[Inspector Abberline]

Emperor of the North .(1972)
Robert Aldrich depression set action drama not only is it set during that period in American history,but the movie itself has that feel of a film that could of been made in the 1930's starring James Cagney. Instead of Cagney we have craggy-faced Ernest Borgnine as Shack a very mean and nasty railway conductor whose job it is,is too stop all the hobo's and vagrants from jumping on to the carriages of the trains and getting free rides up and down the country. But the thorn in Shack's side is Lee Marvin as A-No.-1,the tramp all the other tramps and hobo's look up to as he manages to evade capture and ride the railway. Then along comes a very young looking Keith Carradine as Cigaret,an up and coming hobo looking to emulate Marvin's A-no-1. Aldrich gives what is on the whole a boys own adventure tale,mixed with small amount of social commentary on what life must of been like for these people who are living totally of the grid. Its a great film with an original premise,(one which must of been influence on the Coens O Brother, Where Art Thou? ) and some fine outstanding performances from the three lead actors .The ending see's Marvin and Borgnine slug it out on the train,for a final confrontation.Make a nice companion piece to Walter Hill's Hard Times.

Coogans Bluff.(1968)
Before Dirty Harry there was Coogan,a tall lanky sheriff from Arizona and not Texas as everybody in the film keeps asking him,and if you have ever seen episode of McCloud with Dennis Weaver then you know where they got that idea from.Unlike Dirty Harry,Coogan is a smug and arrogant womanizer,but like Dirty Harry he has total disregard for the rights of the criminal and the law. Coogan's Bluff is your usual fish out of water flick,Arizona deputy Coogan is sent to the big city after his boss catches him in the bath with a woman when he should of been working,naughty randy Coogan.So off to New York City to extradite villain Don Stroud as James Ringerman,of course he comes across every sort of person imaginable,from hookers to homosexuals to drugged out hippies (obviously Arizona does not have any of these ) and Mrs Fowler an oap who accuse every body she meets with rape. Of course Coogan does stand out a bit,looking amusing like Joe Buck from Midnight Cowboy a year later. Don Siegel delivers a fairly decent cop thriller,but the clash of cultures,Coogan's uptight Cop against the hippy culture and the permissive society seems slightly old fashioned.Overall a very interesting film,if different take on Eastwood's cop persona.