IMDb > Coogan's Bluff (1968)
Coogan's Bluff
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Coogan's Bluff (1968) More at IMDbPro »

Overview

User Rating:
6.5/10   4,299 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 8% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Don Siegel
Writers:
Herman Miller (screenplay) &
Dean Riesner (screenplay) ...
more
Contact:
View company contact information for Coogan's Bluff on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
2 October 1968 (USA) more
Genre:
Action | Crime more
Tagline:
Before "Dirty Harry"... there was Coogan. more
Plot:
Coogan, an Arizona cop, is sent to New York to collect a prisoner. Everyone in New York assumes Coogan is from Texas... more | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
NewsDesk:
Warner Archive Releases "Soldier In The Rain" Starring Steve McQueen And Jackie Gleason
 (From CinemaRetro. 19 May 2009, 4:18 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
A smart career move for Clint more (54 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Clint Eastwood ... Coogan

Lee J. Cobb ... Lt. McElroy
Susan Clark ... Julie
Tisha Sterling ... Linny Raven
Don Stroud ... Ringerman
Betty Field ... Mrs. Ringerman
Tom Tully ... Sheriff McCrea
Melodie Johnson ... Millie
James Edwards ... Sgt. Jackson

Rudy Diaz ... Running Bear
David Doyle ... Pushie (as David F. Doyle)
Louis Zorich ... Taxi Driver
Meg Myles ... Big Red
Marjorie Bennett ... Mrs. Fowler

Seymour Cassel ... Young Hood
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parents
Runtime:
93 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Westrex Recording System)
Certification:
Iceland:16 | Spain:18 | Singapore:NC-16 | West Germany:16 (re-rated) (DVD) | West Germany:18 (f) | USA:Approved (certificate #21735) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 (1993) | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R (re-rating) (1968)
Filming Locations:
23rd Precinct Building, 23rd Precinct, New York City, New York, USA more
Company:
Malpaso Company, The more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
When Coogan is searching the New York nightclub, the large screen plays a scene from Tarantula (1955), a "B" sci-fi film that Clint Eastwood made early in his career in which he had an uncredited role. more
Goofs:
Continuity: in the last few minutes of the movie, Coogan and Ringerman go to the top of the Pan Am Building to take the helicopter shuttle to the airport. Coogan says goodbye to the NYPD Lieutenant and then you see Coogan and Ringerman riding in the helicopter with scenery going by outside the window. Next you see the helicopter on the building again and Susan Clark is running to say goodbye. more
Quotes:
Coogan: You learn about a person when you hunt 'em.
Det. Lt. McElroy, NYPD: Like what?
Coogan: Like that he's not a fool, that's what.
Sgt. Wallace: Then how in the hell did you collar him?
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Eastwood & Co.: Making 'Unforgiven' (1992) (TV) more
Soundtrack:
Pigeon-Toed Orange Peel more

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User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
17 out of 18 people found the following comment useful.
A smart career move for Clint, 21 August 2002
Author: jimu63 from San Marcos, CA

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 *****)

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