Dirty Harry wannabe Brannigan cast John Vernon as a very different kind of character from the one he played in the Clint Eastwood thriller. John Wayne famously pᴀssed on the original Dirty Harry, as did Paul Newman and George C. Scott. Eventually, Clint Eastwood was cast, with the film firmly establishing him as the next big movie star. The movie proved to be a major, if controversial, success, while Clint returned for four more Dirty Harry movies. Wayne came to regret pᴀssing on the project too, and later opted to try out some rogue cop movies of his own.

John Wayne’s Dirty Harry ripoffs McQ and Brannigan are entertaining thrillers in an undemanding way, but they play like pale imitators of Eastwood’s hit. Both also confirmed that Wayne was wrong for Dirty Harry, due to a combination of his age and not wanting to star in films that were too violent or foul-mouthed. Of the two, Brannigan is the more entertaining watch, with Wayne’s тιтular Chicago cop being a fish out of water when he’s sent to London to bring back a famous gangster named Larkin.

John Vernon Appears In Both Dirty Harry & Brannigan

Brannigan obviously wasn’t going to get Clint Eastwood

A good 15 years after the Eastwood film arrived in theaters, Sylvester Stallone would quietly remake Dirty Harry with Cobra. This violent thriller pit Stallone’s тιтular cop against a cult of serial killers, and to make the connection between the films even clearer, Stallone added Dirty Harry actors Andrew Robinson and Reni Santoni as his co-stars. Brannigan was the first homage to try this tactic, with John Vernon, who played The Mayor of San Francisco in Dirty Harry, playing Larkin.

Vernon was a veteran character actor who worked almost nonstop from the start of his career in the 1950s until his pᴀssing in 2005. In between, Vernon appeared in classic movies and shows like Point Blank, The Outlaw Josey Wales (another Clint Eastwood outing) and Ironside. He often played villains or authority figures, so he was perfect casting for a character like Larkin. The fact that Vernon’s presence would remind viewers of Dirty Harry was no doubt a bonus to the filmmakers.

John Vernon’s Brannigan Character Is Very Different To Dirty Harry’s Mayor

The Mayor is the angry chief of Dirty Harry

It’s interesting Dirty Harry doesn’t give Vernon’s Mayor a name, since he’s essentially a representative of a system. In one sense, Vernon is the angry chief of the story, often reprimanding Harry for his rough tactics and rule breaking. He’s a lot calmer than the average angry police chief, though, and knows he can rely on Harry to get a job done – especially the “dirty” ones. The Mayor is totally different from Brannigan’s Larkin, a slimy, amoral Chicago gangster who is the mortal enemy of Wayne’s cop.

The Mayor might be under pressure throughout the film, but he still exudes authority and rarely gets rattled. According to Dirty Harry, the biggest issue with the character is that he doesn’t listen to Harry when he has the chance, leading to the climax where Eastwood’s detective takes matters into his own hands – the ones holding a .44 Magnum. Larkin, however, is a somewhat stereotypical gangster villain, though Vernon gives the role a little flavor.

Brannigan at least does something different with the character, setting him up as the big villain, only to have him kidnapped and held for ransom by other gangsters. The movie’s ending adds a fun twist to this story too, but it comes with the downside of sidelining an old pro like Vernon for a decent chunk of the runtime.

Why Brannigan Doesn’t Come Close To Dirty Harry

John Wayne’s final cop movie doesn’t quite work

There’s a lot of fun stuff about Brannigan. It offers a nostalgic look at 1975 London, it has a cast that includes Vernon, Richard Attenborough (Jurᴀssic Park) and Mel Ferrer and some solid setpieces, like an elaborate punch-up in a British pub. It’s just that it’s hard not to compare it to Dirty Harry and find it wanting, particularly when the movie itself is inviting such comparisons. It’s a little too long, the story isn’t that gripping and Wayne feels too old for the main role.

That said, Wayne’s presence is also part of what makes Brannigan work. It’s just that the thriller is lacking in Dirty Harry’s dark edge and grit, and is very tame compared to the Eastwood movie. It feels too cartoonish for its own good at times too, with Vernon’s casting being a good example. In Dirty Harry, Vernon is playing it straight, but in Brannigan, he’s going much broader. The film doesn’t want to go too serious or dark, meaning it lacks the bite it needs to stand up to the movie it’s aping.

Source: Box Office Mojo