“Dirty Harry” (1971)
Coming three years after both “Madigan” and “Coogan’s Bluff” Siegel’s first collaboration with Clint Eastwood, “Dirty Harry” is almost the antithesis of “Madigan.” Where that film is a nuanced, realistic watch, this is essentially a superhero movie (something that only became more true in the sequels). The project had been in development at Warner Bros for years, with writers including John Milius and Terence Malick (of all people) penning scripts, and Frank Sinatra originally cast in the lead, of the tough, near-fascistic cop trying to bring down remorseless killer Scorpio — based on the real-life Zodiac killer — with Irvin Kershner (“The Empire Strikes Back“) directing. When Sinatra bowed out due to a wrist injury, Clint Eastwood stepped in, with the condition that his new BFF Siegel was hired to direct. Thanks to those sequels of diminishing return, the film earned a bad rep as a right-wing tract over the years, but in the first installment, Siegel’s ambivalence over his hero wins out over anything else. The film is a mirror, with right-wingers cheering him on, and left-wingers able to condemn him. But politics aside, Siegel handles the film with firm skill. It’s taut and atmospheric, with one of the all-time great screen depictions of San Francisco, and one of Eastwood’s most iconic performances. Oh, and Lalo Schifrin (who worked with the filmmaker five times) contributes one of his best scores here.
“Charley Varrick” (1973)
Siegel’s late-period masterpiece, “Charley Varrick” is one of the most enjoyable and underrated crime pictures of the 1970s, and one that took a few years to get true critical respect. The title character (Walter Matthau in one of his most atypical and best roles) is a stunt pilot-turned-crop-duster who decides to rob a New Mexico bank. His wife and two cops are killed in the process, but things get even worse when Varrick and his partner Sullivan (Andrew Robinson, Scorpio from “Dirty Harry“) realize that they’ve accidentally ripped off a mob money laundering operation, and they’ve got a number of terrifying underworld figures, including Molly (Joe Don Baker) and Boyle (John Vernon) after them. It’s a lurid, seedy, bleak little world that Siegel creates (that acts like a precursor to another sprawling New Mexico crime tale “Breaking Bad“) but Matthau instills enough humanity in Varrick that makes you root for him throughout, and the colorful supporting characters — Baker in particular proving a formidable foe — are indelible. It might get a little silly towards the climax, but not enough to derail what remains one of the director’s finest films. It’s been badly treated it on DVD, but it can be found on Netflix: you’re unlikely to have a better time with a movie this weekend.
