The Dead Pool

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The Dead Pool

The Dead Pool theatrical poster
Directed by Buddy Van Horn
Produced by David Valdes
Written by Steve Sharon (story & screenplay)
Durk Pearson
Sandy Shaw
Starring Clint Eastwood
Patricia Clarkson
Liam Neeson
Evan C. Kim
David Hunt
Music by Lalo Schifrin
Cinematography Jack N. Green
Editing by Ron Spang
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date(s) July 13, 1988
Running time 91 min.
Country Flag of the United States United States
Language English
Preceded by Sudden Impact (1983)
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

The Dead Pool (1988) is the fifth and last film in the Dirty Harry film series, set in San Francisco, California and starring Clint Eastwood as Inspector 'Dirty' Harry Callahan.

Contents

[edit] Plot

Celebrity finally catches up with Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) who put crime boss Lou Janero (Anthony Charnota) into prison. One night, Callahan is attacked by Janero's men at a turnoff near the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge while driving. However, he surprises and shoots them dead before they finish their job. Callahan and his new Chinese American, martial arts-skilled partner Al Quan (Evan C. Kim) are assigned to investigate the death of rock singer Johnny Squares (Played by a then unknown Jim Carrey, credited as James Carrey).

After film director Peter Swan's (Liam Neeson) producer is killed in a Chinatown restaurant robbery, Callahan discovers that he, together with Johnny Squares are part of a game in which participants try to predict the most celebrity deaths, presumably from natural causes or from those that work in dangerous professions, and in a turn of events, two more celebrities on the list are killed. Along the way Harry has to deal with the media (particularly reporter and later love interest Samantha Walker (Patricia Clarkson), to balance their interference with the investigation against the public's right to know. She also proposes to do an in-depth profile on Callahan for her news report, while he wants to simply perform his job and stay out of the limelight. After one dinner meeting, they narrowly escape being shot dead by Janero's men in an elevator outside a restaurant, leading the reporter to reconsider the plight of police officers.

Callahan helps resolve a situation where a man, who is rumoured to be responsible for the murders, tries to burn himself to get on the news so people will know the real him. In the end, it turns out that the killer is a deranged fan of Swan, named Harlan Rook (David Hunt) who thinks all of his ideas and work have been stolen by Swan. It is also known that Swan had filed a restraining order against Rook a year before.

Next morning, Callahan and Quan are pursued through San Francisco's hilly streets in an unmarked squad car by a remote controlled bomb assembled by Rook, disguised as a radio controlled car. The bomb explodes and leaves Quan injured in the blast and unable to continue as Callahan's partner. Meanwhile, Rook, disguised as Swan calls Walker at the television station to Swan's film studio to give her an interview, which is actually a trap. Soon after, Rook's home is raided by the police and torn posters of Swan's films are found.

Callahan then drives to Swan's film studio where Walker is held captive by Rook. Callahan reluctantly surrenders his .44 Magnum revolver to Rook when he nearly slits her throat. Walker and Callahan escape and Callahan lures him to a pier after a chase. Rook, who has run out of bullets, is shot by Callahan with a harpoon, killing him instantly.

The film ends as Walker and Callahan leaving the pier, while the police arrive at the scene.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Car chase

Callahan is pursued through San Francisco's hilly streets in his unmarked Oldsmobile 98 squad car by a remote controlled bomb assembled by Rook, disguised as a radio controlled car. The "bomb" was in fact a highly modified Associated RC10 competition buggy topped with an off-the-shelf 1963 Chevrolet Corvette body from hobby accessory manufacturer Parma International. It was driven by world-champion radio control driver "Jammin'" Jay Halsey and was electrically powered. The sound effects of the "engine" were added in post production. This chase scene has many similarities to, and in fact may be considered a parody of[citation needed], the famous chase scene in the Steve McQueen movie Bullitt.

[edit] Reception

Critical reaction to the film was mixed (scoring a 54% on Rotten Tomatoes). Some dismissed it as all having been done before (except the aforementioned toy car chase, which was highlighted in almost every review, positive or negative) while Roger Ebert almost gave the film his highest rating (3½ stars out of 4), saying it was as good as the first film.[1] Among fans, opinion was also divided. As of early 2008, the film is considered a cult favorite.

The film is noteworthy as being one of Jim Carrey's first film roles; he is credited as "James Carrey". The movie also stars Evan C. Kim as Harry's partner Al Quan, Patricia Clarkson as the reporter Samantha Walker, David Hunt as Harlan Rook, and Michael Currie as Captain Donnelly. The 1980s rock band Guns N' Roses makes a cameo appearance at the funeral of Johnny Squares. The Dead Pool is notable as the only Dirty Harry movie in which Albert Popwell does not appear.

[edit] Soundtrack

The song "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns N' Roses appears in the movie as the theme song for Swan's movie. Some members of the band including Axl Rose, Slash and Izzy Stradlin have credited cameos in the film, including at the funeral of Johnny Squares played by Jim Carrey.

[edit] Influence

  • The popular website Rotten.com has added a section called the 'Rotten Dead Pool' where people who sign up can compete to see who will die within a year, as was seen in the film.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Roger Ebert's review of The Dead Pool (July 13, 1988)

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Dirty Harry series
Harry Callahan
The Films
Dirty Harry · Magnum Force · The Enforcer · Sudden Impact · The Dead Pool
Villains
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American films of the 1980s
1980 · 1981 · 1982 · 1983 · 1984 · 1985 · 1986 · 1987 · 1988 · 1989