Darren Allison reviews the long-awaited original soundtrack release for the third Dirty Harry thriller.
I have to admit I really couldn’t imagine this fabulous Jerry
Fielding score ever seeing the light of day, and yet, Lalo Schifrin’s Aleph
records have seemingly pulled off the impossible. After basking in the glory of
both Schifrin’s Dirty Harry and Magnum Force soundtracks, I was doubtful there
would ever be a release of the score for the third Harry film, The Enforcer
(1976) - because it's the one film in the series Schifrin did not score. When
he was unavailable at the time, Jerry Fielding was brought in to bridge the gap
in the series until Schifrin was free to return and complete the remaining two
scores in the Dirty Harry legacy (Sudden Impact and The Dead Pool). Fielding’s
entry in the series is undoubtedly jazz orientated, a fresh and lightweight style
in comparison to the gritty and hard edged urban feel that dominated the
previous two scores. Not that there’s anything wrong with Fielding’s approach.
The Enforcer (Aleph Records 038) is, after all, an entirely different movie.
The ‘Main Title’ is a great opener, full of energetic big brass horns.
‘Warehouse Heist’ is a good example of Fielding’s familiar tension-building
that we’ve all become accustomed to, opening with subtle percussion while
harsh, randomly plucked strings summon the arrival of the terrorists and their
quest to locate an arsenal of deadly weaponry. ‘Rooftop chase’ (one of only
three previously released tracks) is a long and frantic funky jazz piece
consisting of brass, sax, keyboards and flute, all which work off each other to
great effect.
I’ve always believed that Eastwood originally intended to
end the series with The Enforcer, long before the franchise became a bartering
tool between him and Warner Brothers. Callahan appears a defeated man, not in
terms of his job, but perhaps on a far deeper and more poignant level. This is
evident in Fielding’s score via some rather moving pieces. ‘Code Blue’ in
particular represents the death of Callahan’s long-standing friend and college
Frank DiGiorgio (John Mitchum) and perhaps more significantly, the solemn and
remorseful ‘Elegy for Inspector Moore’ which centers on the demise of his
partner Inspector Kate Moore (Tyne Daly). As Callahan’s record shows, it’s not
the first partner he’s lost, but the score closes with an almost overwhelming
and concluding sense of both sadness and grief. Was it the end of a developing
personal relationship between Callahan and Moore? Was it that she sacrificed
her own life to save that of Callahan’s? Had Harry finally succumb to his
limitations? Whatever the reasons, Fielding’s score perfectly captures the
essence of Harry and remains both a terrific and vital entry in the 70’s Dirty
Harry saga. The Enforcer is available direct from www.schifrin.com