York City, chasing down an escaped extradited criminal (Don Stroud), romancing a beautiful parole officer (Susan Clark) and butting heads with a strong-willed police captain (Lee J.Cobb, a terrific, yet sadly forgotten character actor of the day). Therefore, in a matter of fifteen minutes, Siegel cleverly introduces Eastwood as a contemporary figure, a transition that will be complete when he returns to modern times three years later in his most famous role, "Dirty Harry" Callahan.

But "Coogan's Bluff" is an enjoyable film on its own terms. Eastwood at times is very funny here--his retort to an unethical cab driver is priceless--and the film moves along at a brisk pace. Just don't expect action galore or a high body count. Clint doesn't kill anybody here; there's no broad conspiracy or mystery to solve; his job is simply to find the prisoner and take him home. In fact, the film is at its best when its dealing with Coogan as a fish-out-of-water, dealing with various New York thieves, crooks, drug dealers, hippies, and the aforementioned cab driver. There is, however, a well-choreographed fight scene in a bar and an exciting motorcycle chase for a climax, but that's as much action as there is. It's also pretty short for an Eastwood film: where most of his films run over two hours, this one clocks in at a brisk 94 minutes, next to "Joe Kidd" and "The Dead Pool," one of his shortest adventures.

So there you have it, a "minor" effort that served a "major" purpose in what has become an important Hollywood career. *** (out of *****)

Coogans Bluff (1968)

Plot In A Paragraph: Coogan (Eastwood) an Arizona deputy, goes to New York City to escort a fugitive back into custody.

Before Hang Em High had been released, Eastwood had set to work on this movie, a project which saw him reunite with Universal Studios after an offer of $1 million, more than doubling his previous salary.

The thing I like most about this movie was it's tag line "Clint Eastwood gives New York 24 hours to get out of town"

Outside of saying it's the first time Clint worked with Don Siegel, there is not much to say here, it's a pretty generic fish out of water cop movie. We do get a decent motorbike chase at the end, with Clint visibly doing his own stunts. His character seemed a bit like James Bond early on, in that he handcuffs a prisoner to a porch so he can go and have sex with a woman. Once again we get early shades of Dirty Harry in Clint's character, as Coogan does not have much respect for his superiors or the rules and prefers to go it alone. Future Dirty Harry actor Albert Popwell has a small role here too.

Coogan's Bluff continued the trend of each Eastwood movie grossing less than the last, with a $3 million domestic gross.

The film borrows from the older city crime dramas adding a new twist, Eastwood's character, a police lieutenant from Arizona who will use any means to apprehend his prey. This film, shot on a relativley tight budget in New York City, captures the dark side of New York City in the late 60's, amidst the "free love" atmosphere. Particularly notable are the sharp fight sequences, the amazing sequence at the "Pidgeon Toed Orange Peel" dance club, and the chase sequence at the Cloisters. This film inspired the "Dirty Harry" series, and also paved the way for cowboy in the big city flicks such as "Midnight Cowboy" (and there are a few interesting resemblances). An overall exciting picture that should keep your interest.

Coogan's Bluff marked the first of six films that Clint Eastwood was to do with director Don Siegel, the most famous of them being of course Dirty Harry. The film will also contain no shots of the former location of the legendary Polo Grounds which were at that spot on Manhattan island.

Clint Eastwood's charisma is what carries this film through because he's playing one of the most dislikeable characters he ever essayed on the right side of the law. He's a deputy sheriff from Piute County, Arizona who has his own way of doing things. When we first meet him instead of following sheriff Tom Tully's orders and staying at a roadblock, Eastwood follows a hunch and captures fugitive Indian Rudy Diaz in the inimitable Clint fashion.

That he got the man doesn't cut it with Tully. He sends Clint on assignment to New York to extradite Don Stroud wanted in Arizona. When he gets to New York, Stroud is in Bellevue Psych Ward. There are procedures to get him out says Police Lieutenant Lee J. Cobb, but Clint cuts through them and while Stroud's in custody, he effects an escape.

Seduce them for clues is Eastwood's investigative technique as he works on parole officer Susan Clark and Stroud's girlfriend Tisha Sterling. Tisha proves to be a formidable adversary and bed partner, yes she's both. Tisha's pretty unforgettable as the amoral hippie chick from the era.

Also unforgettable is Betty Field in what proved to be her final big screen role as Stroud's tramp of a mother. Clint doesn't quite have to get down and dirty with her, but I think he would have been up to it if needed.

A lot of attitudes that were later exhibited in Dirty Harry are in Coogan's Bluff. Walt Coogan has the same attitude towards criminals and the rules that prevent him from dealing with them as he'd like.

Some nice location shots of New York, including an unforgettable chase scene through Fort Tryon Park in the upper reaches of Manhattan. Not as good as some of Clint Eastwood's other films, still Coogan's Bluff is a must for his fans.

Here Clint Eastwood gets to bring a little of the Western into an urban jungle, playing the title character, an Arizona deputy with his own way of doing things. His sheriff (Tom Tully) is tired of him, but assigns him the task of extraditing a criminal named Ringerman (Don Stroud), who's being held in NYC. Disgusted with the amount of red tape that he's obliged to wade through, Coogan obtains Ringerman through false pretenses - and then the young mans' associates get the drop on him, and Ringerman escapes. However, Coogan isn't about to let a little wounded pride get to him, as he continues to frustrate police lieutenant McElroy (Lee J. Cobb) with his methods of tracking a wanted man.

Clint is a lot of fun to watch, showing off that natural screen presence that made him a star. He makes the most out of what many people agree to be a predecessor to his iconic screen role of Dirty Harry. The movie itself, produced & directed by Clints' frequent collaborator Don Siegel, works as a "fish out of water" type of story in which different approaches to law enforcement clash, and where the environment has a pivotal part to play. Use of various NYC locations is great, and Lalo Schifrins' music score is excellent. The climactic motorcycle chase is reasonably exciting, but the most striking scene of all has to be when Coogan tails Ringermans' lady friend Linny Raven (Tisha Sterling) to a nightclub. Among the images on the big screen there is a shot from "Tarantula", in which Clint had a small uncredited role.

There's a great sexual chemistry between Clint and well-meaning probation officer Julie Roth (sexy Susan Clark); he also works well with Sterling, who's a delight as a cheery hippie chick. Stroud unfortunately doesn't get a lot to do, the way that the story is written, but the supporting cast, led by the always solid Cobb, includes familiar faces such as Betty Field, James Edwards, David Doyle, Louis Zorich, Seymour Cassel, Albert Popwell (who would go on to appear in four of the "Dirty Harry" movies), and Conrad Bain.

A well paced and consistently entertaining movie, "Coogan's Bluff" later evolved into the 'McCloud' TV series with Dennis Weaver.

Seven out of 10.