Coogan's Bluff [DVD] [1968]

The script is wonderfully entertaining and perfect for Clint Eastwoods 'less talk' method of acting, particularly on the plane coming into New York when a bussiness man sitting next to Coogan looking at his cowboy hat cheerfully asks;
Texas?
-Arizona.
Rancher?
-Nope, Deputy Sherriff.
Oh one of your boys step out of line in our fair city?
-Nope, one of yours in ours.

This is the general theme of the film as Coogan is constantly asked Texas?
-Arizona.
countless times this happens and it never becomes boring only better each time.

The film was directed by Don Siegel who collaborated with Clint on some of his best films and his level of class shows on this film, particularly in a pool hall fight.
A motorbike chase has a genuinely high level of excitement as Clint and Don Stroud race around a park on Triumph motorbikes.
Watch for the moment when you can see Clint laughing when he should'nt be and then mistakenly rides straight into a wall!

On the down side the film is seriously dated with the Flower Power Hippies used as the opposite for Clints cowboy and there is one very bad piece of editing when Clint meets the desk sergent which will probably leave you laughing. But all this can be forgiven because it was an early film in Clints career, and therefore over thirty years old, so technically a bit patchy but more than making up in entertainment value.
The best role Clints played other then 'The Man With No Name' and 'Dirty Harry' in fact a combination of both with a touch of humour thrown in.

Clint plays a quiet spoken Deputy Sheriff from Arizona, Walt Coogan, who is sent over to New York to retreive a prisoner wanted in his state. However the man is in hospital and Coogan has to bluff him out so that he can take him back to Arizona without delay. On their way back to Arizona, Coogan is jumped on by some friends of the convict and he manages to escape into the concrete canyons of Manhattan. When the legal system fails him, Coogan is forced to employ his own unorthadox methods to find his prisoner.

As i have already said, Clint combines characteristics from 'the man with no name' and what would be 'Dirty Harry', adding the usual one-liners and a bit of extra comedy for good measure, and comes up with Walt Coogan a rural cop in the big city. Lee J. Cobb plays the solid Detective. Lt. McElroy who doesn't make life easy for Coogan. Susan Clark plays Julie Roth the probation officer whom Coogan falls for while in New York. Tisha Sterling plays Linny Raven, the drugged up girlfriend of the convict who Coogan is trying to catch. Finally, Don Stroud plays the convict himself, James Ringerman.

Also, during the scene in the nightclub, watch out for the big screen which is playing 'Tarantula', one of Clint very early films. One thing about the DVD itself though, is the fact that they didn't put any extras on at all, not even a trailer, which is a bit of a shame, but fans will still enjoy the film just as much, even though it may seem slightly dated in todays world.

Overall, 'Coogan's Bluff' is a nice little Clint film that seems to have been forgotton amongst classics like 'Dirty Harry', however fans of his should enjoy it tremendously, with plenty of action, punch-ups, pretty woman, chases, and of course the famous Clint one-liners that we all know and love.