City Heat
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| City Heat | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Richard Benjamin |
| Produced by | Fritz Manes |
| Written by | Blake Edwards Joseph Stinson |
| Starring | Clint Eastwood Burt Reynolds |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | December 7, 1984 (USA) |
| Running time | 93 min. |
| Language | English |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
City Heat is the title of a 1984 action-comedy starring Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds.
City Heat was released in North America in December 1984. The pairing of Eastwood and Reynolds in a Prohibition-era action-comedy seemed to give the movie the potential to be a hit. Unfortunately, the movie bombed, taking in only $38,300,000 at the box office. Making the movie as an action film without any comedy at all may have helped it to be a bigger hit.
Controversy over Reynolds's health started when he was hit in the face with a metal chair during the filming of a fight scene. His jaw was broken and he was restricted to a liquid diet, causing him to lose over 30 pounds by the time filming wrapped. His condition made headlines in the tabloids, who suspected he had AIDS.
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[edit] Cast
- Clint Eastwood as Lieutenant Speer
- Burt Reynolds as Mike Murphy
- Jane Alexander as Addy
- Madeline Kahn as Caroline Howley
- Rip Torn as Primo Pitt
- Irene Cara as Ginny Lee
- Richard Roundtree as Dehl Swift
- Tony Lo Bianco as Leon Coll
- William Sanderson as Lonnie Ash
- Nicholas Worth as Troy Roker
- Robert Davi as Nino
- Art LaFleur as a bruiser
- Jack Nance as Aram Strossell, the bookkeeper
[edit] Plot
Set in Kansas City in 1933, Eastwood plays a police lieutenant known simply by his last name, Speer. Reynolds plays a former cop turned private eye named Mike Murphy. Both Speer and Murphy served on the force together and were once good friends, but are now bitter rivals who can't stand each other.
The movie begins on a rainy night in a popular diner. Speer comes in to have a coffee. Two goons looking for Murphy come in as well and sit down, expecting Murphy to walk through the door at any minute. Murphy does come in and the goons pounce on him, starting a fistfight. Speer, being no fan of Murphy's, decides to stay out of the fight. But when one of the goons causes him to spill his coffee, Speer joins in. Both goons are knocked out and thrown through the front door. Murphy sarcastically thanks Speer for saving his life, but Speer just gives him a hard glare and walks away.
Both Speer and Murphy have eyes for Murphy's beautiful secretary Addy (played by Jane Alexander). Addy loves both of them, and proves it when, after tenderly kissing Murphy goodbye, goes on a date with Eastwood. Murphy also finds a new romance named Caroline Howley (played by Madeline Kahn), but finds himself unable to commit himself to her because of his attraction to Addy.
Speer and Addy go to a boxing match at which the mob boss Primo Pitt (played by Rip Torn) is present. Murphy's partner Del Swift (played by Richard Roundtree) is also there, and is in cahoots with Pitt and his gang. Swift is in possession of a briefcase whose contents are the target of Pitt's gang. The audience watching the film does not know what the briefcase contains.
Swift is confronted by Pitt's thugs at his apartment one night. A struggle ensues, and Swift is shot to death. Opening the briefcase, the thug sees there's nothing inside. The thug retaliates by picking up Swift's body and throwing it out the window. Swift plunges several stories down and lands on the roof of a car driven by Speer.
Murphy vows revenge on Pitt for killing his partner, and asks Speer for assistance. Speer is reluctant, but doesn't want to see Pitt and his gang take over the city. So he agrees to help him.
One of the witnesses to Swift's murder is nightclub singer Ginny Lee (played by Irene Cara). After watching a movie, Lee is confronted by two of Pitt's thugs outside the theatre. As she tries to escape, she is hit by a car and seriously injured.
One of the problems with City Heat is the gunfights. The bad guys seem unable to hit anything, but when Eastwood's character pulls out a gun and shoots, he seems incapable of missing.
[edit] Trivia
- Blake Edwards was the original director of the film. He was fired early on and replaced with Benjamin. He retained co-writing credit under the pseudonym Sam O. Brown (The initials S.O.B. being a reference to his earlier film).
- Clint Eastwood is one of the pianists heard on the film's jazz-oriented soundtrack. Eastwood is a real-life jazz aficionado.
[edit] External links
City Heat at the Internet Movie Database
