“Coogan’s Bluff” (1968) Starring Clint Eastwood / Z-View

Coogan’s Bluff (1968)

Director: Don Siegel

Screenplay by:  Herman Miller, Dean Riesner, Howard Rodman  from a story by Herman Miller

Starring: Clint Eastwood, Lee J. Cobb, Susan Clark, Tisha Sterling,  Don Stroud, James Edwards, David Doyle  and Albert Popwell

Tagline:  A Prisoner On the Loose, A Cop Over the Edge. This Town Ain’t Big Enough for the Both of Them.

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Walt Coogan (Eastwood) is a Deputy Sheriff sent to New York City to extradite James Ringerman (Stroud), an escaped murderer, back for trial in Arizona.  What Coogan thought would be an easy pick-up/return, turns into a mess when he learns Ringerman overdosed on LSD and is being held for medical clearance.  Coogan gets no assistance from Lt. McElroy (Cobb) who views Coogan as a “Texas” bumpkin.

Rather than wait for Ringerman to be cleared, or go through the days of paperwork to get an override for extradition, Coogan bluffs his way into the medical unit and gets custody of Ringerman.  On the way to the airport, Coogan is jumped and badly beaten by Ringerman’s crime partners.  With no police support, Coogan makes it his mission to track down Ringerman and get him back to Arizona!

Eastwood was born to play characters like Walt Coogan. Don Siegel and Eastwood make a great team (and Coogan’s Bluff is a nice warm-up for Dirty Harry).  Coogan’s Bluff isn’t a comedy, but there is a nice amount of humor mixed with the action.  Folks who only know David Doyle from Charlie’s Angels will get a kick out of him playing a tough guy.  Coogan’s Bluff was the basis for the hit series McCloud starring Dennis Weaver.

Coogan’s Bluff earns 3 of 5 stars.