The Gauntlet

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Matthew D Clint Eastwood is riveting as a tough cop that’s basically still Dirty Harry. Director Clint Eastwood’s action crime thriller The Gauntlet (1977) is very cool and surprisingly funny! Eastwood’s direction delivers sharp gunslinging and amusing character interactions. It’s almost a humorous take on Bonnie & Clyde, but with a cop and witness. I thought of Easy Rider as an influence as well with the desert motorcycle rides. The thought occurred to me that Clint Eastwood would have nailed Peter Fonda’s role in Easy Rider. I love how small scale The Gauntlet feels as we follow Clint Eastwood’s brutal cop and Sondra Locke’s smart talking hooker the entire time. We get wild car chases and some killer shootouts. The police endlessly shooting the witness’ house is hilarious as Eastwood’s face looks shocked. Writers Michael Butler and Dennis Shryack came up with hilarious modern lines for Clint to gruffly grunt out. The Gauntlet boasts a strong script. It feels fresh with toxic macho men getting taken down a notch by a strong-willed woman. I like the story about a mob witness getting transported by a rough alcoholic cop. The potential corrupt police setting the cops and the furious mob on them is very neat. There’s high tension and suspense alongside the action and humor. Clint gets increasingly mad and it’s so funny. Sondra Locke is hysterical as the fast talking prostitute and mob witness. Her insults to Eastwood are a scream! Editors Joel Cox and Ferris Webster cut sharply for a super brisk pace. The Gauntlet is also a tight 109 minutes. Cinematographer Rexford L. Metz’s wide shots use tons of cool shadows and striking framing. The medium and close-up shots look quite beautiful. Norman Glasser’s lighting is fabulous and gets creative with how he highlights the shadows against faces. Clint Eastwood is a riot as the back talking and grumpy Detective Ben Shockley, who is an alcoholic cop that becomes a patsy in a mob trial, since he has to take the witness to court. Eastwood’s performance is funny in his shocked reactions to Locke’s wise cracking as well as his bitter insults. He’s really entertaining and surprisingly comedic. He’s also super cool in the shootouts and threatening people with his gun. Eastwood rarely has looked cooler than the motorcycle ride during the helicopter chase. Sondra Locke is fabulous in an outstanding dramatic role for her as hooker Augustina Mally, who goes by Gus Mally. Locke effortlessly argues with Eastwood and counters his logic with a fierce acting performance. The Gauntlet is easily some of her greatest film acting. Pat Hingle’s clueless cop Detective Maynard Josephson is fun during his charming little conversations with Eastwood. William Prince is excellent as the sinister Police Commissioner Edgar A. Blakelock. Bill McKinney’s cameo as the foolish, sleazy Constable ranges from hysterical to chilling. Carole Cook’s cameo as The Waitress who complains about airplanes is so great. Jeff Morris’ amiable Desk Sergeant and Doug McGrath’s incredulous Bookie are solid additions too. Composer Jerry Fielding’s film score is ominous jazz with a lively atmosphere. Sound designers Les Fresholtz, Michael Minkler, and Keith Stafford provide loud echoing gunshots for the plethora of bullets shots during The Gauntlet. Makeup artist Don Schoenfeld makes Sonda Locke look quite pretty and natural. I kept thinking she looks like Judy Greer here. Hairstylist Lorraine Roberson’s flowing hairstyle for Locke looks amazing. In short, The Gauntlet is hilarious and exciting with two fantastic lead acting performances from Clint Eastwood and Sondra Locke. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/06/24 Full Review Laurie S Good movie with flaws. It was good the cops didn't shoot for the bus's tyres or the film would have finished earlier. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 10/30/24 Full Review CodyZamboni Z Funny, Exciting, As old school cop, Eastwood is set up to fail when he escorts mob witness to trial. Loaded with smart trashy dialogue, and thousands of rounds of ammo fired, Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 09/01/24 Full Review Bahad j The idea behind this movie moved me a lot, but it was a movie with really satisfying expectations Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/11/24 Full Review Les N Apart from Sondra Locke, well worth watching Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 11/17/23 Full Review Steve D ok, fans will have fun. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 08/11/23 Full Review Read all reviews

The Gauntlet

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