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City Heat is a 1984 American buddy-crime-comedy film starring Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds, written by Blake Edwards, and directed by Richard Benjamin.

Kansas City in the 1930s: Private Investigator Mike Murphy's (Reynolds') partner is brutally murdered when he tries to blackmail a mobster with his secret accounting records. When a rival gang boss goes after the missing records, ex-policeman Murphy is forced to team up again with his former partner Lieutenant Speer (Eastwood), even though they can't stand each other, to fight both gangs before Kansas City erupts in a mob war.

Tropes

  • Back-Alley Doctor: Lt. Speer finds a criminal he Shot in the Ass being operated on by a drunken doctor of this type. Speer threatens to ignite the alcohol being used as an antiseptic if the crook doesn't talk.
  • Batter Up!: After Murphy shows Addy the "laundry" containing the missing financial records, two goons shoot holes through his apartment door. He hits them with a baseball bat when they charge into the apartment and then runs.
  • Buddy Cop Show: Of the Teeth-Clenched Teamwork variety.
  • Car Cushion: Swift is killed during a struggle with Pitt. A thug opens the suitcase, but it is empty. He picks up Swift's body and throws it out the window, where it lands on the roof of Speer's parked car (occupied by the horrified Addy, who waits while Speer goes to investigate in the apartment).
  • Den of Iniquity: The final showdown against the villains takes place in a high class "cat house".
  • Diner Brawl: Lt. Speer goes to a diner for coffee. Two men arrive, looking for a former cop turned private eye named Mike Murphy. Speer and Murphy were good friends until the latter left the force. The men pounce on Murphy the minute he arrives. Speer ignores them until a goon causes him to spill his coffee. Both goons are thrown through the front door. Murphy sarcastically thanks Speer for saving his life.
  • Flipping the Table: Mike Murphy dressed as the Big Bad Wolf to find his girlfriend playing cards with the gangsters who are holding her hostage.
    "I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll...(knocks over table into gangsters) blow your house down!" (fistfight ensues)
  • Hand Cannon: When Burt Reynolds' character pulls out an "artillery" model Luger P08, and Clint Eastwood pulls an even bigger Colt Buntline Special. Definitely some subtext there.
  • Heal It with Booze: A mafia goon who gets Shot in the Ass goes to a Back-Alley Doctor for treatment. The drunken 'doctor' pours booze on his behind to disinfect it, and at that point our protagonists walk in and threaten to literally set his ass on fire if he doesn't talk.
  • I Have Your Wife: Murphy's girlfriend Caroline is kidnapped by Pitt's gang to force Murphy to hand over the missing records.
  • Mr. Smith: Two elderly gentlemen arrive at a brothel. One is greeted by the madam as "Mr. Smith", and he introduces his companion who's also called Smith.
    Madam: Come in Mr. Smith; we have many of your relatives here today!
  • Pants-Positive Safety: In the final shootout Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds keep producing larger pistols in an attempt to both shoot the mooks and one-up each other. Clint naturally has the biggest gun, an absurdly long-barrelled revolver which he pulls out of his trousers.
  • Phallic Weapon: In the final shootout Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds keep producing larger pistols in an attempt to both shoot the mooks and one-up each other. Clint naturally has the biggest gun, a Colt Buntline with a 12" barrel which he pulls out of his trousers.
  • Shot in the Ass: A mafia goon gets shot in the ass by Lt. Speer and goes to a Back-Alley Doctor for treatment. The drunken 'doctor' pours booze on his behind to disinfect it, and at that point our protagonists walk in and threaten to literally set his ass on fire if he doesn't talk.
  • Sure, Let's Go with That: Speer tells a mob goon he doesn't want to see his ilk again.
    Speer: You do know what an ilk is, do you?
    Goon: Yeah, it's a kind of deer.
    Speer: That's right. And if I see you hanging around here, I'm going to shoot me an 'ilk'.
  • Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Mike Murphy's partner is brutally murdered when he tries to blackmail a mobster with his secret accounting records. When a rival gang boss goes after the missing records, ex-policeman Murphy is forced to team up again with his former partner Lieutenant Speer, even though they can't stand each other, to fight both gangs before Kansas City erupts in a mob war.
  • Trouser Space: In the final shoot out, Lt. Speer pulls out a Colt Buntline special with a 12" barrel that he has somehow stashed down his trousers.
  • Uptown Girl: Murphy has a new romantic interest, a rich socialite named Caroline Howley, but finds himself unable to commit.


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