Sudden Impact (1983)

Director:

Clint Eastwood

Writers:

Harry Julian Fink (characters creator) and
Rita M. Fink (characters creator) ...
(more)

Release Date:

9 December 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

Two killers are at large. One of them is Dirty Harry. [Video]

Plot:

A rape victim is exacting revenge on her agressors in a small town outside San Francisco. Dirty Harry, on suspension for angering his superiors (again), is assigned to the case.

Plot Keywords:

Rape | Revenge | Rape Victim | Police | Heart Attack

Cast

Clint Eastwood	...	Harry Callahan
Sondra Locke	...	Jennifer Spencer
Pat Hingle	...	Chief Jannings
Bradford Dillman	...	Captain Briggs
Paul Drake	...	Mick
Audrie J. Neenan	...	Ray Parkins
Jack Thibeau	...	Kruger
Michael Currie	...	Lt. Donnelly
Albert Popwell	...	Horace King
Mark Keyloun	...	Officer Bennett
Kevyn Major Howard	...	Hawkins
Bette Ford	...	Leah
Nancy Parsons	...	Mrs. Kruger
Joe Bellan	...	Burly Detective
Wendell Wellman	...	Tyrone
Mara Corday	...	Coffee Shop Waitress
Russ McCubbin	...	Eddie
Robert Sutton	...	Carl
Nancy Fish	...	Historical Society Woman
Carmen Argenziano	...	D'Ambrosia
Lisa Britt	...	Elizabeth
Bill Reddick	...	Police Commissioner
Lois De Banzie	...	Judge (as Lois de Banzie)
Matthew Child	...	Alby
Mike Johnson	...	Assassin (as Michael Johnson)
Nick Dimitri	...	Assassin
Michael Maurer	...	George Wilburn
Pat DuVal	...	Bailiff
Christian Phillips	...	Hawkin's Crony
Steven Kravitz	...	Hawkin's Crony
Dennis Royston	...	Young Guy
Melvin Thompson	...	Young Guy
Jophery C. Brown	...	Young Guy (as Jophery Brown)
William Upton	...	Young Guy (as Bill Upton)
Lloyd Nelson	...	Desk Sergeant
Christopher Pray	...	Detective Jacobs
James McEachin	...	Detective Barnes
Maria Lynch	...	Hostess
Ken Lee	...	Loomis
Morgan Upton	...	Bartender
John X. Heart	...	Uniform Policeman
David Gonzales	...	Gang Member
Albert Martinez	...	Gang Member
David Rivers	...	Gang Member
Robert Rivers	...	Gang Member
Harry Demopoulos M.D.	...	Dr. Barton
Lisa London	...	Young Hooker
Tom Spratley	...	Senior Man
Eileen Wiggins	...	Hysterical Female Customer
John Nowak	...	Bank Robber
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Christine Card	...	Dancer at Wedding (uncredited)
Michael V. Gazzo	...	Threlkis (uncredited)
Camryn Manheim	...	Girl in Elevator (uncredited)
Dihlon McManne	...	Cop (uncredited)

Directed by
Clint Eastwood

Writing credits
Harry Julian Fink		(characters creator) and
Rita M. Fink		(characters creator) (as R.M. Fink)
Joseph Stinson		(screenplay) (as Joseph C. Stinson)
Earl E. Smith		(story) &
Charles B. Pierce		(story)

Produced by
Clint Eastwood	....	producer
Fritz Manes	....	executive producer
Steve Perry	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Lalo Schifrin

Cinematography by
Bruce Surtees

Film Editing by
Joel Cox

Production Design by
Edward C. Carfagno		(as Edward Carfagno)

Set Decoration by
Ernie Bishop

Makeup Department
Barbara Guedel	....	makeup artist (as Barbara Guedell)
Marlene D. Williams	....	hair stylist (as Marlene Williams)

Production Management
Steve Perry	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Paul Moen	....	second assistant director
David Valdes	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Edward Aiona	....	property master (as Eddie Aiona)
Bob Lawless	....	stand-by painter
Michael Muscarella	....	construction coordinator

Sound Department
Rick Alexander	....	re-recording mixer (as Dick Alexander)
Bub Asman	....	sound effects editor
Les Fresholtz	....	re-recording mixer
Robert G. Henderson	....	sound effects editor (as Bob Henderson)
Donald F. Johnson	....	sound mixer (as Don Johnson)
Alan Robert Murray	....	sound effects editor
Vern Poore	....	re-recording mixer
Jules Strasser	....	boom man
Brooke H. Ward	....	assistant sound editor (as Brooke Henderson)

Special Effects by
Chuck Gaspar	....	special effects

Stunts
Christine Anne Baur	....	stunts (as Christine Baur)
Jadie David	....	stunts (as Jade David)
Scott Dockstader	....	stunts
Jerry Gatlin	....	stunts
Larry Holt	....	stunts
Kristy Horak	....	stunts
Jack Lilley	....	stunts
Carey Loftin	....	stunts
Fritz Manes	....	stunts
Paula Marie Moody	....	stunts (as Paula Moody)
George Orrison	....	stunts
Debby Porter	....	stunts
Al Silvani	....	stunts
Buddy Van Horn	....	stunt coordinator (as Wayne VanHorn)
Chuck Waters	....	stunts
George Orrison	....	stunt double: Clint Eastwood (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Edward A. Ayer	....	bestboy (as Ed Ayer)
Kirk Bales	....	dolly grip (as Kirk E. Bales)
Jack N. Green	....	camera operator (as Jack Green)
Jeff Miller	....	camera assistant
Marsha Reed	....	still photographer
Charles Saldana	....	key grip
Bruce D. Spellman	....	second grip (as Bruce Spellman)
Tom Stern	....	gaffer
Johnny Walker	....	camera assistant (as John Walker)

Casting Department
Marion Dougherty	....	casting executive

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Darryl M. Athons	....	wardrobe: men (as Darryl Athons)
Sue Moore	....	wardrobe: women
Glenn Wright	....	costume supervisor

Editorial Department
John Morrisey	....	assistant film editor

Music Department
Donald Harris	....	music editor
Mike Deasy	....	musician (uncredited)
Robert Fernandez	....	scoring mixer (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Keith Dillin	....	transportation captain
Cliff Hill	....	transportation coordinator
H. William Miller	....	transportation captain (as Bill Miller)

Other crew
Marco Barla	....	unit publicist
Paul A. Calabria	....	animal handler (as Paul Calabria)
Judie Hoyt	....	assistant to producers
Linda Sony Kinney	....	production secretary (as Linda Sony)
Michael Maurer	....	auditor
Lloyd Nelson	....	script supervisor
Jim Porter	....	first aid
Rik Converse	....	production assistant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures
• Malpaso Company, The (uncredited)

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1983) (USA) (theatrical) (as Warner Bros. A Warner Communications Company)
• Warner-Columbia Films (1984) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Warner-Columbia Filmverleih (1984) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1986) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Warner Bros. (Spain)
• Warner Home Video (2001) (Germany) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2001) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2003) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-Ray Disc)
• Warner Home Video (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD) (deluxe edition)
• Warner Home Video (1994) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Warner Home Video (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera cranes (uncredited)
• Pacific Title  titles and opticals
• Tony's Food Service  catering

Runtime:

117 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:18 | Iceland:16 | New Zealand:R16 | USA:R (certificate #27193) | Sweden:(Banned) (original rating) | Finland:K-16 (1993) (cut) | Finland:K-18 (1984) (cut) | Netherlands:12 | Finland:K-15 (DVD rating) | Australia:M (TV rating) | UK:18 (video rating) (1986) | South Korea:18 | Australia:R | Canada:R | France:-12 | Singapore:M18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 (DVD rating) | Sweden:15 (re-rating) (heavily cut) | UK:18 | West Germany:18 | Norway:18 (video premiere) (1988) (cut) | Norway:(Banned) (1984-2003) (cinema release) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Bowles Franklin Galleries - 765 Beach Street, Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

The carousel Jennifer is researching is the "1911 Looff Carousel" located at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk in Santa Cruz,California. In 1987 the U.S. Park Service declared the ornate merry-go-round a National Historic Landmark along with the Boardwalk's 1924 Giant Dipper roller coaster.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: As Harry is leaving after receiving a special handgun from Horace King, the reflection of Eastwood's son, who was visiting the set, is clearly visible, grinning, in the car window.

Quotes:

Jennifer Spencer: [to Mick] All right, you prickless scum! You think you can make it work this time! You think you can try it again? You think you can get it up this time? You think you can make it better? You filthy maggot. Well you'll have to rape my *dead body*!

Movie Connections:

Featured in "20 to 1: Memorable Movie Characters (#3.11)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

THIS SIDE OF FOREVER

Fourth Dirty Harry entry changes the formula to a darker, character-driven style.... interesting but not wholly successful.

Sudden Impact is the most unusual of the five Dirty Harry movies, but that doesn't make it the best. However, after the rather flat and comic-book heroics of the third film, The Enforcer, it's good to see some changes to the formula. Sudden Impact is quite a dark, moody piece of cinema with big emphasis on character. Yes, there's action, but the action in this one is only one piece of the jigsaw whereas in some of the other Dirty Harry outings the action was everything.

Harry Callahan (Eastwood) is in hot water with his superiors for carrying out an illegal search on a suspicious car. The young thugs he arrested are released because of the lack of evidence, and they set out to take revenge on Harry. However, Harry is a tough nut to crack - and pretty soon he is striking back in his own destructive style. Harry's boss decides to get Harry out of town for a while to avoid further bloodshed, so he assigns him to a quiet murder investigation in an isolated coastal town. Harry pieces together the mystery and discovers that the killer is a female artist (Locke) who is bumping off a bunch of drop-outs who gang-raped her and her sister years previously. Should he arrest her for the killings, or should he turn a blind eye and let her do away with these repellent scum-bags?

The film is probably the second best in the series (the original is always going to be considered the best). Peculiarly, it is the only Dirty Harry movie upon which Eastwood also doubled up as director. It isn't a whole success, with some needless scenes (what's the point of the sequence detailing the hold-up of a coffee shop?) and a couple of overly hammy performances by the main villains (especially the trailer trash redhead). On the whole, though, this is a very interesting and unusual addition to the series which gets by on the strength of being totally different to all the other four episodes.