History Film / InTheLineOfFire

* WhoShotJFK: Discussed. The details of the assassination itself are not called into question but near the end of the film, Frank (who was one of Kennedy's bodyguards during that day and is haunted by the event) expresses his contempt for all of the drunken armchair theorists who've invented conspiracy theories about it. Even Leary, about as paranoid and anti-government as you can get, never suggests that he thinks Oswald wasn't a lone gunman.

* WhoShotJFK: Discussed. The details of the assassination itself are not called into question but near the end of the film, Frank expresses his contempt for all of the drunken armchair theorists who've invented conspiracy theories about it. Even Leary, about as paranoid and anti-government as you can get, never suggests that he thinks Oswald wasn't a lone gunman.

* WhoShotJFK: Averted. The details of the assassination are not called into question. Near the end of the film, Frank expresses his contempt for all of the drunken armchair theorists who've invented conspiracy theories about it. Even Leary, about as paranoid and anti-government as you can get, never suggests that he thinks Oswald wasn't a lone gunman.

** Two references are made to the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, {{JFK}}'s younger brother: in Leary's apartment, Frank finds a quote from the younger Kennedy's assassin Sirhan Sirhan on a piece of paper. And following Leary's failed assassination attempt, the president is rushed out of the hotel through the kitchen. Sirhan Sirhan shot RFK in the kitchen of Los Angeles's Ambassador Hotel.

** In the scene where the Secret Service counter-snipers attempt to get a sight on Leary, it is reported that it is too dark for them to see inside the elevator. Secret Service counter-snipers are equipped with night-vision goggles to allow them to see targets through darkness.
* BatmanColdOpen: Busting counterfeiters at the beginning of the movie. It's quite brilliant a choice because [[TruthInTelevision that's what the Secret Service spends most of their time doing.]][[note]]Prior to 9/11, the Secret Service was under the Treasury Department, since they were initially established not to provide protection to the President, but to crack down on counterfeiters. In 2003, they were moved to the Department of Homeland Security.[[/note]]

* NoPartyGiven: Never specified. It could be implied that he is a Democrat, as several people at one of the rallies are carrying pro-choice posters, while at a later event the Secret Service have to find an alternate route because their first choice of route is blocked by pro-life demonstrators. Also, the event in Chicago is a union rally; in American politics, labor unions tend to favor the Democratic party.

* OldCopYoungCop: Frank and Al

* ForTheEvulz: Leary [[spoiler: plans to kill himself anyway after his assassination. He wasn't really trying to make any political change so much as go down in a blaze of notoriety.]]

* DressHitsFloor: Gracefully subverted. When [[spoiler: Frank and Lily]] end in the room together the floor is hit with handcuffs, [[GunSafety pistols]], holsters, badges etc. Complete with rather loud thumps. When she has to leave abruptly, he looks around in frustration and mutters, "Now I have to put all that shit back on again."

* DeusExMachina: [[spoiler:Frank figuring out that the long haired homeless looking guy is Booth. In fairness he knew that Booth liked to stay close to see how they reacted to situations and he was being a lttle suspicious. But Frank's magical instincts seemed to be the only reason to think he was their guy. This leads directly to getting his fingerprint and eventually his ID.]]

* BatmanColdOpen: Busting counterfeiters at the beginning of the movie. It's quite brilliant]] a choice because [[TruthInTelevision that's what the Secret Service spends most of their time doing.]][[note]]Prior to 9/11, the Secret Service was under the Treasury Department, since they were initially established not to provide protection to the President, but to crack down on counterfeiters. In 2003, they were moved to the Department of Homeland Security.[[/note]]

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Among Al's first lines as he arrives late to pick up Frank, are [[spoiler: "I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead. . ." Not to mention his mentioning his wife and kid shortly after.]]

->'''Lily Raines:''' ''What makes you think he'll call again?''\\
'''Frank Horrigan:''' ''Oh, he'll call again. He's got, uh, "panache."''\\
'''Raines:''' ''Panache?''\\
'''Horrigan:''' ''Yeah, it means flamboyance.''\\
'''Raines:''' ''Mm, I know what it means.''\\
'''Horrigan:''' ''Really? I had to look it up.''

* BatmanColdOpen: Busting counterfeiters at the beginning of the movie. It's quite [[FridgeBrilliance brilliant]] a choice because [[TruthInTelevision that's what the Secret Service spends most of their time doing.]][[note]]Prior to 9/11, the Secret Service was under the Treasury Department, since they were initially established not to provide protection to the President, but to crack down on counterfeiters. In 2003, they were moved to the Department of Homeland Security.[[/note]]

''In the Line of Fire'' is a 1993 PsychologicalThriller about a Secret Service agent named Frank Horrigan (Creator/ClintEastwood) trying to stop potential assassin Mitch Leary (Creator/JohnMalkovich), who has contacted him to give him advance notice that he plans to kill the President of the United States. So begins a cat-and-mouse chase as the assassin drops hints to taunt and torment Horrigan, whose history (on detail at the time of the [[WhoShotJFK Kennedy assassination]]) he knows perfectly well. The advertising for the movie made explicit reference to the fact that it was released 30 years after the Kennedy assassination. Also stars Rene Russo as Horrigan's partner.

** On the villain's side, it's also averted: it's mentioned that one of Mitch Leary's friends stopped by his place in Phoenix to convince Leary to seek counseling. Leary responded by slitting the man's throat. [[spoiler: Although in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it, you'll notice in a picture of the dead friend, he was carrying a gun under his jacket. Also, the man who explains all this could have been lying and using the photos to menipulate the Secret Service into killing Leary instead of capturing him. Leary did say that his friend was sent there to kill him.]]

** On the villain's side, it's also averted: it's mentioned that one of Mitch Leary's friends stopped by his place in Phoenix to convince Leary to seek counseling. Leary responded by slitting the man's throat.

* TookALevelInBadass: He's already pretty {{Badass}}, but after nearly collapsing from heat stroke while running alongside the Presidential limo, Frank gets himself into such good shape that he's able to scale a building and run across rooftops with as much ease as the much younger Al.

* KilledMidSentence: [[spoiler: Al]]
---> '''Al''': Frank! I got him, Frank---''[Leary shoots Al]''

* [[BackedByThePentagon Backed By The Secret Service]]

* NoPartyGiven: Never specified. The only hint is that several people at one of the rallies are carrying pro-choice posters, while at a later event the Secret Service have to find an alternate route because their first choice of route is blocked by pro-life demonstrators, suggesting he is a Democrat.

->'''Lily Raines:''' ''What makes you think he'll call again?''
->'''Frank Horrigan:''' ''Oh, he'll call again. He's got, uh, "panache."''
->'''Raines:''' ''Panache?''
->'''Horrigan:''' ''Yeah, it means flamboyance.''
->'''Raines:''' ''Mm, I know what it means.''
->'''Horrigan:''' ''Really? I had to look it up.''

* ChekhovsGun: [[spoiler: "Ukelele" [sic] helps solve the riddle of "Skellum"]].

* [[CIAEvilFBIGood CIA Evil, Secret Service Good]]: It is explained that [[spoiler: Leary is so DangerouslyGenreSavvy because he used to be a CIA assassin.]]

* IKEAWeaponry: Leary's assassination weapon is composed of several pieces of composite, which he assembles after getting them past the security checkpoint. The only metal components are the bullets and the springs; the former are hidden in a rabbit's foot keychain and the latter in a pen, enabling him to get them past the metal detector by putting them in the key tray.
** The prop was actually [[http://www.imfdb.org/wiki/%22In_The_Line_of_Fires%27_%22_Composite_Pistol destroyed following filming]] because of concerns that it could be used for the purposes shown in the film.

* ItsPersonal: Why Frank wants to be part of the President's protective detail, and why his bosses are initially reluctant to let him do so.
** Well, to be fair, they're also reluctant because, being in his early 60s, he's much, much older than is really optimal for such a physically demanding assignment.

* ManlyTears: Frank's eyes fill up after he tells Lily how he reacted when Kennedy was shot, and Lily takes his hand (WordOfGod says the latter party [[ThrowItIn was improvised by Rene Russo]]).

* RoofHopping

* TimeCompressionMontage