The Gauntlet (1977)

Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

A Major Disappointment

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

"The Gauntlet" isn't one of Clint Eastwood's most important films but judged on its own merits, it is an entertaining film. Sandra Locke does well as the witness who is being put into protective custody, so that she can testify against corruption in the police force and in the D.A's office. There follows a long journey for Clint Eastwood and Sandra Locke as they encounter many a danger before they reach the safety of the courts. The action is good in this one.

Clint Eastwood pays Ben Shockley, a tough, hard-drinking, washed up and not overly effective cop. Not much is expected of him, yet he's assigned to escort a "nothing" witness (feisty hooker "Gus" Mally, played by Eastwoods' gal pal of the era, Sondra Locke) to a "nothing" trial. However, he'll find that the truth is different from what he's been told, and that there are powerful people who will not want to see him accomplish his mission.The movie, which works as something of a predecessor to "Midnight Run", is well shot (by Rexford L. Metz) in Panavision, and adequately paced. It has just as many decent character moments as it does thrills. The action is deliberately made to be way over the top, with tons of bullets pumped into a house, a car, and, eventually, a bus. So, as an exercise in excess, "The Gauntlet" does do its job.Clint is fine as always. He still exhibits a trademark cool and his character displays an unexpected tenacity: he's going to prove that he's a better cop than people (including himself) might believe him to be. And Locke actually does just fine, in one of her better roles. You do like her more as the story plays out, and she and Clint work well together.The supporting cast is excellent, especially Pat Hingle as Shockley's old friend and colleague Josephson. "Deliverance" villain Bill McKinney has a memorable role as a constable forced to drive Ben and Gus to a rendezvous. Other familiar faces include William Prince as the police commissioner, Michael Cavanaugh as the assistant D.A., Mara Corday as a jail matron, Doug McGrath as a bookie, Jeff Morris as a desk sergeant, and Roy Jenson as one of the three vindictive bikers.The amount of firepower unleashed in this thing is truly mind-boggling. The final set piece is pretty damn intense, but there's a well executed helicopter / motorcycle chase preceding it that is exciting. It's true enough that "The Gauntlet" defies credibility at times, but those Clint fans just hoping for some good non-think entertainment should be satisfied with the amount of action doled out.Seven out of 10.

Clint Eastwood directs and stars as alcoholic and undistinguished Phoenix cop Ben Shockley, who is given a seemingly routine assignment of escorting a prisoner(Sondra Locke) from Las Vegas back to Phoenix to stand trial. Shockley then learns that his prisoner is really a witness set to testify against the mob, and that there is even public betting on him losing her! Shockley then decides he will bring in his witness, no matter how many attempts on their lives are made(and corruption in the police department is revealed), even if they have to drive an armored-plated bus(and survive the gauntlet of police) by city hall to safety.Though filled with action, and peppered with salty dialogue, this film becomes increasingly preposterous, leading to a truly stupid, heavy handed finale. So bad it is almost good; certainly a cult classic.

This movie gets a bad rap for it's implausible story line and outrageous shoot outs, but if you're in the mood for that sort of thing, it's a hard one to top. Clint Eastwood serves double duty as the film's director and leading man, with then live-in companion Sondra Locke. Locke always struck me as a good looking woman as long as you caught her at just the right angle. She showed a few of those here, but facial profiles didn't do her justice. I made the mistake once of telling someone they looked like her and they took it as an insult, so on that basis, I now refrain from telling women they look like movie stars.But Locke does get to deliver some intelligent dialogue in the film. Even though her character is a prostitute, she's also a college graduate who seems to be a couple of steps ahead of detective Ben Shockley (Eastwood) in figuring out why they're considered a fifty to one shot against making it back to Phoenix for a mob trial. I thought Eastwood was actually pretty generous in the way he allowed her to spell out the situation so he could catch up. Not many leading actors are confident enough to accept that kind of dynamic with their co-star.Anyway, the film offers a lot of unbelievable scenarios that are quite ridiculous when you take a minute to analyze what's going on - like the house massacre, the helicopter chase, and especially the bus scene from which the picture takes it's name. But hey, it's Eastwood and you could cut him some slack because not not just anyone could have pulled off something like this. Like the eventual odds in the story, "The Gauntlet" pulled off a hundred to one shot in kick-ass entertainment value. Say, I wonder if Gus Mally ever collected on her bet.