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Coogan's Bluff

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Coogan's Bluff (Don Siegel) USA 1968
When Arizona deputy sheriff Coogan and his Stetson hit 'Pigeon-Toed Orange Peel' club in the Village, a 'clash of civilizations' hangs in the air. Quite unable to make 'peace' Coogan is yet ready for occasional 'love'.
Great 1968 Siegel/Eastwood collaboration! Siegel's son Kris Tabori came up with the discotheque's name which was in fact the sound stage for 'Phantom of the Opera' on the Universal lot. See Don's autobio 'A Siegel Film' for more details.

This movie showcases Eastwood's progression from the Spaghetti westerns of the 1960's to Dirty Harry in the 1970's. Eastwood is the classic, un-politically correct (very refreshing) anti-hippie hero in this movie. Great action and great one liners ("You better drop that blade, or you won't believe what happens next, even while it's happening).

Director: Don Siegel
Format: Color
Studio: Universal Studios
Video Release Date: May 23, 1995

Cast:

Clint Eastwood ... Deputy Sheriff Walt Coogan
Lee J. Cobb ... Det. Lt. McElroy, NYPD
Susan Clark ... Julie Roth (probation officer)
Tisha Sterling ... Linny Raven (Ringerman's girlfriend)
Don Stroud ... James Ringerman
Betty Field ... Mrs. Ellen Ringerman
Tom Tully ... Sheriff McCrea (Piute County, Arizona)
Melodie Johnson ... Millie (Coogan's girlfriend)
James Edwards ... Sgt. Wallace (stakeout cop)
Rudy Diaz ... Running Bear
David Doyle ... Pushie (tavern owner)
Louis Zorich ... Taxi driver
Meg Myles ... Big Red
Marjorie Bennett ... Mrs. Fowler (little old lady charging rape)
Seymour Cassel ... Joe (young hood)
John Coe ... Bellboy
Skip Battyn ... Omega (customer at Pigeon-Toed Orange Peel)
Albert Popwell ... Wonderful Digby (customer at Pigeon-Toed Orange Peel)
Conrad Bain ... Madison Avenue man
James Gavin ... Ferguson

Albert Henderson ... Desk sergeant
James McCallion ... Golden Hotel room clerk
Syl Lamont ... Apartment manager
Jess Osuna ... Prison hospital guard
Jerry Summers ... Good Eyes
Antonia Rey ... Mrs. Amador
Marya Henriques ... Go-go dancer at Pigeon-Toed Orange Peel
James Dukas ... Prison hospital doctor
Larry Duran ... Zig Zag
Andy Epper ... Pool player
George Fargo ... Gay boy at Pigeon-Toed Orange Peel
Scott Hale ... Dr. Scott
Ted Jacques ... Detective
James Joyce ... Man in Pigeon-toed Orange Peel
Diki Lerner ... Gay boy at Pigeon-toed Orange Peel
James McEachin ... Man
James Oliver ... Hip typeq
Robert Osterloh ... Deputy
Clifford A. Pellow ... Waiter
Allen Pinson ... Whippy
Doug Reid ... Prison hospital guard
Al Ruban ... Detective
Don Siegel ... Elevator passenger
Kristoffer Tabori ... Elevator passenger
Clark Warren ... Plainclothesman
David Brandon ... Hippie boy
Kathleen O'Malley ... Woman
Diana Rose ... Psychedelic paint girl
Colleen Thornton ... Hippie twin
Morreen Thornton ... Hippie twin
Eve Brent ... Hooker
Constance Davis ... Mother

Arizona Deputy Sheriff Coogan (Eastwood)comes to New York City to transport a prisoner, James Ringerman (Don Stroud ) back to Arizona for a suspected murder when he runs into lack of cooperation from Det. Lt. McElroy, NYPD (Lee J. Cobb), a cynical, overworked NYPD cop used to runarounds and bureaucracy. A typical provincial New Yorker who thinks New York is the center of the universe. he continually refers to
Coogan as a "cowboy", "Tex", and other diminishing names, threatening him with jail for interference, and informing him that he is "just another private citizen." It is apparent that "private citizens" get little respect in NYC from the police.

Coogan takes it upon himself to give the NYPD a lesson in extradition, Arizona style. An entertaining way to spend a couple of hours. I recommend it, like almost any other Eastwood film.

Joseph (Joe) Pierre

author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and maintenance
and other books.

Another great Clint Eastwood movie gets the DVD release treatment, and finds Clint playing the title role in this "rural cop in the big city" action drama. This movie paved the way for the long running and succesful (though much more benign) TV series "McCloud" starring Dennis Weaver, and deals with the cultural clash between a Sheriff from Arizona, and NYPD's finest. This is a fairly straightforward story, but handled very well by the Don Siegel in the directors chair, who went on to make other Eastwood gems such as Dirty Harry a couple of years later. Fighting off the constant stereotyping by his New York brother officers, Lt Coogan (Eastwood) is a laconic fish out of water, and has to track down and return to Arizona with escaped killer Ringerman, played by Don Stroud. Red tape, and more than a little obstruction by the locals, mainly in the form of Lee J Cobb as his opposite number add to his woes, along with being caught up in the 60's drug and crime scene. The story suffers a little from this point of view, as the hippie psychedelic portrayal looks a bit dated, but the action more than makes for this minor complaint. Plenty of pace makes the 95 minute running time zoom by, and even though the ending is more than a little familiar, it's still a very enjoyable movie. Good solid early Eastwood action with a few great moments of comedy thrown in, and a particularly clever choreograghed bar room brawl, complete with pool sticks and balls is worth seeing also, and durability on the rewatching scale makes this a solid buy for fans and newcomers alike. Enjoy

Great movie! This review is in the VHS section because the U.S. doesn't offer the DVD (as of Feb. 2004). they cut out the scene where is gets even with the airport dudes by messing the one guy up with the pools balls in the bar. I have the DVD that is available in every $%&! country but the US it seems, and they even cut it out of the DVD (oh yeah, the new crack down on physical violence in movies. They sure didn't mind physical violence in movies before 1990). The DVD has beautiful widescreen and multiple languages. (I got the Australian version). Did you see the conquests Coogan has in this movie!
spoiler alert* don't read if you haven't seen the movie
First he has a go at a married woman ("is he home?") then he
has a go with the bad guys girlfriend! All the while pursing a hot brunette, and even turning down a naked club girl whose knockers bump off his hat as she flies into his arms!

An Arizona law enforcer, Eastwood, tracks a fugitive to the urban jungle of New York and estranges detectives with his unconventional strategy and cowboy tactics. The film delivers a number of thrills and humorous moments as Eastwood, at home in his role, lets loose on all cylinders in his pursuit of the bad guys. The film, directed by Donald Siegel, is a prototype of the more brutal "Dirty Harry", which was also directed by Siegel, featuring Eastwood as an overviolent rogue cop, "Dirty" Harry Callahan, and was the inspiration for the hit TV series "McCloud", with its New York cowboy hero on horseback.

I first saw this movie when I was in high school some thirty years ago. I recently watched it again at the age of 38. It is still an exciting movie. An Arizona lawman comes to New York looking for a fugitive who has escaped. The Arizona native immediately has trouble with the wild west tactics of Coogan.He still continues on despite these problems.Coogan covers every section of the seedy side of New York in his pursuit of Don Stroud. During all of this chase he is steadilt rubbing the New

York police establishment the wrong way. Eventually the Arizona lawman bags his quarry. This is a good action movie.It has a good plot and the actors and actresses are also very good. This is a movie to see.

The talented team of Clintus & Sigelini (Clint Eastwood & Don Siegel) show why they paired up in so many outstanding films together with Clint Eastwood's 1968 cowboy foray into New York City !

Eastwood is the quietly spoken, straightforward Arizona lawmen Walt Coogan sent to New York City to return captured escapee James Ringerman (Don Stroud). Coogan slips up, Ringerman escapes and the hunt is on through the bars, discotheques and parks of New York City for the violent criminal. Solid character actor Lee J. Cobb, plays the frustrated New York police Lieutenant McElroy trying to keep Coogan and his rough and tumble Arizona law enforcement methods in check.

One can't help but get the feeling that "Coogans Bluff" was almost like a dry run for Clint & Don Siegel for the pair's upcoming 1971 cop thriller "Dirty Harry"....about another maverick law enforcement officer refusing to accept mediocrity !

"Coogans Bluff" is an interesting and stylish work that is still enjoyable to watch.

PS. Keep your eyes open in the sequence when Clint enters the discotheque, and they are flashing various images on the walls...you see a very quick glimpse of footage from the 1958 film "Tarantula" where Clint had a bit part as a jet pilot sent to kill the giant arachnid with napalm !!

VERY GOOD I LIKE EVERY THING FROM EASTWOOD

The inspiration for TV's long running "McCloud," this first collaboration of Clint Eastwood and director Don Siegel is a violent and frequently funny variation on the fish out of water theme of Frank Capra's "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town." Eastwood is an Arizona lawman hunting down an escaped convict in the urban jungles of New York where his unconventional methods clash with the more bureaucratic minded police force he finds in the Big Apple. Not only would "Coogan's Bluff" pave the way for Dennis Weaver's less brutal "McCloud," it also seems to have inspired Eastwood and Siegel's "Dirty Harry" with its focus on a lawman determined to bring in his man no matter how many civil rights he must ignore to do it.