Harry Callahan (fictional character)
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| "Dirty" Harry Callahan | |
|---|---|
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| First appearance | Dirty Harry |
| Last appearance | The Dead Pool |
| Information | |
| Nickname(s) | Dirty Harry |
| Gender | Male |
| Year of birth | August 3, 1930 San Francisco, California, USA |
| Occupation | Police officer |
| Title | Inspector |
| Relationships | (wife): Deceased |
| Portrayed by | Clint Eastwood (All movies) |
| Created by | Don Siegel |
"Dirty" Harry Francis Callahan is a fictional San Francisco Police Department inspector in the films Dirty Harry (1971), Magnum Force (1973), The Enforcer (1976), Sudden Impact (1983), and The Dead Pool (1988). Clint Eastwood plays Callahan in all five films. In the original film, the character was loosely based on the real-life Inspector David Toschi, who was at the time the chief investigator of the Zodiac Killer case.
From his debut in Dirty Harry, Callahan became the template for a new kind of movie cop: a borderline vigilante who doesn't hesitate when crossing professional and ethical boundaries in pursuit of his own vision of justice. The "Dirty Harry" archetype does not shy away from killing, either; all of the Dirty Harry films feature Callahan killing criminals. He justifies such conduct by saying that it "gets results" in cutting down crime. This rationale rarely impresses his superiors, who have threatened Callahan with suspension and firing many times.
Callahan's signature weapon is a Smith & Wesson Model 29 .44 Magnum revolver, which he uses in all of the films. The gun's prominence in the films instantly popularized it. Additionally, in Sudden Impact, Callahan used a .44 Auto Mag. Contrary to popular belief, it was not an AMT firearm, but one built specifically for that film. [1]
Other weapons Callahan uses initially in the final climax of other films include a LAW rocket and a harpoon gun.
While Callahan has little use for many of the official rules of police conduct, dismissing them as "red tape," he adheres absolutely to his own code of ethics. He is completely incorruptible, is devoted to protecting and avenging the victims of violent crime, and, when pursuing criminals, tries to minimize the danger for innocent bystanders as much as possible. Furthermore, he's ready to oppose his own brethren when necessary. For example, in Magnum Force he resolves to bring to justice a renegade cabal of police officers who act as a self-appointed death squad and murder a suspect in cold blood.
There is little revealed about Callahan's personal background except in the first film, in which the detective mentions he was once married but that his wife was killed by a drunk driver. With regards to his origin, the doctor tending to him after the first film's bank robbery intimates that "us Potrero Hill boys gotta stick together." Whether that is indicative of a current residence or childhood home is not specified.
Harry Callahan was voted the 17th greatest movie hero ever in AFI's AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains list. [2]
Callahan is considered a film icon, so much so that his nickname, "Dirty Harry," has entered the lexicon as slang for ruthless police officers. In particular, he is well-known for one of the most quoted (and parodied) speeches in film history, from Dirty Harry:
| “ | Ah ah, 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? | ” |
This monologue was soon referenced countless times in pop culture.
Another iconic Dirty Harry line came from Sudden Impact:
| “ | Go ahead, make my day. | ” |
which was ranked #6 on AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes. The "Do I feel lucky?" quote came in at #51.
Contents |
[edit] Executed Criminals
- Bank Robber Driver
- Bank Robber
- Scorpio
- Airplane Hijacker #1
- Airplane Hijacker #2
- Store Crook with shotgun
- Store Crook
- Palancio hitman
- Palancio hitman (Chuck)
- Palancio's man/driver
- Officer Mike Grimes
- Officer Red Astrachan
- Lt. Neil Briggs
- Liquor Store Punk Leader
- Liquor Store Punk
- Tex
- Karl
- Bobby Maxwell
- Young Guy #1
- Young Guy #2
- Young Guy #3
- Threlkis
- Threlkis hitman #1
- Threlkis hitman #2
- Threlkis hitman #3
- Hawkins
- Hawkins' driver
- Hawkins' crony
- Threlkis hitman #4
- Carl
- Eddie
- Mick
- Janero hitman #1
- Janero hitman #2
- Janero hitman #3
- Janero hitman #4
- Restaurant Robber #1
- Restaurant Robber #2
- Restaurant Robber #3
- Restaurant Robber #4
- Janero hitman #5
- Janero hitman #6
- Harlan Rook
Note: In Magnum Force, Harry does not kill both Palancio nor Officer John Davis, because both men apparently killed themselves by accident due to Callahan's interference.
[edit] Trivia
- Callahan's SFPD badge number, as briefly seen near the end of the first film, is 2211.
- In a December 2006 interview Clint Eastwood describes Callahan as living a "retired" life, and often jokes that if he were to reprise the character, Dirty Harry would be flyfishing with the .44 Magnum by now. On Late Show with David Letterman, he also joked that his character would have to chase the crooks with a walker.
- In Magnum Force, Harry's last name Callahan is misspelled as "Calahan".
- In Magnum Force, after Charlie McCoy almost runs over Harry. While talking to Harry afterwards, he says "We should have served out our 20 in the Marines." This implies that Harry Callahan is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps.
[edit] Parodies
- In the movie Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, the main character Borat Sagdiev (Sacha Baron Cohen) goes to a gun store to get protection from Jews. He asks the store manager what is the best gun to defend against Jews and the manager ironically gives him a Desert Eagle pistol, which is an Israeli made handgun. Borat goes on to say "I feel like movie star Dirty Harold. Come on, make my day Jew."
- The television character of McGarnagle on The Simpsons is an obvious parody of Harry Callahan. McGarnagle has little concern for the safety of others, refuses orders from his own chief, and even sounds like Harry. One of the best examples of this is when he is informed of a young boy being killed violently, to which he simply replied "Hey, I'm trying to eat lunch here!"
- In Recess, the character Mr. E had charactersitics as well as physical appearance as Dirty Harry in the episode "The Subtitute".
- One of Callahan's memorable quotes from the film Dirty Harry is parodied in The Naked Gun
