DON SIEGEL

Bil’s rating (out of 5):  BBBB.5.   

USA, 1971.  Warner Bros., The Malpaso Company.  Story by Harry Julian Fink, Rita M. Fink, Screenplay by Harry Julian Fink, Rita M. Fink, Dean Riesner.  Cinematography by Bruce Surtees.  Produced by Don Siegel.  Music by Lalo Schifrin.  Production Design by Dale Hennesy.  Costume Design by Glenn Wright.  Film Editing by Carl Pingitore.

Very few people walk this earth without knowing the phrase “Go ahead, make my day”.  Looking back at the actual film that the expression comes from, it’s wonderful to see that its notoriously famous tagline is actually just the start of the pleasure to be deduced from this terrific actioner, one that has aged superbly well.  Clint Eastwood is marvelous, masculine without being macho, as a tough-as-nails San Francisco cop who takes it personally when a psychotic killer begins picking citizens off randomly. He does everything in his power to track the crazed madman down, going so far that he actually frustrates his own superiors who have to constantly remind him that flouting the laws of the United States to catch the bad guy will only result in a miscarriage of justice. The tight screenplay, superb editing and Don Siegel’s seamless direction only enhance the excitement in a marvelous entertainer that deservedly achieved instant legendary status in the Hollywood classic film canon. Followed by four sequels.