Dirty Harry

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Dirty Harry
Dirty Harry theatrical poster
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 Uncredited: John Milius Terrence Malick
Starring	Clint Eastwood Harry Guardino Reni Santoni John Vernon Andy Robinson
Music by	Lalo Schifrin
Cinematography	Bruce Surtees
Editing by	Carl Pingitore
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	December 22, 1971
Running time	102 min
Country	United States
Language	English
Followed by	Magnum Force
All Movie Guide profile
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.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Influence and popularity 3 Filming locations 4 Trivia 5 External links

[edit] Plot

The year is 1971 as the film opens with a memorial and list to the dedication to the San Francisco Police Officers who served and died in the line of duty over the years, before proceeding to a scene where a serial killer nicknamed "Scorpio" (played by Andy Robinson) is 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). The Scorpio Killer threatens the city of San Francisco, announcing that he will kill one person every day until he is paid a ransom.

Callahan is assigned to the case and, much to his annoyance, is assigned a rookie 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 experienced.

Callahan's nickname, "Dirty Harry," 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, one near the St. Peter and Paul Church as Scorpio had earlier threatened to kill a priest. 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. 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 pay, and Callahan is asked to deliver the money to a location at 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.

The chase ends when Callahan reaches an enormous cross at Mount Davidson, one of the city's parks. 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. The killer reveals that he does not intend to free the girl after all and that he intends 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 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. To make matters worse, Scorpio is released without charge because Callahan broke into his home illegally and tortured him to obtain a 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 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!"

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, whereupon the killer releases the boy and drops his gun. Scorpio freezes, looking at his gun, and Callahan shoots him again, this time fatally. The film ends with Callahan flinging his detective's badge into the river in disgust at how he has lost faith in the law.

[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. 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. The box-office success of Dirty Harry led to the production of four sequels.

"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.

The cop who cares more for justice than rules motif was one subsequently imitated by a number of other films; the movie can also be counted as the seminal influence on the Italian tough-cop movies Poliziotteschi which dominated the 70s and that conquered critics in Europe and then back in the U.S. as well.

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 ten years 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. An earlier version of the story was set in Seattle, Washington. (Wayne, who turned down the role, later on portrayed a Dirty Harry-like detective in McQ, a 1974 film directed by John Sturges and 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 the time. The Zodiac Killer has never been caught. In a later novelisation of the film, Scorpio was referred to as "Charles Davis," an escaped Canadian mental patient. 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 a 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

• Bank of America Center - 555 California St., San Francisco, California, U.S.
• California Hall, San Francisco, California, U.S.
• San Francisco City Hall
• Hall of Justice - 850 Bryant Street, San Francisco, California, U.S.
• Holiday Inn Select Downtown Hotel - 750 Kearny Street, San Francisco, California, U.S.
• Kezar Stadium - Frederick Street, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California, U.S.
• Larkspur, California, U.S.
• Mill Valley, California, U.S.
• Dolores Park, Mission District, San Francisco, California, U.S.
• Mt. Davidson Cross, Mount Davidson
• San Francisco, California, U.S.
• St. Peter and Paul Church, Washington Square - 666 Filbert St., San Francisco, California, U.S.
• Washington Square, North Beach, San Francisco, California, U.S.
• The Roaring 20's Stripclub - Broadway and Columbus, San Francisco, California, U.S.

[edit] Trivia

• One of the most famous misquotes in movie history, "Do you feel lucky, punk?" was never said in the film.

• The original draft for the script was titled "Dead Right" by Julian and Rita Fink. It was to star Frank Sinatra, directed by Irvin Kershner, and set in New York City, not San Francisco. Sinatra pulled out of the role for undisclosed reasons, some citing problems with his hand, which he broke whilst filming The Manchurian Candidate although it's also been suggested that the death of his father prompted him to seek lighter material. Still, the Nov. 9th 1970 issue of Box Office magazine was one trade-paper that touted the pre-production Dirty Harry starring Frank Sinatra.[2]

• 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.

• Callahan's badge number is 2211 and his police dispatch call ID is "Inspector 71".

• Eastwood himself directed the jumper scene.

• In one early scene when Callahan walks across the street we see a cinema hoarding advertising 'Play Misty for Me' ; another acclaimed Eastwood film.

• 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 Andrew 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 S&W 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.

• The line "My, that's a big one" which is said by Scorpio when Callahan removes his gun was an ad-lib by Andrew Robinson. The crew broke down in laughter and the scene had to be re-shot, but the line stayed.

• The gun Scorpio steals from the liquor store owner is a Walther P38.

• A section of the Philippine police force ordered a print of the movie for use as a training film.[3][4]

• 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, 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.

• 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 [5].

• In the video game Resident Evil 4, there is a magnum called the "Broken Butterfly." It looks very similar to the .44 magnum used by Harry Callahan, and the in-game description for the gun reads: "This will make anyone's day."

• In Quest for Camelot, when confronted by one of Ruber's men, Bladebeak quotes the "Do I feel lucky?" line (with the word, lucky replaced with clucky).

• Drum and bass artist Adam F has a track called "Dirty Harry's Revenge" on his album "KAOS", featuring Beenie Man and Siamese.

• 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.

• 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 Cobb 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, member of D12, had a second nickname which was Dirty Harry. This in turn is 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."

• Wakefield-based death metal band Nailed have a song based on the Scorpio character, it can be found on their debut album A Pure World is a Dead World.

• The character Dirty Harry is allegedly based on real life San Fransisco police inspector David Toschi, one of the investigators of the Zodiac murders.

[edit] External links

• Dirty Harry at the Internet Movie Database
• Dirty Harry at Rotten Tomatoes
• Harry Callahan fan site
• Clint Eastwood interview: Dirty Harry
• Filming locations in Dirty Harry
• Dirty Harry Tour of San Francisco
• Trade paper ad for Frank Sinatra to play Dirty Harry
• Dirty Harry at the Open Directory Project (suggest site)

The Dirty Harry films
Official films Dirty Harry | Magnum Force | The Enforcer | Sudden Impact | The Dead Pool