THE GAUNTLET

'''The Gauntlet''' is the sixth film directed by and starring Clint Eastwood. An action picture about a police officer who must transport a witness from Las Vegas to Phoenix, it also stars Sondra Locke, Pat Hingle, William Prince, Bill McKinney, and longtime personal friend Mara Corday who would appear with Eastwood in another three films.

Contents

Plot synopsis

Promotion

Trivia

Quotes

External links

Plot synopsis

''Ben Shockley'' (Clint Eastwood), a cop from Phoenix, is well on his way to becoming a down-and-out when he is given the task to escort witness ''Gus Mally'' (Sondra Locke) from Las Vegas. Mally soon reveals herself to be a belligerent prostitute with mob ties and is in possession of incriminating information concerning a high figure in society. Shockley's suspicions are roused when the transport vehicle is bombed and Mally's house is fired upon. The two are forced to face the truth and discover their own inner strengths as they fight their way to Phoenix (from witnessing the murder of a constable in his patrol car, motorcycle gangs, and snipers in a helicopter) finally using an armored bus to run a gauntlet of hundreds of police armed with high-powered weaponry.
References to political corruption and organized crime were depicted in the film. Although a moderate hit with the viewing public, critics were mixed about the film. Eastwood's long time nemesis Judith Keil called it "a tale 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." The Gauntlet is currently rated 6.1/10 on IMDb.com and 83% ("fresh") on movie review aggregator RottenTomatoes.com.

Promotion

★ Frank Frazetta painted the promotional billboard poster for the movie.

Trivia

★ Steve McQueen and Barbra Streisand were originally cast; however, in-fighting between the two forced McQueen to drop out of the project. Clint Eastwood took over production, later replacing Streisand with Sondra Locke, as well as using his own production crew.

★ The constable's patrol car is a 1973 Ford Torino during the road scenes; when the constable meets his demise, the car switches to a Gran Torino.

★ The 'armored' bus travels through a hail of bullets without even one of its tires being shot until the very last moment.

★ The helicopter used is an Aerospatiale Gazelle.

Quotes

★ "Next turkey that tries that, I'm gonna shoot him, stuff him, and stick an apple in his ass." - Shockley

★ "I got this badge, I got this gun, and I got the love of Jesus right here in my pretty green eyes." -Shockley

★ "With all due respect, sir, this is a well-traveled highway. We don't want blood and tennis rackets all over the asphalt." - Feyderspiel

★ "On a scale of one to ten, I'd have to give her a two, and that's because I haven't seen a one before."-Shockley

★ "Does your wife know you masturbate?" -Gus Mally

External links

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