Go ahead, make my day

Go ahead, make my day.
Character	Harry Callahan
Actor	Clint Eastwood
Created by	Joseph C. Stinson
First used in	Sudden Impact
Voted #6 in AFI's 100 Movie Quotes poll
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"Go ahead, make my day" is a catchphrase written by Joseph C. Stinson and spoken by the character Harry Callahan from the 1983 film Sudden Impact. In 2005, it was chosen as #6 on the American Film Institute list, AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes.^[1] The "Make My Day Law" passed in most U.S. states, derives its name from this phrase.^[2]

Origins

In one scene of the movie, Harry Callahan (played by Clint Eastwood) goes into a diner for a morning cup of coffee. When Callahan discovers a robbery in the diner, he kills the robbers in a shootout. However, a surviving robber grabs the fleeing waitress Loretta (Mara Corday), holds his gun to her head, and threatens to shoot. Instead of backing off, Harry points his .44 Magnum revolver into the man's face at point-blank range and dares him to shoot, saying with clenched teeth and in his characteristic rough grumble, "Go ahead, make my day," meaning that if the robber attempts to harm Loretta in any way, Harry would be happy to dispatch the robber. At the end of the film, Harry, again, says "Come on, make my day" just before shooting Mick the Rapist, who aims his stolen shotgun at Jennifer Spencer.

Earlier usage

In the 1982 film Vice Squad, Tom Walsh, played by Gary Swanson, says, "C'mon, Scumbag! Make your move, make my day!"^[3]

Filming location

The diner featured in the scene is now a McDonalds at the corner of 3rd Street and Townsend in San Francisco, California. The original structure still stands. The 3rd Street bridge can be seen in the background of the scene outside the diner.

Ronald Reagan

While president of the United States, Ronald Reagan famously used the phrase in his campaign against raising taxes. In March 1985, his address to the American Business Conference is quoted, "I have my veto pen drawn and ready for any tax increase that Congress might even think of sending up. And I have only one thing to say to the tax increasers: Go ahead, make my day."

In Kenya

The movie Sudden Impact became popular in Kenya in the early 1990s. Kenyan kids pronounced 'make my day' as "Makmende" probably due to influence of the local dialects. Over time, Makmende was used by kids to refer to a kid who behaved like a know-it-all.

In 2010, Makmende was turned into an Internet sensation all over Kenya's Internet community when Just a Band created a superhero character in the music video of their song "Ha He."^[4][5]

In sports

Famed Pittsburgh Penguins announcer Mike Lange has used the line "Go ahead, make my day" as one of his many goal calls.

References

1. ^ "Frankly, My Dear, I Don't Give A Damn", AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes, American Film Institute.
2. ^ "How the 'Make My Day' law cut epidemic of violent burglary", Sunday Telegraph, London, October 31, 2004
3. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBvxyXUJ_YI
4. ^ ""Ha-He"". Music Video. Just a Band. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mG1vIeETHc. 
5. ^ Zuckerman, Ethan. ""Makende's So Big He Can't Fit Into Wikipedia"". "Makende's So Big He Can't Fit Into Wikipedia". http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/2010/03/24/makmendes-so-huge-he-cant-fit-in-wikipedia/. 

External links

• Press release by AFI: 100 movie quotes of all time