One of Chuck Norris’ Best Movies Was Supposed To Be a ‘Dirty Harry’ Sequel

When compared to the other action stars giants of the 1980s, Chuck Norris felt like he was in a much lower league compared to Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and Bruce Willis. While that trio each had a few all-time classic action movies on their resumes, Norris was content to appear in mostly low budget B-movies that were best enjoyed as guilty pleasures. It’s not even a surprise that the “Chuck Norris” memes became prominent on the Internet in the previous decade, as they honed in on his status as an icon, without any direct connection to a specific film or character. However, Norris ended up giving one of his best performances to date in a role that was originally written for Clint Eastwood.

Although Eastwood was established as a seasoned filmmaker in his own right by the mid-1980s, he was still appearing in sequels to the original Dirty Harry film, which had arguably launched him to an American audience after Sergio Leone’s “The Man With No Name” trilogy had made him an icon overseas. Eastwood’s two talents combined for Sudden Impact, the fourth film in the franchise, which he both directed and starred in. Although Sudden Impact marked a return to form for the Dirty Harry franchise after the mild disappointment of The Enforcer, an abandoned Dirty Harry sequel script became the Norris action thriller Code of Silence.

Code Of Silence (1985)

In Code of Silence, Sgt. Eddie Cusack, a tough Chicago cop caught between a gang war and police corruption. When a botched drug raid leaves officers wounded, Cusack’s investigation leads him to take down a crime czar with the help of a crime-fighting robot. Despite his colleagues’ resistance, Cusack seeks justice, leading to intense action sequences​

Release Date

May 3, 1985

Director

Andrew Davis

Cast

Chuck Norris , Henry Silva , Bert Remsen , Mike Genovese , Molly Hagan

Runtime

101 minutes

Writers

Michael Butler , Dennis Shryack , Mike Gray

Studio(s)

Raymond Wagner Productions , Orion Pictures

Distributor(s)

Orion Pictures

Expand

‘Code of Silence’ Started off as a ‘Dirty Harry’ Sequel

Screenwriters Michael Butler and Dennis Shryack originally wrote a script called Dirty Harry IV: Code of Silence for Warner Bros in 1979. The studio ultimately passed on the project when Eastwood came to them with ideas for Sudden Impact. The script was later acquired by Orion Pictures, who figured that the framework of the narrative could still work if Harry Callahan was replaced with a new, completely original cop hero character. Kris Kristofferson was briefly considered for the lead role, but had to drop out due to conflicting filming dates with another project. Norris, who had broken out with the cult action films Lone Wolf McQuade and Silent Rage, was later hired due to his impressive history of martial arts training.

1:54

Related

We Wouldn’t Have ‘Walker, Texas Ranger’ Without This Chuck Norris Western

The connection between the original ‘Walker, Texas Ranger’ and older Chuck Norris Western led to some real trouble down the road…

Although the swap in studios meant that the film couldn’t make any official references to the previously established characters, Code of Silence has all the trappings of a Dirty Harry sequel. Like Callahan, Norris’ character Sergeant Eddie Cusack is the “one good cop” in a city that is deeply entrenched in corruption. For the sake of originality, Code of Silence was set in Chicago, whereas Dirty Harry operated in Los Angeles. Each Dirty Harry film generally featured a scene in which the titular protagonist had to scoff at the notion of having to work with a new partner, and Code of Silence featured Cusack teaming up with the rookie cop Detective Dorato (Dennis Farina). While Norris didn’t necessarily get to utter Eastwood’s most iconic quotes, Code of Silence is largely operating from the template that Don Siegel had established with his original 1971 masterpiece.

‘Code of Silence’ Was a Breakthrough for Chuck Norris

Working with material originally slated for Eastwood proved to be beneficial, as Norris gave arguably the best performance of his career in Code of Silence. Previous Norris films has largely characterized him as a “one man army” who gunned down enemies with seemingly godlike abilities. While this certainly made for some fun “guilty pleasure action films,” it was much harder for viewers to have any emotional investment in the characters that Norris played. However, Code of Silence examines a real ethical dilemma, as Cusack had to wrestle with the consequences of being “by the books.” Although he wants to remain chivalrous in his actions as a cop, he knows that it will cost him the trust, and potentially the protection, of his fellow officers. Norris’ work wasn’t necessarily met with regular critical praise from leading film critics, but Roger Ebert gave a rave review to Code of Silence, calling it “a slick, energetic movie with good performances and a lot of genuine human interest.”

Code of Silence was also a breakthrough film for director Andrew Davis, who proved he could pull off an inventive mix of action, suspense, and human drama on a relatively tight budget. Davis had managed to get a relatively convincing dramatic performance out of Norris, so it wasn’t all that surprising that he went on to work with several other stars, including Charlie Sheen in Above the Law, Gene Hackman in The Package, and Steven Segal in The Siege. Davis undoubtedly had his peak with the remake of The Fugitive television series starring Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones; although the film’s production was notoriously chaotic, it ended up being a massive hit, and even scored an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture.

What Happened to the ‘Dirty Harry’ Franchise?

While Code of Silence was a hit in 1985, launching Norris to the next level of action stardom, it was a good idea for the Dirty Harry series to stick with the script for Sudden Impact. Code of Silence worked because it required a good deal of heavy duty martial arts scenes that only Norris could pull off. Comparatively, Sudden Impact was more of a psychological neo-noir thriller that acknowledged that its main character had aged since his first adventure. Eastwood may not have been able to pull off a club brawl scene like the one in Code of Silence, but he had the dramatic intensity capable of making Sudden Impact a fiercely intelligent crime thriller.

The Dirty Harry franchise ultimately reached its conclusion in 1988 with The Dead Pool, a more self-aware sendoff for Eastwood that featured breakout performances from both Liam Neeson and Jim Carrey. Although it was briefly rumored that Eastwood would reprise his role in a video game spinoff, it doesn’t seem like the Dirty Harry franchise is set to continue in any capacity. Without Eastwood’s involvement, it’s unlikely the series would find any interest from action movie fans.

Code of Silence is currently available to stream on Tubi in the United States.

WATCH ON TUBI