Review of The Gauntlet (1977) by Ola G — 29 Dec 2018

Ben Shockley (Clint Eastwood), an alcoholic cop from Phoenix, is given the task to escort witness Gus Mally (Sondra Locke) from Las Vegas. His superior, Commissioner Blakelock (William Prince), says she is a "nothing witness" for a "nothing trial." Mally protests that they are both set up to be killed in a hit, which a jaded Shockley doubts. Mally reveals herself to be a belligerent prostitute with mob ties and is in possession of incriminating information concerning a high figure in society. Her suspicions are confirmed when the transport vehicle is bombed and Mally's house is fired upon. Shockley and Mally are then pursued across the open country with no official assistance and with the police force regarding them as fugitives. They kidnap a local constable, who they then let go, as Mally knows there will be another hit. The constable is killed at the hands of several men armed with machine guns. They eventually run into a gang of bikers whom Shockley threatens with his revolver, then confiscates one of their motorcycles and takes off on it with Mally. It is revealed that Blakelock wants them dead, because Mally understands about Blakelock's secret life. Assistant District Attorney Feyderspiel is involved with the plot to kill Shockley and Mally. They are also blamed for the murder of the constable. Shockley needs to get Mally safe and sound to the trial, no matter what it takes for them to stay alive...

Although a hit with the public, the critics were mixed about the film. Judith Crist of the New York Post wrote that the film was "a mindless compendium of stale plot and stereotyped characters varnished with foul language and garnished with violence". Roger Ebert, on the other hand, gave it three stars and called it "...classic Clint Eastwood: fast, furious, and funny". David Ansen of Newsweek wrote, "You don't believe a minute of it, but at the end of the quest, it's hard not to chuckle and cheer".

This 1977 action thriller directed and starring Clint Eastwood is ok, but yet a bit different in some ways for being a Clint Eastwood film. There´s nothing unique storyline wise in terms of the main character being set up by people above him, but the journey itself from the beginning till the end is a bit "unique". The film is on the other hand a classic entertaining Eastwood film, but the fact remains that the story is a bit absurd, over-the-top in many scenes, not that much in touch with reality and has one or two holes in it. Clint is a bit on autopilot while Locke adds energy and dynamics to her ferocious character. And I do like the setting in.

Phoenix. Not amongst Eastwood best, but still ok.

Trivia: Written by Dennis Shryack and Michal Butler, the film was originally set to star Marlon Brando and Barbra Streisand; Brando subsequently withdrew, replaced by Steve McQueen. However, differences between Streisand and McQueen ultimately led to their joint departure in favor of Eastwood and Locke. The Gauntlet was filmed in Phoenix, Arizona and Las Vegas, Nevada, as well as in nearby deserts in both states. For the house scene, it was built at a cost of $250,000 and included 7,000 drilled holes that would include explosive squibs for its demolition. The helicopter chase scene included a helicopter that was built without an engine for the crash sequence. To simulate the gunshots from the gauntlet of officers at the end of the film, the bus was blasted with 8,000 squibs. From the total budget of $5.5 million, $1 million was spent on the various action sequences.

Frank Frazetta painted the super-stylized promotional billboard poster for the film. The poster features a "muscled colossus Eastwood, brandishing a pistol, and scantily clad Locke, her clothes teasingly shredded, clinging onto her hero".

According to a Warner Bros. executive at the time, when the movie was shown in test screenings and it reached the climax, most of the audience shouted out "Shoot at the bus tires, you idiots!".