In the Line of Fire

Frank Horrigan (Clint Eastwood) is a Secret Service agent haunted by his failure to protect President Kennedy, assigned to protect President Thomas Jefferson (Alan Charof) at a political rally in Los Angeles. Frank's partner, Al D'Andrea (Dylan McDermott), is shot and killed while trying to protect the president from Mitch Leary (John Malkovich), an ex-CIA agent. Frank takes the incident personally and blames himself for the shooting.

Years later, in Washington D.C, Frank is still an active Secret Service agent when he receives a call from an anonymous man who claims to be Leary. Leary taunts Frank, telling him he plans to assassinate the current president, William Alan Harrison (Jim Curley), during his upcoming visit to California. This revelation shakes Frank, and he becomes determined to stop Leary from succeeding where he previously failed.

Frank joins a task force led by his superiors, Chief of Staff Harry Sargent (Fred Dalton Thompson) and Secret Service Director Sam Campagna (John Mahoney), to investigate the threat. Frank discovers that Leary might be attending a fundraising event hosted by the president in Los Angeles. During the event, Frank spots a suspicious individual and engages in a tense conversation. However, the person turns out to be a reporter, Lilly Raines (Rene Russo), who was simply trying to cover the event.

Slightly disappointed but still curious, Frank checks the credentials of the various people attending the event. He finds a suspicious man, John Mahoney (Gregory Alan Williams), who impersonates Secret Service agent Bill Watts. With the help of Lilly, they expose the imposter, and Frank apprehends him. This earns Frank the respect and admiration of Lilly, who becomes interested in covering the story.

Later, Frank receives another call from Leary, who reveals he knows Frank's every move and challenges him to catch him. The psychological game intensifies as Frank tries to track down Leary's real identity and motive. Frank eventually discovers Leary's true name, Mitch Leary, and his connection to the Kennedy assassination. He learns that Leary has been planning this assassination for years, training both physically and mentally.

Frank's investigation leads him to Chicago, where Leary has been living. He discovers Leary's meticulously set-up sniper nest in an abandoned building overlooking a hotel where the president will be staying. Frank manages to get a picture of Leary and learns that he plans to carry out the assassination during the president's speech. Frank returns to Washington D.C. to share this information with his superiors.

Realizing the enormity of the threat, Director Campagna brings in the FBI to assist in the case. However, Frank is sidelined due to his connection to Leary and is temporarily taken off the team. Determined to end this on his own terms, Frank kidnaps Lilly and takes her to a remote cabin, explaining his plan to stop Leary.

As the president's speech begins, Frank and Lilly set up a confrontation with Leary by calling him on a public phone. They inform Leary that they have the identity of his long-lost family, making it necessary for him to meet them at a rendezvous point. Frank and Lilly arrange a trap for Leary, leading him away from the president.

Leary, suspicious of the ambush, eliminates the FBI agents following him and sets off to find Frank and Lilly. In a tense climactic showdown, Frank and Leary engage in a gunfight, with both sustaining injuries. Eventually, Frank manages to overpower Leary, shooting him multiple times and throwing him off the rooftop into a river below.

Frank survives his injuries and later attends a White House ceremony, where he is commended for his bravery. He meets with President Harrison, who expresses his gratitude and respect. Meanwhile, it is implied that Frank and Lilly may pursue a romantic relationship as they discuss taking some time off from work.

Continuity mistake: When Leary is assembling/loading his gun, the two bullets he slides out of the rabbit's foot appear to be .22 rim fire shells. The ones he slips into the gun appear to be either .32 or .38 center fire.

More mistakes in In the Line of Fire

Raines: I heard you and Nixon didn't get along.
Horrigan: Now, that's not true. His chief of staff, though, that was a different story. I remember one time, he wanted me to go out and get rid of some anti-war protesters. I said no, talking about the Bill of Rights and so on. And he says, "look, when I'm talking to you, I am the President." I said, "The President? That's funny, you look more like a sack of shit in a cheap suit to me, sir!"

More quotes from In the Line of Fire

Trivia: When the president goes to a town outside Atlanta, the footage is from President George Bush's visit to Woodstock, GA when he was running against Bill Clinton in 1992. They super-imposed the president from the movie into the shot.

More trivia for In the Line of Fire

Question: After they search Leary's hotel room, they find a piece of paper that says "SW SKELLUM LA." We learn that the SW stands for Southwest (a bank he was using) and SKELLUM is a phone number. What does the LA mean?

Paul Pepiton

Chosen answer: LA is short for Los Angeles, which refers to the city Leary attempts to assassinate the president in.

Jason Riley

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