Dirty Harry

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).
For other uses, see Dirty Harry (disambiguation).
Dirty Harry
Directed by Don Siegel
Produced by Don Siegel
Written by Story:
Harry Julian Fink
R.M. Fink
Screenplay:
Harry Julian Fink
R.M. Fink
Dean Riesner
John Milius (uncredited)
Terrence Malick (uncredited)
Starring Clint Eastwood
Harry Guardino
Reni Santoni
John Vernon
Music by Lalo Schifrin
Editing by Carl Pingitore
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date(s) December 22, 1971 U.S. release
Running time 102 min
Language English
Followed by Magnum Force
IMDb profile

Dirty Harry is a 1971 film directed by Don Siegel, the first of the series. Clint Eastwood plays the title role, in his first outing as San Francisco Police Department inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan. Two of cinema's most famous lines come from the "Dirty Harry" series: "You've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?'....Well? Do ya, punk?" (Dirty Harry) and "Go ahead. Make my day" (Sudden Impact).

Contents

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The film opens with a serial killer nicknamed "Scorpio" (played by Andy Robinson) murdering a young girl in a San Francisco rooftop swimming pool using a high-powered rifle. The spent casing is found on a rooftop across the way by Inspector Harry Callahan (played by Clint Eastwood). Scorpio then blackmails the city of San Francisco and says that he will kill one person every day until he is paid a ransom.

Inspector Harry Callahan, played by Clint Eastwood
Enlarge
Inspector Harry Callahan, played by Clint Eastwood

Callahan is assigned to the case and much to his annoyance he is assigned a new partner named Chico Gonzalez (played by Reni Santoni). Callahan claims that his partners always suffer injuries or worse while working with him and that he needs someone that is experienced unlike the rookie Chico.

Callahan has the titular nickname "Dirty Harry" which is a reference to his reputation for taking on the "dirtiest" cases and resolving them even if it involves the violation of criminals' rights.

A police helicopter foils Scorpio's second attempt at murder but he escapes and manages to kill a young boy, in another rooftop shooting the next day. The police believe Scorpio is likely to choose a similarly elevated position for his next murder near the St. Peter and Paul Church, because Scorpio had threatened to kill a priest earlier. Callahan and Chico wait for Scorpio on the adjacent rooftop and manage to prevent him from killing the priest, however Scorpio kills a police officer during his escape. Infuriated that his plans have been foiled, Scorpio kidnaps a teenage girl, rapes her and then incarcerates her in a hole. Then he contacts the city and demands a ransom twice that of the previous one. He claims that it must be paid quickly as his prisoner only has enough air to last until 3:00 a.m. the following morning. The mayor (John Vernon) decides to submit, and Callahan is asked to deliver the money to a location in the docks. When Harry reaches the drop point, Scorpio contacts him through a public pay phone. He sends Callahan on a journey between various pay phones in the city, "bouncing him around town" in order to separate the inspector from any back-up that he may have. However, Scorpio does not realise that Callahan is wearing a wire, allowing Chico to know where his partner is going.

"Scorpio", played by Andy Robinson
Enlarge
"Scorpio", played by Andy Robinson

The chase ends when Callahan reaches an enormous cross in one of the city's parks (Mount Davidson). Scorpio instructs Callahan to drop his gun and the money and then to face the cross and stand up against it. Scorpio then proceeds to beat Callahan and reveals that he does not intend to free the girl after all, before annoucing to Callahan that he intends to kill him too. Chico, thanks to the wireless microphone, arrives at the scene and initiates a gunfight with Scorpio. While Scorpio is distracted, Callahan stabs him in the leg with a concealed knife. Scorpio screams hysterically and escapes without the money. Chico is wounded in the gunfight and is unable to continue as Callahan's partner, thus confirming his earlier reservations.

Scorpio tortured by Dirty Harry
Enlarge
Scorpio tortured by Dirty Harry

Scorpio limps to an emergency clinic and is treated for his leg wound. Later the doctor who treated Scorpio is questioned by Callahan and his new partner Frank DeGeorgio. The doctor tells them that Scorpio works and lives in the nearby Kezar Stadium. Callahan then breaks into the stadium and searches Scorpio's room without a warrant. Callahan hears Scorpio fleeing and chases him onto the stadium's field. Frank turns on the stadium lights which gives Callahan a clear view of Scorpio, whom he proceeds to shoot in the leg from distance. Scorpio is unwilling to reveal the location of the girl to Callahan, claiming he has the right to legal representation. In response Callahan tortures Scorpio by standing on his wounded leg. Scorpio finally tells Callahan where he has been keeping the girl. Unfortunately, by the time the police find her, she is already dead and to make matters worse Scorpio is released without charge, because Callahan broke into his home illegally and tortured him to obtain his confession.

After his release, Callahan follows Scorpio on his own time in order to prevent him from killing again. Scorpio pays a thug to punch him in the face and then tells the press that the police are harassing him, personally naming Callahan as being the one responsible for his facial injuries. The chief and mayor order Callahan to desist from following Scorpio, but Callahan protests that he's not the one responsible for the beating. "Anyone can tell that I didn't do that." "How?" "Because he looks too damn good, that's why!"

Scorpio holding a boy hostage
Enlarge
Scorpio holding a boy hostage

With Callahan temporarily off his tail, Scorpio is able to kidnap a busload of children. He demands another ransom and a private jet to take him out of the country and presumably beyond Callahan's reach. The mayor insists on paying, but Callahan pursues Scorpio without authorization and eventually rescues the children. He chases Scorpio into a nearby cement factory, where a gunfight ensues. Scorpio flees the factory and captures a boy who happens to be fishing at a nearby river. Callahan shoots Scorpio in the arm, who releases the boy and drops his gun. As Scorpio looks to pick up his gun, Callahan says one of the most famous lines from the movie, asking Scorpio, "Do I [you] feel lucky?" Well, do ya, punk?!". Scorpio evidently does because he tries to grab the gun, but Callahan shoots him again, this time fatally. The film ends with Callahan disgustedly throwing his detective's badge into the river.

[edit] Influence and popularity

Clint Eastwood's iconic portrayal of the blunt, cynical, unorthodox detective who is seemingly in perpetual trouble with his incompetent bosses, set the style for a number of his later roles and, indeed, a whole genre of cop films. Harry Callahan is nicknamed "Dirty Harry" due to his propensity for accepting the dirtiest assignments. The box-office success of Dirty Harry led to the production of four sequels. The cop who cares more for justice than rules motif was one subsequently imitated by a number of other films.

"Dirty" Harry Callahan also helped popularize Smith and Wesson's Model 29 .44-caliber "Magnum"-series revolver. The film initiated a modest increase in sales of the powerful handgun, which continues to be popular some thirty-five years after the film's release. Throughout the film Eastwood's Model 29 is lionized as an all-powerful instrument capable of sending assailants flying wildly through the air, while in reality the round is far less-dramatic than depicted. The .44 Magnum round is not considered to be a practical caliber for urban police use due to difficulties in recoil (target re-acquisition) and its ability to penetrate multiple surfaces, greatly increasing the likelihood of injuring bystanders.

Although Callahan is arguably Clint Eastwood's signature role, he was not a top contender for the part. Indeed, the role was originally written for Frank Sinatra, but the singer had broken his wrist some time earlier (possibly during the filming of The Manchurian Candidate) and found the large handgun too unwieldy and declined the role. Eastwood was only offered the role after John Wayne, Steve McQueen and Paul Newman likewise declined the role for varying reasons. As originally written, the story was set in Seattle, Washington. (Wayne, who turned down the role, later on portrayed a Dirty Harry-like detective in McQ, which was set in Seattle.) One of Eastwood's stipulations for accepting the role was the change of locale to San Francisco, which is his hometown.

Scorpio, the film's antagonist, was based on the real-life Zodiac Killer, who was on the loose in San Francisco at that time. The Zodiac Killer has never been caught. Audie Murphy was first approached to play the Scorpio Killer, but he died in a plane crash before his decision on the offer could be made. The part eventually went to the relative unknown, Andy Robinson. Robinson's portrayal was so chilling that after the film was released he reportedly received several death threats and was forced to get an unlisted telephone number. In real life, Robinson is a pacifist who despises guns. In the early days of principal photography, Robinson would flinch violently every time he fired. Director Don Siegel was forced to shut down production for a time and sent Robinson to a school to learn to fire a gun convincingly. [1] Nonetheless, he still blinks when he shoots.

[edit] Filming locations

[edit] Miscellanea

  • Other actors considered for the part of Harry Callahan were Steve McQueen and Paul Newman. It may have been Newman who recommended Eastwood for the part after he had turned it down.
The memorial shown in the very first scene of the film
Enlarge
The memorial shown in the very first scene of the film
  • The first scene of the film includes a memorial, which is located in the Hall of Justice in San Francisco.
  • The final scene, in which Callahan throws his badge in the river, is a homage to a similar scene from 1952's High Noon.
  • Eastwood himself directed the jumper scene.
  • Eastwood performed the stunt in which he jumps on to the roof of a speeding school bus himself, without a stunt double. His face is clearly visible throughout the shot.
  • Don Siegel told Andy Robinson that he cast him in the role of the Scorpio killer because he wanted someone "with a face like a choirboy."
  • Eastwood has claimed that he took the role of Harry Callahan because of the character's obsessive concern with the victims of violent crime. Eastwood felt that the issue of victims rights was being neglected in the political atmosphere of the time.
  • The gun used by Clint Eastwood in the filming of the movie was reportly not a .44 Magnum. According to a story related by the studio's prop department, Smith & Wesson did not have a Model 29 in stock at the time one was requested for filming. Instead, they used a Smith & Wesson Model 57 in .41 Magnum.[citation needed] The Model 29 and Model 57 are identical except for minute differences in bore size, chamber dimensions, and exterior markings, none of which are visible in the film.
  • Another version of the Dirty Harry gun story: In the scene where we see Inspector Callahan drawing his oversized revolver for the first time, the gun used was a Smith and Wesson Model 29 in .44 Magnum with an 8 3/8" barrel, but subsequent shooting (both with the cameras and the gun) was conducted using a Smith and Wesson Model 25 in .45 Colt with a 6" barrel. The choice of .45LC over .44 Magnum was to use the standard "Four-In-One" blank cartridges, which were widely used in filming cowboy movies. As in the story above, the Model 25 and Model 29 are so similar that it would be impossible to distinguish them at a glance.
  • The .44 Magnum has since been eclipsed as "the most powerful handgun in the world." Factory-produced examples include the .454 Casull, the .475 Wildey Magnum, the .50 Action Express, and the .500 Smith & Wesson Magnum. Some gunmakers also offer custom-built or limited-production handguns chambered for proprietary calibers or high-velocity rifle cartridges. Perhaps the most powerful handgun ever made was an experimental single-shot pistol chambered in the .50 BMG (Browning Machine Gun) caliber.
  • A section of the Philippine police force ordered a print of the movie for use as a training film.[2][3]
  • In 1972 soon after the release of the film in Australia, in an apparent copycat crime, two men kidnapped a teacher and six pupils at gunpoint, and forced them into a red delivery van, demanding a $1 million ransom, which the state government agreed to pay. The children escaped with their teacher, the ransom was not paid and the kidnappers were jailed. Coincidentally, one of the kidnappers was named Eastwood. He escaped from prison and again tried kidnapping school children for ransom.
Albert Popwell in the famous "Do I feel lucky?" scene in Dirty Harry. He also appeared in other Dirty Harry films in various roles
Enlarge
Albert Popwell in the famous "Do I feel lucky?" scene in Dirty Harry. He also appeared in other Dirty Harry films in various roles
  • Albert Popwell, who appears (as different characters) in all Dirty Harry films, with the exception of The Dead Pool (1988), appears in Dirty Harry as the bank robber confronted by Callahan who just "gots to know" if Callahan fired six shots or five. This famous scene was parodied in an advertisement for the twenty-first annual Wrestlemania, World Wrestling Entertainment's premier pay-per-view event. This edition was billed as "Wrestlemania Goes Hollywood" and featured WWE superstars recreating various famous scenes in film history. The Dirty Harry takeoff featured Mark "The Undertaker" Calaway in the Eastwood role.
  • Drum and bass artist Adam F has a track called "Dirty Harry's Revenge" on his album "KAOS", featuring Beenie Man and Siamese.
  • British punk rock band Four Letter Word released a 7" single in 1998 entitled "Do You Feel Lucky, Punk?". The song also featured on their debut album 'A Nasty Piece of Work'.
  • Alan Spencer's police sitcom Sledge Hammer! is a satire based on the no-nonsense approach to law enforcement in the Dirty Harry films. Alan Spencer envisioned a police officer, Inspector Sledge Hammer, whose approach was even more over-the-top, to the point of comical absurdity.
  • In the television show Firefly the aggressive and violent Jayne introduces the name of his favorite weapon, "Vera", as a "Callahan full-bore auto-lock, customized trigger, double-cartridge thorough-gauge"
  • In the 2004 movie, Starsky and Hutch, there is a Dirty Harry poster that is clearly visible in Starsky's bedroom.
  • The name "Dirty Harry" has also inspired an alcoholic beverage. This drink consists of 2 parts Southern Comfort, 1 part Kahlua, and 3/4 part of Creme de Cacao. The drink is served over ice in a tumbler glass.
  • Proof R.I.P, member of D12 second nickname was Derty Harry which related to the character in the movie and the drink.
  • In the German comedy police series "Bronski & Bernstein" one of the main characters, Guido Bernstein, quotes Clint Eastwood several times, at one point saying to a man they had arrested "Make my day! Eastwood, Dirty Harry."

[edit] Quotes

  • Harry Callahan: Well, when an adult male is chasing a female with intent to commit rape, I shoot the bastard. That's my policy.
  • The Mayor: Intent? How did you establish that?
  • Harry Callahan: When a naked man is chasing a woman through an alley with a butcher's knife and a hard-on, I figure he isn't out collecting for the Red Cross. [walks out of the room]
  • The Mayor: He's got a point.
  • Harry Callahan - "I know what you're thinking: 'Did he fire six shots or only five?' Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement, I've kinda lost track myself. But being this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya, punk?"
  • The Mayor: Well, let's have it.
  • Harry Callahan: Have what?
  • The Mayor: A report. What have you been doing?
  • Harry Callahan: Well for the past three quarters of an hour, I've been sitting on my ass in your outer office, waiting on you.
  • DA Rothko: ...What I'm saying is that man had rights. (referring to a suspect from whom Callahan had beaten a confession)
  • Harry Callahan: Well I'm all broken up over that man's rights. [Referring to the illegal search and torture]

[edit] External links


The Dirty Harry films
Official films
Dirty Harry | Magnum Force | The Enforcer | Sudden Impact | The Dead Pool
Unofficial films
The Rookie | Sin City
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../d/i/r/Dirty_Harry_c2fd.html"