Dirty Harry

This article is about the 1971 film. For other uses, see Dirty Harry (disambiguation).

Dirty Harry
Theatrical release poster by Bill Gold
Directed by	Don Siegel
Produced by	Don Siegel Robert Daley (executive)
Screenplay by	Harry Julian Fink R.M. Fink Dean Riesner Uncredited: John Milius Terrence Malick
Story by	Harry Julian Fink R.M. Fink
Starring	Clint Eastwood Andy Robinson Harry Guardino Reni Santoni John Vernon
Music by	Lalo Schifrin
Cinematography	Bruce Surtees
Editing by	Carl Pingitore
Studio	Malpaso Productions
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	December 23, 1971 (1971-12-23)
Running time	102 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$4,000,000
Box office	$35,976,000

Dirty Harry is a 1971 American crime thriller produced and directed by Don Siegel, the first in the Dirty Harry series. Clint Eastwood plays the title role, in his first outing as San Francisco Police Department Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan.

Dirty Harry was a critical and commercial success and set the style for a whole genre of police films. The film was followed by four sequels: Magnum Force in 1973, The Enforcer in 1976, Sudden Impact in 1983 (directed by Eastwood himself), and The Dead Pool in 1988.

In 2008, Dirty Harry was selected by Empire magazine as one of The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time.

Plot

A sadistic serial killer who calls himself "Scorpio" (Andy Robinson) murders a young woman in a San Francisco swimming pool, using a high-powered rifle from a nearby rooftop. SFPD Inspector Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) finds a ransom message promising his next victims will be "a Catholic priest or a nigger" if the city does not pay $100,000. The chief of police and the Mayor (John Vernon) assign the inspector to the case.

While in a local diner, Callahan sees a bank robbery in progress and, alone with his revolver, he kills two of the robbers and wounds a third, challenging the man lying near a loaded shotgun:

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?

After the robber surrenders, Callahan pulls the trigger, revealing the gun to be empty.

Assigned a rookie partner, Chico Gonzalez (Reni Santoni), Callahan complains that he needs someone experienced because his partners keep getting injured or worse. When Scorpio kills a young black boy from another rooftop, the police believe the killer will next pursue a Catholic priest. Callahan and Gonzalez wait for Scorpio near a Catholic church where a shootout ensues, but Scorpio escapes, killing an officer.

Scorpio kidnaps, rapes, and buries alive a teenage girl, then demands twice his previous ransom before the girl's air runs out. The mayor decides to pay, and tells Callahan to deliver the money with no tricks, but the inspector wears a wire, brings a knife, and has his partner follow him. As Scorpio sends Callahan to various payphones throughout the city to make sure he is alone, the chase ends at an enormous concrete cross in a public park. Scorpio brutally beats Callahan; Gonzalez arrives and saves his partner, but is wounded. Callahan stabs Scorpio in the leg, but the killer escapes without the money. Gonzalez survives his wound, but decides to resign from the force.

The doctor who treated Scorpio tells Callahan and his new partner, Frank DiGiorgio (John Mitchum), that he has seen Scorpio in Kezar Stadium. Running out of time, the officers search the killer's room without a warrant and Callahan shoots Scorpio in his wounded leg. When Scorpio refuses to reveal the location of the girl and instead asks for a lawyer, Callahan tortures the killer by standing on the wounded leg. Scorpio confesses and the police exhume the dead girl.

Because Callahan broke into Scorpio's home illegally and improperly seized his rifle, the District Attorney decides that the killer cannot be charged. An outraged Callahan follows Scorpio on his own time. Scorpio pays a thug to give him a severe, but controlled beating, then claims that the inspector is responsible. Despite his protests to the contrary, Callahan is ordered to stop following Scorpio.

Scorpio kidnaps a school bus load of children and demands another ransom and a plane to leave the country. The mayor again insists on paying but Callahan instead pursues Scorpio without authorization, jumping onto the top of the bus from a railroad trestle. The killer flees into a nearby rock quarry, where he has a running gun battle with Callahan. Scorpio retreats until he takes a young boy sitting near a pond as a hostage.

The inspector feigns surrender then wounds the killer. The boy runs away and Callahan stands over Scorpio, gun drawn. The inspector reprises his "Do you feel lucky, punk?" speech. Scorpio lunges for his gun, and Callahan shoots him in the chest, propelling Scorpio into the water. As Callahan watches the dead body float on the surface, he takes out his inspector's badge and hurls it into the water and walks away.

Cast

Clint Eastwood as SFPD Homicide Inspector Harry Callahan Andy Robinson as Charles "Scorpio" Davis Harry Guardino as SFPD Homicide Lt. Al Bressler Reni Santoni as SFPD Homicide Inspector Chico Gonzalez John Larch as Chief of Police John Mitchum as SFPD Homicide Inspector Frank "Fatso" DiGeorgio John Vernon as The Mayor of San Francisco

Ruth Kobart as Marcella Platt (School Bus Driver) Woodrow Parfrey as Jaffe Lois Foraker as Hot Mary Josef Sommer as District Attorney William T. Rothko William Patterson as Bannerman Craig Kelly as Reineke Albert Popwell as Bank Robber

Production

Development

The script, entitled Dead Right, was originally written by Harry Julian and Rita M. Fink, a story about a hard-edged New York City police inspector Harry Callahan, determined to stop Travis, a serial killer, by any means at his disposal.^[1][2] The role of Harry Callahan was originally written for John Wayne, whom the Finks had just finished working with on Big Jake (1971). When they were trying to sell their script, the Finks used him as an example of how they envisioned the character. Wayne said he was not interested in the role, however; he felt the violence in the script was unjustified and glorified.^[3] In Michael Munn’s book John Wayne: The Man Behind The Myth, Wayne gives the reasons why he refused the part: “First is that they offered it to Frank Sinatra first, but he'd hurt his hand and couldn't do it. I don't like being offered Sinatra's rejections. Put that one down to pride. The second reason is that I thought Harry was a rogue cop. Put that down to narrow-mindedness because when I saw the picture I realized that Harry was the kind of part I'd played often enough: a guy who lives within the law but breaks the rules when he really has to in order to save others. The third reason is that I was too busy making other pictures.” ^[4] Wayne later regretted turning down the role, and went on to star in his own cop film, McQ, which was directed by John Sturges.

Originally, it was set in New York City, not San Francisco, California, and ended with a police sniper instead of Callahan taking out Scorpio. Another earlier version of the story was set in Seattle, Washington. Four more drafts of the script were written. John Milius wrote a draft dated 23 September 1970 inspired by Akira Kurosawa's studies in lone-gun detectives. Milius has also mentioned being influenced by a friend of his, a Long Beach police officer who dealt with criminals in a rather summary fashion. According to Milius, his friend "rarely brought people back" but was, contrastingly, extremely gentle with animals. Quite a bit of Milius' script remains in the finished film, including Harry's mystique and his "Do I feel lucky?" monologue. Terrence Malick wrote a draft of the film dated November 1970 (John Milius and Harry Julian Fink are also named as co-writers) in which the shooter (also named Travis) was a vigilante who killed wealthy criminals who had escaped justice.^[5]

Malick's ideas formed the basis for the sequel, Magnum Force, though with a group of vigilante motorcycle cops instead of a single shooter.

Eventually, the Finks sold their script to Universal. Already having Clint Eastwood under contract, Universal thought of using it as a vehicle for the actor, but they never followed up on the initial plans and they let the rights to the script run out.^[3]

When producer Jennings Lang initially could not find an actor to take the role of Callahan, he sold the film rights to ABC Television. Although ABC wanted to turn it into a television film, the amount of violence in the script was deemed too excessive for television, so the rights were sold to Warner Bros.^[6]

Although Dirty Harry is arguably Clint Eastwood's signature role, he was not a top contender for the part.

Warner Bros. purchased the script with a view to cast Frank Sinatra in the lead. Sinatra was 55 at the time and since the character of Harry Callahan was originally written as a man in his mid to late 50's (and Eastwood only then 41), Sinatra fit the character profile.

Initially, Warner Bros. wanted either Sydney Pollack or Irvin Kershner to direct.^[2] Kershner was eventually hired when Frank Sinatra was attached to the title role. But when Sinatra eventually left the film, so did Kershner. Eastwood pushed for Don Siegel when he was cast in the film.^[7]

Details about the film were first released in film industry trade papers in April, September and November 1970 with Frank Sinatra attached as Harry Callahan and Irvin Kershner listed as director and producer with Arthur Jacobson acting as associate producer.^[1] Originally the character of Harry Callahan was written as a man in his mid to late 50s. Robert Mitchum, John Wayne, and Burt Lancaster were also offered the role.^[1] Mitchum dismissed this totemic role as "a piece of junk."^[8] In Dick Lochte‘s article, "Just One More Hangover: A Vodka-Soaked Afternoon with Robert Mitchum", he writes: Mitchum always got "those prices" in those days. "Somebody says, 'We really want you to do this script.' And I say, 'I'd need an awful lot of money in front to do that one.' And that never seems to be a problem. The less I like the script, the higher my price. And they pay. They may pay in yen, but they pay. Not that I'm a complete whore, understand. There are movies I won't do for any amount. I turned down Patton and I turned down Dirty Harry. Movies that piss on the world. If I've got $5 in my pocket, I don't need to make money that fucking way, daddy."

Sinatra actually accepted the role; however he had broken his wrist during the filming of The Manchurian Candidate eight years previously,^[2] and during contract negotiations, he found the large handgun too unwieldy. Additionally, his father had recently died, and Sinatra decided he wanted to do some lighter material. In a 16 Nov 1970 Warner Bros. press release, it was announced that Sinatra would no longer be involved in the project. When Sinatra dropped out, so did Kershner.^[3]

After Sinatra left the project, the producers started to consider younger actors for the role. Burt Lancaster turned down the lead role because he strongly disagreed with the violent, right-wing morals of the story. He believed the role and plot contradicted his belief in a collective responsibility for criminal and social justice and the protection of individual rights.^[9] Marlon Brando was considered for the role, but was never formally approached. Both Steve McQueen and Paul Newman turned down the role.^[1] McQueen refused to make another “cop movie” after Bullitt (1968). He would also turn down the lead in The French Connection the same year, giving the same reason. Believing the character was too "right-wing" for him, Newman suggested that the film would be a good vehicle for Eastwood.^[7]

The screenplay was initially brought to Clint’s attention somewhere around 1969 by Jennings Lang and while still in post-production for his directorial debut film Play Misty for Me, Warner Bros offered him the part. By 17 December 1970 in a Warner Brothers studio press release it was announced that Clint Eastwood would star in as well as produce the film through his Malpaso Company.

One of Eastwood's stipulations for accepting the role was the change of locale to San Francisco. 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 overshadowed by the political atmosphere of the time.^[3]

Eastwood was given a number of scripts, but he ultimately reverted to the original as the best vehicle for him.^[10] In a 2009 MTV Interview, Eastwood said, "So I said, 'I'll do it,' but since they had initially talked to me, there had been all these rewrites. I said, 'I'm only interested in the original script'." Looking back on the 1971 Don Siegel flick, he remembered, "[The rewrites had changed] everything. They had marine snipers coming on in the end. And I said, 'No. This is losing the point of the whole story, of the guy chasing the killer down. It's becoming an extravaganza that's losing its character.' They said, 'OK, do what you want.' So, we went and made it.".^[11]

Eastwood also agreed to star in the film only on the provision that Don Siegel direct. Siegel was under contract to Universal at the time, and Eastwood personally went to the studio heads to ask them to 'loan' Siegel to Warner. The two had just completed the movie The Beguiled (1970).

The "Bank Job" scene is different as well, and unfolds during a rainstorm. In addition to the tailpipe smoke, Harry notices that though people continue to enter, no one is exiting the bank. The biggest difference in the scene, though, is Harry's alternate "Do I feel lucky" monologue:

"You been counting? Well, was it five or was it six? Regulations say five...hammer down on the empty...only not all of us go by the book. What you have to do is think about it. I mean this is a forty-four magnum and it'll turn your head into hash. Now, do you think I fired five or six? And if five, do I keep a live one under the hammer? It's all up to you. Are you feeling lucky, Punk?"

Scorpio was loosely based on the real-life Zodiac Killer, who had committed five murders in the San Francisco Bay Area several years earlier.^[12] In a later novelization of the film, Scorpio was referred to as "Charles Davis" by Lt. Bressler, a former mental patient from Springfield, Massachusetts who murdered his grandparents while still a teenager.^[13] There are significant differences between the book and the film, and it can only be presumed that the differences in the book were taken from an early script draft. Among the differences are Scorpio's point of view as he uses astrology to make decisions (including being inspired to abduct Ann Mary Deacon), Harry working on a murder case involving a mugger before he is assigned to Scorpio, and the omission of the suicide jumper and Harry throwing away his badge at the end. Audie Murphy was initially considered to play the Scorpio Killer, but he died in a plane crash before his decision on the offer could be made.^[14] When Kershner and Sinatra were still attached to the project, James Caan was under consideration for the role of Scorpio.^[14] The part eventually went to a relatively unknown actor, Andy Robinson. Eastwood had seen Robinson in a play called Subject to Fits and recommended him for the role of Scorpio, whose unkempt appearance fit the bill for a psychologically unbalanced hippie.^[15] Siegel told Robinson that he cast him in the role of the Scorpio killer because he wanted someone "with a face like a choirboy." Robinson's portrayal was so memorable that after the film was released he was reported to have received several death threats and was forced to get an unlisted telephone number. In real life, Robinson is a pacifist who deplores the use of firearms. In the early days of principal photography, Robinson would reportedly flinch in discomfort every time he was required to use a gun. As a result director Don Siegel was forced to halt production briefly and sent Robinson for brief training in order to learn how to fire a gun convincingly.^[16] Despite this, he still blinked when firing guns during certain scenes involving shootouts. Robinson was also reportedly uncomfortable about filming the scenes where he verbally and physically abuses several schoolchildren.

Shortly thereafter, they hired writer Dean Riesner to work on the script.^[3] Riesner worked previously with both Eastwood and Siegel as a writer on Coogan's Bluff, and Play Misty for Me. Screenwriter John Milius' contribution was also worked in by writing a draft of the film inspired by Akira Kurosawa's studies in lone-gun detectives, while director Siegel tackled the material from the viewpoint of bigotry.

As several ideas were added, and changed, many others were dropped, including a visit to Harry's hometown and an airport hijacking.

In the former, Harry and Chico drive around Potrero Hill questioning the residents after the scene of Charlie Russell's murder. As they continue to be greeted with suspicion from everyone, Harry begins to talk about how the people are raised mistrusting cops. He tells Chico that he grew up in Potrero Hill, and learned at an early age not to depend on the police. He soon decides that this case is not one that will be solved by the usual methods of police work, and that Scorpio will not be satisfied until he has made good on his threat to kill a priest. This scene was most likely included as part of Harry's character while he was still written as an older, disillusioned cop. As Harry gets his leg bandaged, listen for Steve Rogers to confirm the Potrero Hill background with the line, "We Potrero Hill boys gotta stick together." ^[17]

One of the original ideas for the film's ending included a sequence with Scorpio kidnapping a group of schoolchildren at an airport, then attempting to hijack a plane. When the studio decided that the whole thing would be too expensive to film, it was Eastwood who suggested using the rock quarry for the ending. He remembered it from his childhood; having lived nearby, he had passed it often on drives with his parents. The abduction of the school children was still worked into the end of the film, basing it again on the real-life events of the Zodiac case, where the killer threatened to hijack a school bus full of children. The airport sequence eventually found its way into the series, being worked into the plot of Magnum Force.^[17]

The idea of a car chase was also dropped as Bullitt (1968) had already set the bar for that.^[3] However, a car chase sequence was used in the sequel Magnum Force.

Principal photography

Glenn Wright, Eastwood's costume designer since Rawhide, was responsible for creating Callahan's distinctive old-fashioned brown and yellow checked jacket to emphasize his strong values in pursuing crime.^[15] Filming for Dirty Harry began in April 1971 and involved some risky stunts, with much footage shot at night and filming the city of San Francisco aerially which the film series is renowned for.^[15] Eastwood performed the stunt in which he jumps onto the roof of the hijacked school bus from a bridge, without a stunt double. His face is clearly visible throughout the shot. Eastwood also directed the suicide-jumper scene.

The line, "My, that's a big one," spoken by Scorpio when Callahan removes his gun, was an ad-lib by Robinson. The crew broke into laughter as a result of the double entendre and the scene had to be re-shot, but the line stayed.

The final scene, in which Callahan throws his badge into the water, is an homage to a similar scene from 1952's High Noon.^[18] Eastwood initially did not want to toss the badge, believing it indicated that Callahan was quitting the police department. Siegel argued that tossing the badge was instead Callahan's indication of casting away the inefficiency of the police force's rules and bureaucracy.^[18] Although Eastwood was able to convince Siegel not to have Callahan toss the badge, when the scene was filmed, Eastwood changed his mind and went with the current ending.^[18]

Filming locations

One evening Eastwood and Siegel had been watching the San Francisco 49ers in the Kezar Stadium in the last game of the season and thought the eerie Greek amphitheater-like setting would be an excellent location for shooting one of the scenes where Callahan encounters the psychopathic killer Scorpio.^[19]

In San Francisco, California:

• 555 California Street
• California Hall, 625 Polk Street (until recently, the California Culinary Academy)
• San Francisco City Hall
• Hall of Justice - 850 Bryant Street
• Forest Hill Station
• Hilton San Francisco Financial District, 750 Kearny Street - rooftop swimming pool in opening scenes
• Kezar Stadium - Frederick Street, Golden Gate Park
• Dolores Park, Mission District
• Mount Davidson
• Sts. Peter and Paul Church, Washington Square, 666 Filbert Street
• Washington Square, North Beach
• Big Al's, 556 Broadway St.
• Roaring 20's strip club, 552 Broadway
• North Beach, San Francisco

Other locations

• Larkspur Landing — scene of Callahan and Scorpio's showdown, known as the Hutchinson's Rock Quarry when filmed
• Greenbrae, California
• Mill Valley, California
• Universal Studios Hollywood — San Francisco Street (Hot dog café / Bank robbery sequence)

Music

The soundtrack for Dirty Harry was created by composer Lalo Schifrin famous for the Mission: Impossible theme and soundtrack, who had previously collaborated with director Don Siegel in the production of Coogan's Bluff and The Beguiled, both also starring Clint Eastwood. Schifrin fused a wide variety of influences, including classical music, jazz, psychedelic rock, along with Edda Dell'Orso-style vocals, into a score that "could best be described as acid jazz some 25 years before that genre began." According to one reviewer, the Dirty Harry soundtrack's influence "is paramount, heard daily in movies, on television, and in modern jazz and rock music."^[20][21]

Release

Critical reception

Dirty Harry was well received by critics and is regarded as one of the best films of 1971.^{[22][23][24][25]} The film holds a 95% approval rating on the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes.^[26] It was nominated at the Edgar Allan Poe Awards for Best Motion Picture.^[27] The film caused controversy when it was released, sparking debate over issues ranging from police brutality to victims' rights and the nature of law enforcement. Feminists in particular were outraged by the film and at the Oscars for 1971 protested outside holding up banners which read messages such as "Dirty Harry is a Rotten Pig".^[28]

Many critics expressed concern with what they saw as bigotry, with Newsweek describing the film as "a right-wing fantasy", Variety as "a specious, phony glorification of the police and police brutality with a superhero whose antics become almost satire" and a raging review by Pauline Kael of The New Yorker who accused Eastwood of a "single-minded attack against liberal values".^[28] Several people accused him of racism in the decision to cast four African-Americans as the bank robbers.^[29] Eastwood dismissed the political outrage, claiming that Callahan was just obeying a higher moral authority, and said, "some people are so politically oriented, when they see cornflakes in a bowl, they get some complex interpretation out of it".^[29]

Jay Cocks of Time praised Eastwood's performance as Dirty Harry, describing him as "giving his best performance so far, tense, tough, full of implicit identification with his character",^[30] Film critic Roger Ebert, while praising the film's technical merits, denounced the film for its "fascist moral position."^[31] A section of the Philippine police force ordered a print of the film for use as a training film.^[32][33]

However, the film's critical reputation has grown in stature and is commonly listed among the greatest films of all time. In 2008, Dirty Harry was selected by Empire magazine as one of The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time.^[34] It was placed similarly on The Best 1000 Movies Ever Made list by The New York Times.^[35] In January 2010, Total Film included the film on its list of The 100 Greatest Movies of All Time.^[36] TV Guide and Vanity Fair also included the film on their lists of the 50 best movies.^[37][38]

Box office performance

The benefit world premiere of Dirty Harry was held at Loews Theater on Market Street (San Francisco), on December 22, 1971.^[39] The film made an approximate total of $36 million in the U.S. theatrical release,^[40] making it a major financial success in comparison with its modest $4 million budget.^[41]

Home media

Warner Home Video owns rights to the Dirty Harry series. The studio first released the film to VHS and Betamax in 1979. Dirty Harry (1971) has been remastered for DVD three times — in 1998, 2001 and 2008. It has been repurposed for several DVD box sets. Dirty Harry made its high-definition debut with the 2008 Blu-ray Disc. The commentator on the 2008 DVD is Clint Eastwood biographer Richard Schickel.^[42]

Legacy

Dirty Harry received recognition from the American Film Institute. The film was ranked #41 on 100 Years…100 Thrills, a list of America's most heart-pounding movies.^[43] Harry Callahan was selected as the 17th greatest movie hero on 100 Years…100 Heroes and Villains.^[44] The movie's famous quote "You've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya, punk?" was ranked 51st on 100 Years…100 Movie Quotes.^[45] Dirty Harry was also on the ballot for several other AFI's 100 series lists including 100 Years... 100 Movies,^[46] 100 Years... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition),^[47] and 100 Years of Film Scores.^[48]

American Film Institute Lists

• AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies - Nominated
• AFI's 100 Years... 100 Thrills - #41
• AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains:
  • Harry Callahan - #17 Hero
• AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes:
  • "You've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya, punk?"- #51
• AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores - Nominated
• AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) - Nominated

Real life copycat crime and killers

The film inspired a real-life crime, the Faraday School kidnapping.^[49] In October 1972, soon after the release of the movie in Australia, two armed men kidnapped a teacher and 6 school children in Victoria, Australia. They demanded a $1 million ransom. The state government agreed to pay, but the children managed to escape and the kidnappers were subsequently jailed.^[50]

On September 1981, a case occurred in Germany under circumstances quite similar to the Barbara Jane Mackle case (though the Mail Online network paper states that the idea with the box was inspired by Dirty Harry): A ten-year-old girl, Ursula Hermann, was buried alive in a box fitted with ventilation, lighting and sanitary systems to be held for ransom. Unfortunately, the girl suffocated in her prison because autumn leaves had clogged up the ventilation duct. 27 years later, a couple was arrested and tried for kidnapping and murder on circumstantial evidence.^[51] This case was also dealt with in the German TV series Aktenzeichen XY … ungelöst.

Influence

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 "loose-cannon" cop films. The film resonated with an American public that had become weary and frustrated with the increasing violent urban crime that was characteristic of the time.^[52] The film was released at a time when throughout 1970 and 1971 there were prevalent reports of local and federal police committing atrocities and overstepping their authority by entrapment and obstruction of justice.^[53] Author McGilligan, argued that America needed a hero, a winner at a time when the authorities were losing the battle against crime.^[53] The box-office success of Dirty Harry led to the production of four sequels.

The motif of a cop who cares more for justice than rules was one subsequently imitated by a number of other films. John Wayne, who like Eastwood was associated with the Western genre, starred in McQ and later Brannigan. Sylvester Stallone's Cobra and Judge Dredd shares many elements with Dirty Harry, a cop with an obsession for justice, a law system that is more concerned about the criminal than the victim, and a psychotic killer. The film is also an adaption of the novel Fair Game and was originally intended by Stallone to be the basis of Beverly Hills Cop while he was involved with the project. Stallone's own movie was plagiarised by Italian film producers for the Fred Williamson Blaxploitation film Black Cobra, which also mimicked the famous 'Do You Feel Lucky, Punk?' scene from Dirty Harry.

Writers Shane Black and Steven E. de Souza have spoken of the film's influence on their characters of Martin Riggs and John McClane from the Lethal Weapon and Die Hard franchises.

The film can also be counted as the seminal influence on the Italian tough-cop films, Poliziotteschi, which dominated the 1970s and that were critically praised in Europe and the U.S. as well.

Harry Callahan pointing his S&W Model 29

Dirty Harry helped popularize the Smith & Wesson Model 29 revolver, chambered for the powerful .44 Magnum cartridge. The film initiated an increase in sales of the powerful handgun, which continues to be popular forty years after the film's release.^{[citation needed]} The .44 Magnum ranked second in a 2008 20th Century Fox poll of the most popular film weapons, after only the lightsaber of Star Wars fame. The poll surveyed approximately two thousand film fans.^[54] However, the only appearances of the Model 29 in the movie are in the close-ups: Any time Eastwood actually fired the revolver, he was shooting a Smith & Wesson Model 25 in .45 Colt^{[citation needed]}. In 1971, .44 Magnum blanks were not available^{[citation needed]}. However, as a result of decades of Hollywood Western movies there was an ample supply of 5-in-1 blank cartridges.^{[citation needed]} As the Model 25 is built on the same Smith & Wesson N frame as the Model 29, it was simple to substitute it for the Model 29 in scenes where Eastwood had to shoot the revolver^{[citation needed]}.

Director Don Siegel owned the actual Model 29 used in principal photography in Dirty Harry.^{[citation needed]}

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Hughes, p.49
2. ^ ^{a b c} McGilligan (1999), p.205
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f} www.imdb.com
4. ^ Munn, Michael, John Wayne: The Man Behind The Myth, pgs unknown
5. ^ Malick, Milius & Fink, Dirty Harry November 1970 Script
6. ^ Eliot (2009), p.134
7. ^ ^{a b} Eliot (2009), p.133
8. ^ http://home.sprintmail.com/~sknolle/mitchum/not.html
9. ^ Buford, Kate; Burt Lancaster: An American Life
10. ^ Richard Schickel commentary, Dirty Harry Two-Disc Special Edition DVD
11. ^ http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1604527/20090206/story.html
12. ^ Hughes, p.52
13. ^ Rock, Philip, Dirty Harry
14. ^ ^{a b} Hughes, p.50
15. ^ ^{a b c} McGilligan (1999), p.207
16. ^ Anecdotage.Com
17. ^ ^{a b} www.the-dirtiest.com
18. ^ ^{a b c} Eliot (2009), p.138
19. ^ McGilligan (1999), p.206
20. ^ Review by J.T. Lindroos (allmusic.com). Retrieved April 15, 2010.
21. ^ Review by Andrew Keech (musicfromthemovies.com). Retrieved April 15, 2010.
22. ^ http://www.rottentomatoes.com/top/bestofrt_year.php?year=1971
23. ^ "The Greatest Films of 1971". AMC Filmsite.org. http://www.filmsite.org/1971.html. Retrieved April 15, 2010. 
24. ^ "The Best Movies of 1971 by Rank". Films101.com. http://www.films101.com/y1971r.htm. Retrieved May 21, 2010. 
25. ^ "Most Popular Feature Films Released in 1971". IMDb.com. http://www.imdb.com/year/1971. Retrieved May 22, 2010. 
26. ^ Dirty Harry Movie Reviews, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved April 15, 2010.
27. ^ "Dirty Harry: Award Wins and Nominations". IMDb. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066999/awards. Retrieved April 15, 2010. 
28. ^ ^{a b} McGilligan (1999), p.211
29. ^ ^{a b} McGilligan (1999), p.212
30. ^ McGilligan (1999), p.210
31. ^ Roger Ebert (1971-01-01). "Dirty Harry (review)". Chicago Sun-Times. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19710101/REVIEWS/101010307/1023. Retrieved March 3, 2009. 
32. ^ Clint Eastwood filmography. Retrieved April 14, 2010.
33. ^ Eastwood Talks Dirty Harry. Retrieved April 14, 2010.
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Bibliography

• Eliot, Marc (2009). American Rebel: The Life of Clint Eastwood. Harmony Books. ISBN 978-0-307-33688-0. 
• Hughes, Howard (2009). Aim for the Heart. London: I.B. Tauris. ISBN 9781845119027. 
• McGilligan, Patrick (1999). Clint: The Life and Legend. London: Harper Collins. ISBN 0006383548. 

External links

• Official website
• Dirty Harry at the Internet Movie Database
• Dirty Harry at AllRovi
• Dirty Harry at Rotten Tomatoes
• Dirty Harry at Box Office Mojo
• Research guide to filming locations seen in Dirty Harry