Magnum Force

Trivia: Clint Eastwood was initially asked to direct, but declined. Ted Post, who had previously directed Eastwood in Hang 'Em High, stepped into the director's seat. However, interviews with Eastwood have indicated that he and second unit director Buddy Van Horn actually directed more of this movie than Post did, due to a number of creative differences. Eastwood and Van Horn would go on to direct the final two entries in the Dirty Harry series, Sudden Impact and The Dead Pool, respectively.

Trivia: After Lou Guzman is killed by a police officer, we cut to a scene where Charlie McCoy is confronted by the officer who shoots him dead in the process. In this scene McCoy was played by another actor as Mitchell Ryan was too ill to film his death scene.

Continuity mistake: Motorcycles used by traffic officers throughout the movie are Moto Guzzi V7 850. In the scene on the docks, two officers arrive on Moto Guzzis, but the moment they ride up the narrow ramp, they suddenly ride Triumph Bonnevilles. The two Triumphs are slightly different. Trained eyes can tell that the traffic cop and Callahan use them interchangeably, switching back and forth a few times. (01:45:45 - 01:52:55)

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Question: I'm not sure if he already suspected them at the time, but why exactly did Harry want to take Davis and Sweet to arrest the gangster?

JohnShel91

Answer: Because Davis and Sweet demonstrated keen interest, skill and knowledge of firearms (particularly of Harry's .44 Magnum) when they first met. They were flattering Harry, probably in anticipation of inviting him to join their death squad. Harry was impressed and asked for them specifically, even though they were rookies, but he didn't suspect them of being the vigilante killers at that point.

Charles Austin Miller

Yes, he did suspect them. In fact, he suspected Davis from the moment he found out that Davis was the one who reported Charlie McCoy's death. He confirmed his suspicion about Davis after he compared similarities between bullet that killed one of the victims and the one he purposely misfired from Davis' revolver during shooting competition and retrieved it afterwards. He explained it all to Early Smith right after raid on Palancio (and thus unwittingly sealed his partner's fate).

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