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Dirty Harry (1971) is a crime thriller produced and directed by Don Siegel. It is the first film 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 followed by four sequels: Magnum Force in 1973, The Enforcer in 1976, Sudden Impact in 1983, and The Dead Pool in 1988.
class="link1" onMouseover='showByLink("m1266085",this)' onMouseout='hide("m1266085")'href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Serial_killer">serial killer who calls himself "Scorpio" (Andy Robinson) murders a young woman in a San Francisco high-rise rooftop swimming pool using a high-powered sniper rifle from the top of the 555 California Street skyscraper.
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Quotations
Clint Eastwood is Dirty Harry. And boy, does he get all the dirty jobs.
Detective Harry Callahan. He doesn't break murder cases. He smashes them.
Mayor: The City of San Francisco does not pay criminals not to commit crimes. Instead, we pay a police department.
No wonder they call him Dirty Harry. Always get the shit-end of the stick.
Now you know why they call me 'Dirty Harry.' Every dirty job that comes along.
With his .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, Dirty Harry wipes out crime to hell.
Encyclopedia
Dirty Harry (1971) is a crime thriller produced and directed by Don Siegel. It is the first film 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 followed by four sequels: Magnum Force in 1973, The Enforcer in 1976, Sudden Impact in 1983, and The Dead Pool in 1988.
Plot
A serial killer who calls himself "Scorpio" (Andy Robinson) murders a young woman in a San Francisco high-rise rooftop swimming pool using a high-powered sniper rifle from the top of the 555 California Street skyscraper. The spent shell casing is found on the roof of another high-rise across the street by Inspector Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood); it's accompanied by a ransom message from the Scorpio Killer, promising more deaths if the city does not pay him $100,000. The chief of police, with the agreement of the Mayor (John Vernon), assigns Harry to the case and arranges for extra support.
As he waits for his lunch in a local cafe, Harry notices a robbery is taking place and tells the cafe owner to call the police and report an armed robbery in progress. While he waits for reinforcements, the robbers emerge from the bank, shooting wildly into the bank, forcing Harry to act. He confronts a robber in the street, who fires a shotgun at him. Harry returns fire, sending the robber sprawling to the ground. Another robber makes it into the getaway car, which the driver aims at Harry as he pulls away. Harry fires at the car, causing the driver to lose control and crash into a fire hydrant. Harry turns back to the robber he shot earlier, approaches the wounded man (Albert Popwell), and utters his famous line:
The next day, Harry is assigned a rookie partner named Chico Gonzalez (Reni Santoni). Annoyed, Harry notes that his partners always get injured (or worse) while working with him and that he needs someone experienced, but accepts Gonzalez when the Chief gives him no other option.
A police aircraft foils Scorpio's second attempt at murder when he's targeting an African American in a park, but Scorpio escapes. The next night, he manages to kill a young boy from another rooftop. Chico proves himself when he saves Harry from a beating while Harry's investigating a briefcase matching the helicopter team's description of Scorpio's rifle case.
Since Scorpio's last victim was African American, the police believe Scorpio will pursue a Catholic priest as his next victim, feeling 'owed' one for the disruption of his earlier attempt. The police set up a sting, with teams on rooftops throughout the city, but leaving the rooftop Scorpio used in his last murder clear, and providing a target of opportunity, a priest at the Sts. Peter and Paul Church. Harry and Chico wait for Scorpio on an adjacent rooftop, Harry with a high-powered rifle and Chico with a spotlight. They initiate a shootout with Scorpio when he appears, but Scorpio escapes, killing a police officer.
Infuriated that his plans have twice been foiled, Scorpio kidnaps a teenage girl, rapes her and buries her alive. He contacts the city and demands twice his previous ransom. giving the city until 3:00 a.m. the following morning, when the girl's air will run out. The mayor decides to pay, and Harry told to deliver the money to a location at the docks with no back-up. Without permission, Harry wears a wire, has Chico follow him and tapes a knife to his shin.
When Harry reaches the drop point, Scorpio contacts him through a public pay phone, sending Callahan on a journey between various pay phones in the city, in order to separate the inspector from any back-up that he may have. However, Harry's wire allows Chico to follow him.
The chase ends when Harry reaches an enormous cross at Mount Davidson, one of the city's parks. Scorpio instructs Harry to drop his gun and the money, then to face the cross and stand up against it. Scorpio then proceeds to beat Harry before revealing that he has "changed his mind" and is going to let the girl die anyway, and kill Harry as well. Chico, thanks to the wireless microphone, arrives at the scene and ambushes Scorpio, firing at him and saving Harry. Chico is shot in the resulting shootout. While Scorpio is distracted, Harry stabs him in the leg with his concealed knife. Scorpio screams hysterically and escapes without the money. Chico survives his wound, but tells Harry he will be resigning from the force.
Harry and his new partner, Frank DiGiorgio, question several doctors in the area. They find the doctor who treated Scorpio. The doctor tells them that he has seen Scorpio living and working in nearby Kezar Stadium. Running out of time, Harry and Frank break into the stadium and search Scorpio's room without a warrant. Harry hears Scorpio fleeing and chases him, shooting Scorpio in the same leg he was stabbed in. When Scorpio is unwilling to reveal the location of the girl, instead asking for a lawyer, Harry tortures Scorpio by standing on his wounded leg. Scorpio finally tells where he has been keeping the girl but, unfortunately, she probably was dead before she was buried.
Because Harry broke into his home illegally and tortured him to obtain a confession, Scorpio is released without charge. As Scorpio's rifle was seized improperly, it cannot be used as evidence and the District Attorney decides that he cannot be charged with any of the other murders. After Scorpio's release, Harry follows Scorpio on his own time. Scorpio sees Harry following him, and pays a thug to give him a severe but controlled beating. He then tells the press that the police are harassing him, personally naming Harry as the one responsible for his injuries to the press. The police chief orders Harry to stop following Scorpio, despite Harry's protest that he didn't beat the man, because despite his injuries "he looks too damn good". However, he follows his orders, knowing he cannot stop Scorpio if he is suspended or fired. On the next evening, Scorpio attacks a liquor store owner, takes the store owner's pistol and leaves.
Using the pistol, Scorpio kidnaps a busload of children. He demands another ransom and a jet to take him out of the country. The mayor again insists on paying, but Harry refuses to deliver the money this time, instead pursuing Scorpio without authorization. Scorpio spots Callahan standing on the top of a railroad trestle over the road to the airport. When the bus passes underneath him, Callahan jumps onto the top of the vehicle. A panicked Scorpio starts shooting through the roof and drives the bus erratically, trying to shake Harry off. Scorpio stops the bus after crashing through some gates while swerving to avoid a truck. The children escape while Scorpio runs into a nearby cement factory.
Harry pursues Scorpio, resulting in a gunbattle. Scorpio retreats until he takes as hostage a boy who happens to be fishing at a nearby slough. Harry pretends to be willing to surrender, then shoots Scorpio in the shoulder, knocking him to the ground. The boy escapes, and Scorpio looks up to see Harry standing over him, gun drawn. Scorpio's pistol is inches from his hand.
Harry then reprises his now-famous "Do you feel lucky, punk?" speech. Unlike the bank robber in the earlier scene, Scorpio tries his luck and, laughing maniacally, grabs for his gun. Before he can fire, Harry shoots him in the chest, and Scorpio falls into the water.
Harry watches as Scorpio's body floats on the surface of the water. He takes out his inspector's badge, and hurls it into the water, walking away.
Cast
Original story and casting
According to Mark Whitman's book, "The Films of Clint Eastwood", the original draft for the script was titled "Dead Right" by Julian and Rita Fink. It was set in New York City, not San Francisco, and ended with a police sniper taking out Scorpio instead of Callahan. Another earlier version of the story was set in Seattle, Washington.
Although Dirty Harry 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), found the large handgun too unwieldy, and declined the role. It's also been suggested that the death of Sinatra's 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.
John Wayne was considered for the role at one point but was not offered the part due to his age. Wayne later portrayed a Dirty Harry-like detective in McQ, a 1974 film directed by John Sturges and set in Seattle. Marlon Brando was also rumored to be attached to the project. Eastwood was only offered the role of Harry Callahan after Steve McQueen and Paul Newman also declined the role for varying reasons. 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 neglected in the political atmosphere of the time.
Scorpio, the film's antagonist, was based on the real-life Zodiac Killer, who was on the loose in the San Francisco Bay Area at the time. In a later novelisation of the film, Scorpio was referred to as "Charles Davis," an escaped Canadian mental patient who murdered his grandparents while still a teenager. 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 relatively unknown actor, Andy Robinson. 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 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. Nonetheless, he still blinks when he shoots. Robinson also reportedly was squeamish about filming the scene where he verbally and physically abuses several schoolchildren.
The character Dirty Harry is allegedly based on real life San Francisco police inspector Dave Toschi, one of the investigators of the Zodiac murders. Writer John 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.
Music
The widely admired soundtrack for Dirty Harry was created by composer Lalo Schifrin, who had previously collaborated with director Don Siegel in the production of Coogan's Bluff, also starring Clint Eastwood. Schifrin fused a wide variety of influences, including classical music, jazz, and psychedelic rock into a highly original 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."
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.
At the time of the film's release, the film caused controversy, sparking debate over issues ranging from police brutality to victims' rights and the nature of law enforcement. Movie critic Roger Ebert, while praising the film's technical merits, denounced the movie for its "fascist moral position". A section of the Philippine police force ordered a print of the movie for use as a training film. The motif of a cop who cares more for justice than rules 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 were critically praised in Europe and the U.S. as well.
In 1972, soon after the release of the film in the state of Victoria 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 A$1 million ransom, which the Victorian 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.
Depiction of firearms
"Dirty" Harry Callahan also helped popularize the Smith & Wesson Model 29 revolver, chambered for the powerful .44 Magnum cartridge. 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 excessive recoil (making target re-acquisition difficult) and over-penetration issues, which greatly increases the likelihood of the bullet going through its target and injuring bystanders.
The gun used by Clint Eastwood in the filming of the movie was reportedly not a Model 29. According to a story related by a member of 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 Remington 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.
However, in the final scene between Callahan and Scorpio, there is a close-up of Callahan's revolver. A freeze-frame of this close-up clearly shows the markings "44 MAGNU" with the final "M" not readily distinguishable, due to pixel resolution limitations. Additionally, a careful comparison with a Smith and Wesson Model 629 (the stainless-steel version of Callahan's Model 29) shows the bore of the muzzle to be the same proportional size (a .41 caliber, while large, is visibly smaller to a trained eye). Thus, while it is certainly possible that other Smith and Wesson revolvers were used as props throughout the film, this scene clearly used a genuine Model 29.
Another version of the Dirty Harry gun story: In the scene where we see Inspector Callahan drawing his oversized revolver for the first time (bank robbery scene), the gun used was a Smith & Wesson Model 29 in .44 Magnum with a 6 1/2" barrel, but at the entrance to the alley when chasing the man with the tan suitcase, the model with the 8 3/8" barrel is clearly visible. Subsequent shooting (both with the cameras and the gun) was conducted using a Smith and Wesson Model 25 in .45 Long 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 and thus, readily available (unlike blanks for a .44 Magnum, which the prop department would have had to fabricate from scratch). 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. However, the film's co-writer, John Milius, who owns one of the original guns from "Dirty Harry" and its sequel, Magnum Force, has written in gun magazines that a .44 Magnum was indeed used for filming and publicity shots.
The 44 Magnum cartridge has since been eclipsed as "the most powerful in the world." Factory-produced examples include the .454 Casull, the .475 Wildey Magnum, the .50 Action Express, the .460 S&W Magnum and the .500 S&W Magnum. Some gunsmiths also offer custom-built or limited-production handguns chambered for proprietary calibers or high-velocity rifle cartridges. Perhaps the most powerful handguns ever made are single-shot pistols chambered for the 50 BMG (Browning Machine Gun) and .600 Nitro Express calibers.
The gun Scorpio steals from the liquor store owner and uses in the bus hijack is a 9mm Walther P38. Scorpio also uses a German MP40 sub-machine gun in his rooftop shoot-out with Harry.
The .44 Magnum ranked second in a 2008 20th Century Fox poll of the most popular film weapons, which surveyed approximately two thousand films fans.
Box office performance
In the US, the film made a total of $35,976,000. Overall this figure made it the least profitable of the five films in the Dirty Harry franchise.
DVDs
Warner Home Video owns rights to the Dirty Harry series. Dirty Harry (1971) has been remastered for DVD three times: In 1998, 2001 and 2008 (for release June 3). 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.
Filming locations
In San Francisco, California:
Other locations:
Production notes
* The final scene, in which Callahan throws his badge in the water, is an 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".
- In one early scene when Callahan walks across the street we see a cinema board advertising Play Misty for Me, Clint Eastwood's directorial debut.
- Eastwood performed the stunt in which he jumps on to the roof of the hijacked school bus from a bridge himself, without a stunt double. His face is clearly visible throughout the shot. Eastwood himself also directed the suicide-jumper scene.
- 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 as a result of the double entendre and the scene had to be re-shot, but the line stayed.
- This film makes references to then recent criminal court trials such as Miranda v. Arizona and Escobedo v. Illinois.
- The "Do I Feel Lucky?" saying was the intro to Def Leppard's Hysteria World Tour.
External links
- Whitman, Mark. 1982. The Films of Clint Eastwood. New York, The Confucian Press. ISBN 0825301092.
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