By Eric M. Blake @ hardboiledfilms
“Look, she wants to play lumberjack, she’s gonna have to learn to handle her end of the log!”
Sadly, screenwriter John Millius moved on from the Dirty Harry flicks after Magnum Force. However, the show must go on—and go on it did. And with or without Millius, the conservatism of the franchise remained. Plus, the third entry in the franchise helped establish a new star who would continue in a “girl cop” role in one of the classic shows of the 1980s.
But maybe I’m a little ahead of myself. Ladies and gentlemen, Dirty Harry 3: The Enforcer.
WHY THE ENFORCER IS A CONSERVATIVE FILM:
With Magnum Force setting the record straight on Harry’s methods as a cop—establishing exactly where the line is drawn between actual police-state “strongman” stuff and just getting the job done, the issue for the studio was: Where, if anywhere, would the franchise go, from here? With the questions of crime and due process settled, how could they keep the franchise alive, without just retreading old ground, or worse, forcing things?
Well, why not focus on some other issues plaguing the police of real life? In the 1970s, there was certainly some nice new material coming in, in fact, an issue that could only be tackled by someone known to be unshackled from the now-growing trend of Political Correctness, someone willing to ask the hard questions that needed to be asked.
Someone like Harry Callahan, perhaps?
“Feminism Was Established”
Second-wave feminism was on the rise, and the million-dollar question was: “Women want the exact same workforce opportunities as men, so, how does the workforce approach that?”
Should it dismiss those desires? That clearly wasn’t going to work. The second-wavers weren’t going anywhere, and if there was one thing you knew about women’s lib, it’s that it—was—vocal.
Clearly, these women weren’t going to rest until they “broke the glass ceiling.” The issue, however, was which ceilings were made of glass. In this case, should a woman be allowed on the police force, on armed patrol—facing bank robberies and homicides? Could she be trusted to keep her cool under fire and be an asset—not a liability?
It’s the sort of debate that would have to be settled honestly—taking nothing for granted. After all, even most second-wavers found they had to admit that, yes, there are, in fact, inherent differences between men and women.
Especially if “men are pigs”—they certainly weren’t going to say that women are, too.
Of course, not all Second-Wavers were man-hating militants. Even leaving aside the great Camille Paglia and Christina Hoff Sommers, many understood (or at least paid lip service to) the need to come across as “the good gals.” Whether they succeeded or not is another matter. After all, the stereotype of the stiff, rigid, prudish matron with a chip on her shoulder the size of Montana exists for a reason. But I digress.
All that aside, the idea quickly arose that, in order to appease the Second-Wavers, society’s institutions would have to set up effective affirmative-action boards instituting quotas for women to fill.
And as always turns out to be the case when quotas are instituted, the question arises, “But are these people good at this job?”
Or, at least, it would arise if the boards let it.
“Her End Of The Log”
After a rather messy handling of a hostage situation, Harry finds himself transferred to Personnel, on notice. There, he comes face-to-face with the double-standards of gender quotas.
Even before Harry shows up, we see the board—looking for eight officers to promote to inspector—grilling a male applicant, putting pressure on him to make a snap decision immediately. And yet, with the quotas and all, it soon becomes clear, to Harry’s chagrin, that this same board isn’t exactly holding the female applicants to the same standard—due in no small part to the Second-Waver seated there to “monitor.” And yes, she checks all the boxes listed above—down to the snobbish sort of prudery and the “you think women should stay in the kitchen” strawman-dropping.
It’s here that we’re introduced to then-Officer Kate Moore. Note carefully how the scene proceeds:
You see how Harry reacts in the end? After being the only one willing to hold Moore to the exact same standards as the guy they’d just dismissed, he noticeably does a double-take when Moore keeps her cool and delivers a darned good answer. She’s won his respect—in part, at least.
And to her credit, once she’s assigned as his new partner, Moore quickly notes that she doesn’t expect or want any special consideration.
“Marvelous….”
She proves to be quite green but eager and a good learner. In one instance early on, when they’re in hot pursuit of a suspect who tosses a briefcase in a dumpster, Moore allows Callahan to focus on the man while she grabs the evidence. They’re a great team before they even know it.
Still, the film makes sure to call attention to some important little details—particularly Moore’s physical skills or lack thereof.
Physical Standards
In the “board” scene, Harry asks for Kate’s marathon record. When she finally tells him, later on, Harry notes he wasn’t just picking on her.
The exchange is frankly even more meaningful today, with the current debate still raging about women in combat.
It’s no secret that men in the military are held to higher physical standards than women. To anyone other than a feminist, the reasons are obvious: As a rule, men are inherently stronger and faster than women. That’s a simple, biological fact. Mind you, there are especially weak men and especially strong women—but we’re talking averages. There’s a reason that letting men into women’s sports under the guise of transgenderism has invariably resulted in those men dominating—because of clear, simple biology. And as the great Ben Shapiro tells us: “Facts don’t care about your feelings.”
The problem, then, arises when you start talking about women on the front lines, either on the battlefield or out on the street as a cop. And the lesson is clear: If you want our girls to go through the exact same wartime scenarios as our boys, they need to be held to the exact same physical standards. Simple as that.
If a woman is going to be in combat, she has to be able to carry the same loads. She has to be able to pull wounded comrades out of danger. She has to be able to take everything her average male counterpart can. Otherwise, she’s as much a liability as any man who can’t.
Besides, isn’t feminism supposed to be about, well, equality or something?
At any rate, over the course of the film we see Inspector Moore earning Callahan’s respect—not so much as a female cop, but simply as a good cop.
As an equal.
Populist Frauds Of The Left
The villains in this movie are an interesting bunch. They’re called The People’s Revolutionary Strike Force. Already we have two go-to terms for Lefties, “People’s” and “Revolutionary.” One of the members is even a hippie chick with a headband.
And early on, as they prepare for a weapons heist, we hear:
“All right, you guys—now, this is for the people.”
“Right on!—for the people!”
However, the leader Bobby Maxwell just grumbles at this, “Spare me.” The rank-and-file may be True Believers, but as far as he’s concerned, it’s just for the money. Story of the Modern Left.
“Power to the people.”
Honest Brokers
In the meantime, there’s another organization Harry’s superiors want checked out—Uhuru, a black militant group somewhat modeled after the Black Panthers. (It has nothing to do with Star Trek, by the way. By pure coincidence, Uhuru is the Swahili word for “freedom”). The group’s leader, Mustapha, soon develops a curious chemistry with Harry over a mutual contempt for the established order that’s dismissed them both.
Virtue Signaling
Mustapha’s crew is quickly rounded up over nothing more than Capt. McKay’s suspicions and the ambitious captain tells the mayor he wants the credit to go to Callahan and Moore—for no other reason than to publicly proclaim the success of the “women in the force” policy. It’s nonsense. It’s virtue signaling. And Harry wants no part of it—especially after the deal he had settled with Mustapha. Besides, as Harry notes, amid all this nonsense, the real terrorists are still out there!
Notably, Kate doesn’t like it either, and when she makes that clear to Harry, it’s obvious she’s solidified his respect.
For Bonus Points
Callahan is told that “the minority community has just about had it with this kind of police work.” Harry’s response: “By ‘minority community,’ I suppose you’re talking about the hoods, huh?”
Harry reacts to the verbal racism of the Uhuru members with amusement—making a point to troll them when they offer “hospitality” to Kate:
“Well that’s mighty white of you.”
Trigger warning!
Bobby Maxwell is revealed to have been in Vietnam, but unlike the typical Evil Vietnam Vet portrayed by Hollywood, the film emphasizes that his villainy is not a result of PTSD. Rather, he was so rotten to begin with that he was dishonorably discharged. The military experience is clearly only included to explain his skills with advanced weaponry.
Finally, Harry arguably does become a vigilante in the last act of the film, mainly because Capt. McKay forces him to turn in his badge for refusing to play ball over the Mustapha arrest. Harry doesn’t exactly have much of a choice after that.
WHY THE ENFORCER IS A GREAT FILM:
The Enforcer is essentially the “middle child” of the Dirty Harry films. Most people remember the first one and the fourth, Sudden Impact (the latter, often just for that classic line “Go ahead. Make my day.”) Sometimes they’ll remember Magnum Force, and sometimes the last one, The Dead Pool (mostly just for being a less-than-ideal end to the franchise). But The Enforcer tends to be pretty much forgotten about.
It’s a shame because that makes it highly underrated.
There are many great moments in this one. For example, the wife of a dying cop notes to Harry, “It’s a war, isn’t it? I guess I never really understood that.”
With Millius gone, though, The Enforcer doesn’t have quite the same hard edge as the first two films. It’s stylistically “lighter”—not that that’s a bad thing. On the contrary, it’s for the best the filmmakers didn’t try to keep to the “same old, same old.”
The addition of Stirling Silliphant can largely be thanked for that. This veteran screenwriter is known for his sparkling dialogue and well-aimed wit, especially in the Route 66 series and In The Heat Of The Night. That’s right: You can thank him for Sidney Poitier’s most immortal line, the “patiently” deliberate and fed-up “They call me ‘Mister Tibbs!’”
As was the case with Millius, Silliphant wasn’t the sole screenwriter, but it’s his style. While other writers focused on tightening the plot and playing up the action, he fleshed out the characterization—particularly the dynamic between Callahan and Moore.
Clint Eastwood, Third Time Around
There isn’t much else to say about Clint’s Harry Callahan, is there? Although there is the sadness in his eyes over losing another partner. There’s the twinkle as he develops a chemistry with Moore. There’s the chuckles he shares with Mustapha. And there’s the cool head he keeps amid the righteous fury he clearly feels.
Clint’s clearly as comfortable in this role as any of the finest actors. He inhabits Harry Callahan, making him feel real. There’s never a false moment—everything he does makes us believe, “Yeah, Harry would do that.”
Tyne Daly as Kate Moore
Daly’s role in this film almost certainly paved the way for her most famous role. For those who don’t remember, she went on to be the second name in that iconic two-girl cop team, Cagney & Lacey.
Here, she gives Inspector Moore a wet-behind-the-ears eagerness to do her job—and a professional’s motivation to do it well, rather than just getting by on the quota thing. Kate is green as all get out, but her enthusiasm charms us, and her ability to prove very helpful to Harry in the moments that count impresses us.
It’s a shame, really. It would’ve been great to see her continue into the later films, growing into her position as Harry’s partner. Regardless, she does “handle her end of the log” and saves Harry’s life—twice.
By The Way
Stirling Silliphant actually wrote a treatment of a proposed Atlas Shrugged miniseries, which was heartily approved by Ayn Rand herself, who was a big fan of Silliphant’s work. Alas, new management at NBC axed the production. Supposedly, Clint himself was keen on getting involved, most likely as Hank Rearden.
The Enforcer was intended to be the final Dirty Harry, making a trilogy. However, popular demand brought him back in the ‘80s for Sudden Impact.
WHAT’S NOT ON THE LIST:
Sadly, once again, I can’t just list the whole series—for different reasons:
Sudden Impact (1983):
Sudden Impact is a pretty good film, and it is the source of the quintessential Clint Eastwood line (aside from “Yeah,” of course).
But it’s not particularly political, at least not overtly; it concerns Harry confronting a civilian avenging herself on her rapists.
Now, as you may remember from my Inglourious Basterds article, I’ve long entertained a theory that “revenge/vigilante” films are inherently libertarian—not “fascistic,” as they’re sometimes laughably branded. (The idea being that an individual citizen rejecting the authority of the government and solving her problems herself is somehow “fascist.” Really?) They’re actually centered on the premise that you can’t rely on the government to solve your problems for you—you have to take up arms and do it yourself. The victim and Harry even have a nice conversation to this effect.
Still, it’s just a theory. And if I were to accept it as sole grounds to include a film on the list, the list would get real bloated real fast. And then I’d start getting the “That’s a stretch!” outcries I’ve been trying to avoid. So, in the absence of any set links to political issues, I have to pass on such films, despite how much I’d love to talk about Kill Bill, for example.
Mind you, early on in the film, a case Harry was on is thrown out of court for inadmissible evidence, but the reason why is vague. The movie came out four years before Arizona v. Hicks solidified the “plain view” doctrine, and that’s likely the issue—but again, it’d be against my policy to just assume.
Some interesting trivia before we move on from Sudden Impact: The female lead, Sondra Locke, was Clint Eastwood’s long-time girlfriend, before a very complicated breakup. Also, this film is actually directed by Clint.
The Dead Pool (1988):
Well, this one’s fairly obvious, right?
Actually, The Dead Pool isn’t that bad, per se. It’s highly entertaining—even including Harry’s Chinese partner doing some Kung Fu moves, plus a very unique sort of car chase that you just have to see to believe!
I’m just not aware of anyone who considers The Dead Pool a “great” film. It’s generally regarded as the weakest in the series, and I don’t see much reason to disagree, even if it does feature Jim Carrey (at his super-hammy best) and the great Liam Neeson in very early roles.
For a finale, the series could’ve done a whole lot better. Alas, Clint has noted that he doesn’t intend to make an “old Dirty Harry” film, even for the sake of giving him a proper send-off with “one last mission.” He feels he’s a bit too old for that.
As for the politics, The Dead Pool does touch on issues regarding the dark side-effects of the power of the press. Still, in the end, it’s got nothing to do with political bias.
It is worth noting, though, that at this point in the series, Harry is getting the respect he deserves from the city, and as the movie begins, a man he’s arrested is actually convicted!
Also, the film has a nice line about the system’s failures to properly screen the mentally unsound—along with hints at a commentary on violence in cinema and whether it can “influence” people.
By the way, the film takes a rather sadistic shot at Pauline Kael, with a caricature of her as one of the murder victims. Oh, and you guessed it—The Dead Pool was the direct inspiration for the name of a certain Merc With A Mouth.
As for The Enforcer, buy the movie here. And stay Cultured, my friends.
Any recommendations for films to make the series? Read the rules here, and let us know!