Dirty Harry (1971)

When a mad man calling himself 'the Scorpio Killer' menaces the city, tough as nails San Francisco Police Inspector Harry Callahan is assigned to track down and ferret out the crazed psychopath.

Director:

Don Siegel

Writers:

Harry Julian Fink (screenplay), Rita M. Fink (screenplay),

Stars:

Clint Eastwood, Andrew Robinson, John Vernon

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Clint Eastwood	...	Police Inspector Harry Callahan
Andrew Robinson	...	Charles 'Scorpio Killer' Davis (as Andy Robinson)
John Vernon	...	The Mayor
Reni Santoni	...	Police Inspector Chico Gonzalez
Harry Guardino	...	Police Lt. Al Bressler
John Larch	...	The Chief
John Mitchum	...	Police Inspector Frank DiGiorgio
Mae Mercer	...	Mrs. Russell
Lyn Edgington	...	Norma
Ruth Kobart	...	Bus Driver
Woodrow Parfrey	...	Mr. Jaffe
Josef Sommer	...	Dist. Atty. William T. Rothko
William Paterson	...	Judge Bannerman
James Nolan	...	Liquor Store Owner
Maurice Argent	...	Sid Kleinman (as Maurice S. Argent)

Storyline

In the year 1971, San Francisco faces the terror of a maniac known as Scorpio- who snipes at innocent victims and demands ransom through notes left at the scene of the crime. Inspector Harry Callahan (known as Dirty Harry by his peers through his reputation handling of homicidal cases) is assigned to the case along with his newest partner Inspector Chico Gonzalez to track down Scorpio and stop him. Using humiliation and cat and mouse type of games against Callahan, Scorpio is put to the test with the cop with a dirty attitude.

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Plot Keywords:

dirty harry | partner | sniper | mayor | ransom | 

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Taglines:

Double Trouble!

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Official DVD Site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 December 1971 (USA)

Also Known As:

Harry, el sucio

Filming Locations:

Alamo Square, Hayes Valley, San Francisco, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

SEK 1,540,127 (Sweden)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Malpaso Company, The, Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min 99 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The bridge Callahan jumps off landing on the roof of a schoolbus (in Larkspur, California) was torn down in August 2003 after being damaged by a truck two months earlier.

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Goofs

After Scorpio takes the school bus, in the pan across the Civic Center there is a Texas flag flying outside of the mayor's office. However, the Civic Center Plaza has all fifty state flags on display - the Ohio flag can also be seen momentarily.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Harry Callahan: Jesus.

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Connections

Referenced in Friends, Lovers, & Lunatics (1989)

User Reviews

Eastwood and his .44 Magnum blew away this original action classic!

In quoting these famous lines: "A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do!" and "Go ahead, make my day!". They meant something for Clint Eastwood, turning from cowboy to hit man with a surge of raging anger and ambition. The mountain terrains became an urban metropolis, thus putting the guy off the saddle and into the bloody streets of San Francisco. Which makes DIRTY HARRY an incredible classic not to be missed, as well as Eastwood's shift to the action genre where society is run by evil. Its continuous impact of the events take place with a tight grip and a smooth pace. This remains to be one of the most entertaining experiences in classic movie history. All it takes is a cop over the edge and "The Most Powerful Handgun In The World".

Violence was the key factor of DIRTY HARRY, and continues to be violent even today. We've never come to see staggering sights of brutalities before, but it was made possible to heighten the overall realism of a dark San Francisco infested with crime. Another was the quality of Clint Eastwood's character as "Harry Callahan", which was obviously a breakthrough for him at the time. He is best described as a smart-talking cop who hated criminals and broken the laws in serving time for the police. A very unique character he was, for going by his own personal business and taking the job "dirty". The best acheivement goes for the cinematography. It sure doesn't look pretty, but the effectiveness of the dark renders this haunting where no place is safe enough to run or hide. The real winner is Don Siegel, for presenting the perfect atmosphere to shoot a picture that already had a premise driven by fear and anxiety, anger and tension. He sure hasn't done anything like this before, and possibly no movie had since then. Otherwise, we would have still been seeing these one-dollar Western shows in the afternoon!

Watch DIRTY HARRY today and you can see how the styles of moviemaking has evolved slow and easy, but it still packs a powerful bullet or two. If you've seen this six times or only five, you knew how lucky Clint Eastwood got the perfect part for being an all-new action star. This is the one, and original cop movie. And remember, this is "In Tribute To The Police Officers Of San Francisco Who Gave Their Lives In The Line Of Duty"!