You know when you have arrived as an actor when the President of the USA quotes you – and with SUDDEN IMPACT, Clint Eastwood created one of the most iconic lines, uttered early on as he takes down a group of robbers in a coffee shop.
The third sequel in the DIRTY HARRY series, SUDDEN IMPACT sees Harry investigating a death in a clifftop layby where a man has died with two shots, one to the head and one to his middle. The trail leads him to a small town south of San Francisco, where more deaths are discovered.
The suspicion points to a woman, Jennifer Spencer (Sondra Locke), who seems to have a history and Harry is assigned to the local police department, where the Chief, Jannings (Pat Hingle) is determined to keep the history local, but Harry being Harry, things are never going to stay covered up….
More sleazy and violent that its’ predecessors, SUDDEN IMPACT proved to be even bigger box-office for the character, in a period that also saw Eastwood do well with TIGHTROPE at the end of 1984.