Dirty Harry 3: The Enforcer (1976)

Elevator Pitch: After sorting out a hostage taking, at considerable expense, Harry is relegated to HR where he protests about the inclusion of female inspectors on the front line. When a militant group, steal military weapons and begin to create mayhem he is restored to homicide, but with a female partner, Kate Moore. She gradually gains Harry’s respect, but when the mayor is taken hostage will she be up to taking on the bad guys?

Content: During a chase a villain falls through a skylight into the midst of a porno shoot, probably to get the R rating. Harry rescues the hostages from a robbery gone wrong, by killing the robbers after crashing his car into the shop. He argues with his boss a lot, and once the terrorists are in action chases around the city with his partner after them, while the authorities continue to bumble. Quite a bit of shooting with a variety of weapons, mainly Harry’s .44 Magnum.

A View: Generally quite well thought of, particularly Tyne Daly’s role as Inspector Kate Moore. It probably works best if you are already aware of the Dirty Harry character and find the almost standard rebel cop formula acceptable. I do, and found it to be fun, with just a bit of an edge of real drama and a couple of surprises. Take in the other two films first and then this one – for the price of a download – or a second hand box set.

Additional Info: Tyne Daly initially turned down the job twice, and on accepting it and reading the script advised against a romantic involvement, which Eastwood accepted. She was apparently shocked by the level of violence in the final cut, but it got her the role in Cagney and Lacey.