On This Day
Dirty Harry released
December 23rd 1971
11:14 23 December 2023
'Dirty Harry' went on wide release in theaters across the US on this day in 1971. By the start of the 1970’s, a new era of cinema had seen Clint Eastwood emerge as one of its more successful leading actors. From playing Rowdy Yates in the popular western TV series ‘Rawhide’ to working in Europe with Leone, playing the man with no name in the genre-defining ‘Dollars Trilogy’ and back to Hollywood to appear in films as diverse as ‘Paint Your Wagon’ (1969), Kelly’s Heroes’ (1970) and ‘The Beguiled’ (1971).
It was Don Siegels 1971 cop thriller though that propelled Eastwood to international superstardom.
The script ‘Dead Right’ by husband and wife team Harry Julian Fink and Rita M. Fink was linked to a number of actors including John Wayne, Frank Sinatra, Steve McQueen and Robert Mitchum before Warner Bros. offered Eastwood the part.
Originally set in New York, with the lead character in his mid to late 50’s, the script was rewritten for Eastwood, who was then 41, relocated to San Francisco and renamed ‘Dirty Harry’.
A psychopathic sniper calling himself Scorpio (Andy Robinson) is holding the city to ransom. Inspector Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) is assigned to catch the killer but encounters opposition from both City Hall and his own police department to his strongarm methods. When Scorpio kidnaps a teenage girl, a deadly game of cat and mouse develops between the two adversaries. One with a sniper rifle aimed at innocent civilians, the other with his powerful Smith and Wesson .44 Magnum handgun and a police badge.
Scorpio tells Harry he intends to let the girl die, leading to a desperate race against time to save her. After tracking the killer down and using excessive force to extract information, Harry is outraged when Scorpio is released on bail due to inadmissible evidence. Knowing he will reoffend, Harry tracks Scorpio and waits for him to make his move.
Don Siegel and director of photography Bruce Surtees make great use of the San Francisco locations, accompanied by Lalo Schfrin’s terrific score.
There are a couple of great set pieces woven into the plot, the foiled bank robbery with its legendary “Do you feel lucky” dialogue and the night time rescue of a would be suicide from a high rise building, a scene directed by Eastwood, still honing his craft as a filmmaker off the back of his debut ‘Play Misty for Me (1971).
At the time of release ‘Dirty Harry’ was met with controversy and accusations that it glamourised police brutality. The public wanted more though, leading to a worthy sequel, Magnum Force (1973) and three more films of varying quality through the 70’s and 80’s.
The original film paved the way for a new era of cop movies and today its influence and style is still evident in TV shows like ‘Bosch’.
More than 50 years on ‘Dirty Harry’ remains one of the all time great police thrillers.