The Gauntlet

The Cop and The Pro....
This review refers to the Warner Bros. DVD edition of "The Gauntlet"....

From the moment Ben Shockley(Clint Eastwood)steps out of his car and an empty booze bottle falls out, we know this is not the usual "Dirty Harry" character we'd been used to up to now. Ben is a cop who's chances for greatness seem to be fading with him.
Eastwood directs as well as stars in this film and we see his brillant directoral style taking hold here.

The Phoenix P.D. seem to be scraping the bottom of the barrel when they assign Shockley the job of escorting Gus Malley, a seemingly unimportant witness from Las Vegas back to Phoenix for a trial. Ben's been looking for his big break on a big case and it doesn't look like this will be it with this guy. Upon arriving in Las Vegas, Ben discovers that Gus is no guy. Gus Malley(Sondra Locke), is a local prostitute and unwilling partcipant in the journey back as well. This is not "a hooker with a heart story" though, this pro is as hard...

Sondra Locke's finest hour
I read years ago that "The Gauntlet" was originally intended to feature the star matchup of Clint Eastwood and Barbra Streisand, but after Eastwood was warned by the Warner Bros. brass of La Streisand's diva tantrums on the set of "A Star is Born" he nixed the idea and cast his "Josey Wales" costar Sondra Locke instead. Admittedly, a Eastwood-Streisand matchup would have made this film a major blockbuster instead of the solid hit it was, but I'm glad it never happened. The pair would probably have had no chemistry whatsoever and Streisand would have been unbearably shrill in the role of "two bit hooker" Gus Malley. Besides, Locke is excellent in the role and proves a terrific sparring partner for Eastwood. Yes, her subsequent pairings with the legend were less than satisfactory, but for one bright shining moment, Locke's talent would shine brightly.

"The Gauntlet" actually works strictly because of the Eastwood/Locke chemistry and not because of the unbelievable plot...

The Guantlet on Blu Ray!!! Clint Eastwood takes the bus!!!
One of Eastwood's best films,and one of Sondra Locke'e for that matter,this Blu transfer blows away the previous DVD release which really wasnt all that bad,but this Blu Ray transfer and sound are just incredible,it blows the old DVD right out of the water!!!,your HD TV,and sound system will get quite a workout here!!! No extras here,just the movie,not even a trailer,but for the pretty low price,this one's worth picking up if you're a fan,worth the upgrade!!! The final scenes with the bus(Clint also had some bus action also in Dirty Harry,remember these films were made well before "Speed"!) are truly incredible,this movie is action packed!!! "The Gauntlet" is a winner!!! I've had this on VHS,DVD and now Blu Ray!!! A+

Click to Editorial Reviews