The film marks the first of five collaborations between Siegel and Eastwood, which continued with Two Mules for Sister Sara (1970), The Beguiled (1971), Dirty Harry (1971) and Escape from Alcatraz (1979).

Walter "Walt" Coogan, a deputy sheriff of fictional Piute County, Arizona, is sent to New York City to extradite escaped killer James Ringerman.

NYPD Detective Lieutenant McElroy informs him that Ringerman is recovering from an overdose of LSD and refuses to release him into Coogan's custody without extradition papers stamped by the New York State Supreme Court.

Uncredited Cast Before Hang 'Em High had been released, Eastwood had set to work on Coogan's Bluff, a project which saw him reunite with Universal Studios after an offer of $1 million, more than doubling his salary for the previous film.

Lang was a former agent of Don Siegel, a Universal contract director who had been eyed to handle Coogan's Bluff, which would be Eastwood's second major American film.

[5] The idea for Coogan's Bluff originated in early 1967 as a pilot for a potential TV series and the first draft was drawn up by Herman Miller and Jack Laird, screenwriters for Eastwood's old show Rawhide.

After Siegel and Eastwood had agreed to work together, Howard Rodman and three other writers were hired to devise a new script as the new team scouted for locations including New York City and the Mojave desert.

[5] However, Eastwood surprised the team one day by calling an abrupt meeting where he admitted his strong dislike of the script (which by now had gone through seven drafts) and a preference for Miller's original concept.

[7] “As Walt Coogan, the twentieth-century personification of nineteenth-century values and ethics, Eastwood strides through the urban landscape, breaking rules and offending those upon whom he depends for help.

[11][12] Roger Ebert of The Chicago Sun-Times gave it 3 out of 4 stars, stating the film was in some ways formulaic but nonetheless well-made and acted: "Siegel knows what he wants and gets it.

"[13] Vincent Canby of The New York Times gave it a negative review, and wrote: "The screenplay is so predictable in situation and so arch in its supposedly tough, blunt, wise talk that it turns into a joke told by someone with no sense of humor.