It took five years for the protagonist of Dirty Harry film series to transform from someone being accused of fascism into something resembling progressive feminist. At least this was what the creators of the third installment, 1976 film The Enforcer directed by James Fargo, were hoping for.
Clint Eastwood returns in his iconic role of Inspector Harry Callahan, police detective who tries to maintain some sort of law and order on the mean streets of San Francisco through simple, efficient, but also violent and sometimes spectacularly destructive methods. Like many times before, this is greeted with hostility by his superiors and after the latest incident he is reassigned to humiliating duty of assessing detectives’ candidates, among them desk policewoman Kate Moore (played by Tyne Daly). In the meantime, small band of leftist militants, led by homicidal psychopath and Vietnam War veteran Bobby Maxwell (played by DeVeren Bookwalter), steal weapons and explosives in order to launch campaign of terror aimed at extorting ransom from San Francisco authorities. Their killing spree forces police officials to reinstate Callahan at his old post in Homicide division, but they give him Inspector Kate Moore as new partner. Callahan is at first unhappy for being paired with a woman whom considers inexperienced and unfit for difficult job, but he gradually learns to respect her. All that happens while Maxwell and his gang escalate their campaign by kidnapping the city mayor (played by John Crawford).
Unlike previous two films, The Enforcer didn’t infuriate the critics, but it didn’t made them particularly enthusiastic. This could be explained by the script by Stirling Siliphant and Dean Riesner which uses more generic plot and doesn’t dwell much on complicated issues of urban crime explosion and police being curtailed by civil liberties. The script is actually amalgam of two different scripts – one dealing with machistic Callahan having female partner and the other inspired by the real life terrorists of Symbionese Liberation Army. It doesn’t work particularly well, because both subplots and related characters aren’t properly developed. Dark overtones and violence are somewhat toned down compared with previous film and the gratuitous nudity is reduced to single semi-humorous scene in which Callahan during the chase crashes into pornographic film set. The action isn’t particularly memorable, but it is effective. Eastwood again put his charisma to good use and competently plays the character, making his change in attitude towards Moore subtle and believable. What makes this film work is Tyne Daly in her first major film role. With her plain looks she is more believable as policewoman than a glamorous Hollywood star and her performance is very effective, paving the way for her future iconic role in TV series Cagney & Lacy. With good acting performances and steady hand of seasoned director James Fargo, The Enforcer ends as not particularly memorable film that would nevertheless satisfy Clint Eastwood fans and action genre afficionados.
RATING: 6/10 (++)
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