Dirty Harry
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- For other uses, see Dirty Harry (disambiguation)}}}.
Dirty Harry is a 1971 film directed by Don Siegel. It starred Clint Eastwood in his first outing as San Francisco Police Department inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan.
Plot
The film opens with a serial killer nicknamed "Scorpio" (played by Andrew Robinson) killing a young girl in a rooftop swimming pool using a high-powered round in a rifle. Scorpio then blackmails the city of San Fransico and says that he will kill one person every day until he is paid a ransom.
Inspector Harry Callahan (played by Clint Eastwood) is assigned to the case and much to his annoyance he is given 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 prevents 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 the same position for his next murder because it has a clear view of a Catholic Church and 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 then kidnaps a teenage girl, rapes her and then incarcerates her in a hole. Scorpio then contacts the city and demands a ransom that is twice as high as the previous one. He claims that it must be paid quickly as his prisoner only has enough air to last until 3:00 AM 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 in order to seperate the inspector from any back-up that he may have. Fortunately Scorpio does not realise that Callahan has a wire, which allowing Chico to know where his partner is going.
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. He then decides to kill Callahan 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 limps to a hospital 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 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 to give Callahan a clear view and Callahan stops Scorpio by shooting him in the leg. 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 and names Callahan as being responsible. Callahan is then told by his superiors to leave Scorpio alone.
With Callahan 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 on his own and eventually rescues the children and chases Scorpio into a nearby cement factory. Scorpio flees the factory and captures a boy that was fishing in a nearby river. Callahan shoots Scorpio and he releases the boy. Callahan then asks Scorpio if he feels lucky when he tries to pick up his dropped gun. Scorpio evidently does because he tries to grab the gun but his luck has run out and Callahan shoots and kills him. The film ends with Callahan throwing his detective's badge into a nearby river.
Influence and popularity
Clint Eastwood's iconic portrayal of the blunt, cynical, unorthodox detective who is seemingly in perpetual trouble with his incompetant 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-aquisition) and its ability to penetrate multiple surfaces, greatly increasing the likelihood of injuring bystanders.
-->Although Callahan is arguably Clint Eastwood's signature role, it is ironic that he was not a top contender for the role. 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. Unfortunately, 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, Andrew 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. [link] Nonetheless, he still blinks when he shoots.
See also
- Dirty Harry was the first in a series of Harry Callahan films, see Dirty Harry (series).
Trivia
- In the Dirty Harry video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System, the secret code for infinite lives is "Clyde," a reference to Eastwood's orangutan pal in the films Every Which Way But Loose and Any Which Way You Can [link].
- The virtual band Gorillaz has two singles named "Clint Eastwood" in their debut album and another called "Dirty Harry" on their recent album Demon Days.
- The final scene, in which Callahan throws his badge in the river, is a homage to a similar scene from 1952's High Noon.
- 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.
- Eastwood himself directed the jumper scene.
- In the 2004 movie, Starsky and Hutch, there is a Dirty Harry poster that is clearly visible in Starsky's bedroom.
- 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 black bank robber confronted by Callahan who just "gots to know" if Callahan fired six shot or five shots. 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.
- Eastwood performed the stunt in which he jumps on to the roof of a speeding schoolbus 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.
- A section of the Philippine police force ordered a print of the movie for use as a training film.[link][link]
- The gun used by Clint Eastwood in the filming of the movie was reportly not a .44 Magnum. According to legend, 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. 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. An actual Model 29 was used for the opening close-up shot in the sequel, Magnum Force.
- 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.
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, lets 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 have 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]
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: That Yellow Bastard |
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