Synopsis: A Prisoner On The loose, A Cop Over The Edge. This Town Ain’t Big Enough For The Both Of Them.

Clint Eastwood stars as Walt Coogan, a soft-spoken, straightforward Arizona lawman who is sent to New York to extradite captured murderer James Ringerman (Don Stroud). Coogan slips up, Ringerman escapes again, and the hunt is on! Coogan’s unorthodox law enforcement techniques don’t go over too well with frustrated NYC Police Lieutenant McElroy (Lee J. Cobb), who can’t decide which is worse…the prisoner or the lawman!
***********************************************************************

Coogan’s Bluff 6.5

The lesser of the Don Siegel/Clint Eastwood triumvirate (which includes the far superior movies ‘Dirty Harry’ and ‘Escape From Alcatraz’), ‘Coogan’s Bluff’ is a mildly enjoyable fish-out-of-water story about an Arizona Sheriff who has to go to the Big Apple for a prisoner transfer. Eastwood growls appropriately for the role and the characters are interesting or amusing enough to keep the viewer going for the 90+ mins – but it’s hardly memorable.

There are, however, a few directorial choices along the way that are interesting, like fight scenes shot from a distance (instead of the usual, jump-cutting close ups) and that sort of thing. But that’s about the end of it. For the Eastwood die-hards or the infinitely curious 🙂