The Gauntlet (1977)

Clint Eastwood stars as Ben Shockley, a gruff, tough maverick cop (natch!) who is given the task of extraditing Las Vegas hooker Gus Malley (Sondra Locke) to Phoenix, where she is to testify at a mob trial. Unfortunately for Ben, the mob have connections in the police force, and what seems like a simple job at first turns into a fight for survival against the odds.It would be easy to fault The Gauntlet for its incredibly dumb premise—the finale, in which Shockley and Malley must run a gauntlet of heavily armed police in order to reach city hall is preposterous in the extreme—but a lack of credibility is actually the least of this film's problems. Clint Eastwood's bland action direction is partly to blame, the star failing to generate any sense of excitement despite numerous situations in which certain death seems like the likely outcome for Shockley and Malley; the film's biggest drawback, however, is Sondra Locke, who couldn't act her way out of a paper bag if her life depended on it, and who doesn't even have the looks necessary to excuse such a lack of talent.

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 plays a Phoenix cop sent to Las Vegas to bring a witness back to testify at a mobster's trial. The witness is a tough, smart prostitute, played by Sondra Locke. The two clash instantly but soon find they have to rely on each other to survive because nobody seems to want Locke to make it to Phoenix alive.Underrated Eastwood movie that blends road trip comedy, romantic comedy, action, and drama all into one. Gritty and violent with an epic amount of gunfire for a '70s movie. Today that would all be CGI and lame. Clint's great. Sondra Locke has probably her best movie role here. Very good supporting cast of familiar faces. Like I said, this one's pretty underrated. If you're an Eastwood fan, you definitely should check it out.

What happen? This film started out pretty good, it had a nice plot, two good actors and most of all it was believable. Yea, Yea I know the left will say look at all the guns and violence in this movie, but hey, one of your on (Barbra Streisand) begged for this movie, but McQueen wouldn't have anything to do with her what so ever.This move turns into the "Bus That Wouldn't Die" horror show in the last 15 minutes. Over 8,000 rounds and you can't stop a Bus. If only O J had watched this movie before he tried to escape to Mexico in his Bronco.Just when you thought it could get any weirder , guess again. Commissary Blakelock pulls out a weapon in front of 600 armed policeman and just starts firing away at Clint, now you would think people would scatter everywhere with a mad man shooting, or at least try and stop him. Not these policeman, in fact you can see some of them in the background chewing gun.But all is not lost, after shooting good old boy Clint, this ex prostitute (Sondra Locke) just picks up a gun and kill's the Police Commissary right in front the whole Phoenix police department without them lifting a finger to stop her. OK, OK, sorry about spilling the beans about the ending, but trust me, I just did you a favor, now you don't have to watch this horrible movie. We love you Clint, but man, what happen here?