Coogan's Bluff (1968)

Please don't spend money on this.

Absolutely the worst movie.

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

This movie really has not aged well. It has some interesting sets and costume designs, and the concept of west-meets-east is really neat. There are some unintentionally funny scenes in this film, like when Coogan is being bathed like a toddler in the beginning of the film. The acting is general very good. However, there is more action than substance in this film for my taste. Coogan (Eastwood's character) is a very masculine womanizer with the personal depth of a piece of wood. He does not treat the women he encounters with respect, yet they fawn over him because "the script says they should". He does not really learn anything or grow as a person, but that is not what this film is for, really, so I guess it doesn't matter.

Here Clint Eastwood gets to bring a little of the Western into an urban jungle, playing the title character, an Arizona deputy with his own way of doing things. His sheriff (Tom Tully) is tired of him, but assigns him the task of extraditing a criminal named Ringerman (Don Stroud), who's being held in NYC. Disgusted with the amount of red tape that he's obliged to wade through, Coogan obtains Ringerman through false pretenses - and then the young mans' associates get the drop on him, and Ringerman escapes. However, Coogan isn't about to let a little wounded pride get to him, as he continues to frustrate police lieutenant McElroy (Lee J. Cobb) with his methods of tracking a wanted man.Clint is a lot of fun to watch, showing off that natural screen presence that made him a star. He makes the most out of what many people agree to be a predecessor to his iconic screen role of Dirty Harry. The movie itself, produced & directed by Clints' frequent collaborator Don Siegel, works as a "fish out of water" type of story in which different approaches to law enforcement clash, and where the environment has a pivotal part to play. Use of various NYC locations is great, and Lalo Schifrins' music score is excellent. The climactic motorcycle chase is reasonably exciting, but the most striking scene of all has to be when Coogan tails Ringermans' lady friend Linny Raven (Tisha Sterling) to a nightclub. Among the images on the big screen there is a shot from "Tarantula", in which Clint had a small uncredited role.There's a great sexual chemistry between Clint and well-meaning probation officer Julie Roth (sexy Susan Clark); he also works well with Sterling, who's a delight as a cheery hippie chick. Stroud unfortunately doesn't get a lot to do, the way that the story is written, but the supporting cast, led by the always solid Cobb, includes familiar faces such as Betty Field, James Edwards, David Doyle, Louis Zorich, Seymour Cassel, Albert Popwell (who would go on to appear in four of the "Dirty Harry" movies), and Conrad Bain.A well paced and consistently entertaining movie, "Coogan's Bluff" later evolved into the 'McCloud' TV series with Dennis Weaver.Seven out of 10.

I believe Clint Eastwood started to emerge as the 1970's lead action star with his starring role in Coogan's Bluff. Don Siegel directed this absolute action movie which is a great representation of what action movies were about for the next decade or so. Clint Eastwood starred in a few of director Don Siegel's action movies, and I am sure Clint absorbed a lot of his talents as a director from watching Mr Siegel's work behind the camera. Clint plays an Arizona deputy sheriff sent to the big apple to pick up and return to Arizona a very dangerous murderer. The opening scenes of this movie have Clint chasing another on the run criminal in the mountains of Arizona and reflect Clint's unorthodox methods of hunting and capturing dangerous criminals.The Toronto, Ontario born actress Susan Clark was not only exceptionally attractive playing opposite to Clint Eastwood as his main love interest, but as a result of her complimenting the camera, she starred opposite many lead actors in the years to follow. After starring opposite NFL football star Alex Karras in the biography Babe, she married Mr. Karras in 1980 and remained with him until his death in October 2012. Don Stroud as the escaped murderer on the run, and Lee J Cobb as the lead New York investigator added depth to their characters and helped round out a strong castThis movie contains a good musical score, lot's of action, and lots of Clint Eastwood at his bad ass best. It is a classic action movie that helped Clint Eastwood and Susan Clark sustain long and endearing movie careers.

Eastwood is a sheriff's deputy from Arizona who is sent to New York to bring back a fugitive from law. Now this story line conjures up the vision of dramatic chases and action sequences, just like a typical Clint movie. However, this is different as the stress is more on the romantic side of Eastwood and his relation with Susan Clark, who works in the NYPD. Clint is pretty good in his role as the well mannered deputy. Lee J. Cobb as the lieutenant of the state police is cast perfectly. It is the script which actually proves to be the Achilles heel. Right from the name of the movie which is taken from one of the minor events in the flick to the resolution, the viewer feels disappointed. This was Don Siegel's first collaboration with Eastwood before the Dirty Harry series and the result is far from satisfying. However, it is Eastwood who really keeps you glued to the screen. 3 out of 5 for this. Recommended only for die hard Eastwood fans.