Original text appeared in
Variety, Dec. 12, 1973
Magnum Force
Magnum Force is an intriguing followup to Dirty Harry of two years ago, in that nonconformist S.F. detective Clint Eastwood now is faced with tracking down a band of vigilante cops headed by Hal Holbrook, his nominal superior and career nemesis. The story contains the usual surfeit of human massacre for the Yahoo trade, as well as a few actual thoughts. Ted Post directed adeptly, and Robert Daley produced professionally for Eastwood's Malpaso Co. indie. The Warner Bros. release should perform smartly in the general action market.
In Harry, there was a script loaded in favor of the end justifying the means by those pledged to law enforcement, a contemporary attitude which has been the cause, and not for one moment the effect, of protective civil liberties decisions. The interesting twist in Magnum Force, is that Eastwood stumbles on a group of bandit cop avengers, all of whom have that advertising agency and Hitler Youth look characteristic of most witnesses before the Ervin Watergate committee. The lot thus forces Eastwood to render a judgement in favor of the present system.
John Milius and Michael Cimino get script credit herein, from a Milius story based on the characters and situations created for Harry by Harry Julian Fink and R.M. Fink. Second-unit director Buddy Van Horn and Carey Loftin's action-sequence staging contribute many highlights.
Eastwood and new partner Felton Perry are helping investigate a number of bloody murders of local crime leaders, but the evidence finally begins to point at four rookie cops- David Soul, Tim Matheson, Robert Urich and Kip Niven- who eventually tip their hand to Eastwood. Holbrook attempts to discredit Eastwood (Perry is bombed to death) but in the hulk of an old aircraft carrier docked in a scrapyard, Eastwood eliminates them all.
Mitchell Ryan plays an older disillusioned cop killed by the Holbrook gang, and Christine White is Ryan's long-suffering wife who fumbles a pass at Eastwood. Adele Yoshioka gets closer to Eastwood than anyone, in either film.
Frank Stanley's fine Panavision-Technicolor lensing milks the urban outdoors of S.F. and environs. Lalo Schifrin's moody score is both restrained and appropriate. Ferris Webster supervised the editing to 122 minutes. The pacing caroms about with what seems to be an overly obvious pre-planning for the eventual televersion, undoubtedly with some dialogue and situation trims. All performances and production credits are good. -Murf.
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