The Gauntlet

The Gauntlet (1977)

  • 82% of critics liked it
    (17 reviews)

  • 53% of users liked it
    (9,029 ratings)

Playing police stooge Ben Shockley, Clint Eastwood sends up his Dirty Harry-ness in this 1977 cop film-action movie-romantic comedy. Ben is assigned to escort tough Vegas hooker Gus Mally (Sondra Locke) to Phoenix for a Mob trial because, he thinks, he always "gets the job done." But… More

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R,
Directed By
Written By
Michael Butler, Dennis Shryack
Genres
Mystery & Suspense, Action & Adventure
In Theaters
Jan 1, 1977 Wide
Warner Home Video

Critic Reviews

  • Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

    A crime picture in which Clint Eastwood departs quite effectively from his Dirty Harry character

  • Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid

    It's an absurdly violent tale, but the violence eventually reaches an almost avant-garde, visual dimension.

  • Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion

    A personal vision, as bold and outrageous as late-Peckinpah's, of Man versus the Cosmos

  • David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews

    ...suffers from a pervasively muted atmosphere that effectively drains its more overtly thrilling interludes of their impact.

  • Steve Crum, Video-Reviewmaster.com

    Contrived to the point of ridiculous, but still bizarre enough Eastwood to watch.

Read all 8 critic reviews

See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Al S


    An absurdly entertaining action-thriller. A slam-bang entertainment ride that's filled with enough action, suspense, comedy and surprising romance for two films. An explosive and over the top adrenaline-rush from start to finish. Clint Eastwood stars and directs this hard-edged… More

  • xGary X


    Burnt out cop Clint Eastwood is sent to extradite a federal witness and finds himself targeted by both the mob and his own police force. After the success of Dirt Harry, Clint made the tough guy cop thriller his bread and butter and The Gauntlet is a Harry sequel in all but name only.… More

  • Anthony L


    I've read somewhere that this film is essentially an urban-domestic parable about the soldierly fallacy of the Vietnam War and a reaction to the police force highlighting the issues with their conformity, mechanised compliance and nihilistic indulgences. If that is the case… More

  • jay n


    Utterly ridiculous but undemanding crime drama.

  • Conner R


    If you are a Clint Eastwood fan, this is one of the coolest movies ever made. It's like Dirty Harry and Coogan's Bluff combined into one, with enough action and bloodshed to satisfy anyone's needs. Clint Eastwood churns out the classic one-liners and carries a hand… More

Read all 13 featured audience ratings

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