In the Line of Fire is a 1993 American action thriller film directed by Wolfgang Petersen, and starring Clint Eastwood and John Malkovich. Written by Jeff Maguire, the film is about a disillusioned and obsessed former CIA agent who attempts to assassinate the President of the United States and the Secret Service agent who tracks him. Eastwoods character is the sole activeduty Secret Service agent remaining from the detail guarding John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas, at the time of his assassination in 1963. The film also stars Rene Russo, Dylan McDermott, Gary Cole, John Mahoney, and Fred Thompson. The film was coproduced by Columbia Pictures and Castle Rock Entertainment, with Columbia handling distribution. Eastwood and Petersen also originally offered the role of Leary to Robert De Niro, who turned it down due to scheduling conflicts with A Bronx Tale. In the Line of Fire was the final film Eastwood starred in that he did not direct by himself until 2012s Trouble with the Curve.
Horrigan investigates a complaint from a landlady about an apartments absent tenant. He finds a collage of photographs and newspaper articles on famous assassinations, a model building magazine, and a Time cover with the Presidents head circled. When Horrigan and his partner return with a search warrant, only one photograph remains, which shows a much younger Horrigan standing behind John F. Kennedy in Dallas in 1963 in a modified version of Ike Altgens picture. He is the only remaining active agent who was guarding the President that day, but guilt over his failure to react quickly enough to the first shot, which could have enabled him to shield Kennedy from the subsequent fatal bullet, caused Horrigan to begin drinking excessively and his family to eventually leave him.Horrigan receives a phone call from the tenant, who calls himself Booth. He tells Horrigan that like John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald, he plans to kill the President, who is running for reelection and is making many public appearances around the country. Horrigan asks to return to the Presidential Protective Detail despite his age, where he begins a relationship with fellow agent Lilly Raines. ........
Source: Wikipedia