Dirty Harry (1971)

Director:

Don Siegel

Writers:

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

Release Date:

23 December 1971 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

You don't assign him to murder cases, You just turn him loose.

Plot:

A San Francisco cop with little regard for rules (but who always gets results) tries to track down a serial killer who snipes at random victims.

Plot Keywords:

Dirty Harry | Ransom | Sniper | Police | City

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Clint Eastwood	...	Police Inspector Harry Callahan
Harry Guardino	...	Police Lt. Al Bressler
Reni Santoni	...	Police Inspector Chico Gonzalez
John Vernon	...	The Mayor
Andrew Robinson	...	Charles 'Scorpio Killer' Davis (as Andy Robinson)
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)

Also Known As:

Dead Right (USA) (original script title)

Runtime:

102 min | Portugal:99 min (cut version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Québec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Canada:R (Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Iceland:16 | UK:X (original rating) | Finland:K-16 (1972) (cut) (re-rating after appeal) | Netherlands:12 (TV rating) | Netherlands:16 | France:-12 | UK:15 (2008) | Ireland:15 (re-rating) (2008) | Ireland:18 | Finland:K-15 (DVD rating) | Peru:18 | Argentina:18 | Norway:15 (DVD rating) | Brazil:14 | Portugal:M/18 | Australia:MA | Australia:R (original rating) | Finland:(Banned) (1972) | Italy:VM14 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:16 (cut) | Norway:18 | Singapore:M18 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Bank of America Building - 555 California Street, San Francisco, California, USA

Company:

Malpaso Company, The

Trivia:

Harry drives a 1968 Ford Galaxie 500.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: At the cross on Mount Davidson, Scorpio makes Harry toss his gun a good distance away onto concrete, which would cause noticeable damage to the revolver's blued finish. However, in the final scene (when Harry again delivers his famous speech,) there is no visible damage to the weapon.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Harry Callahan: Jesus.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Red Heat (1988)

One of the defining film of the 1970s

Released on Christmas Day 1971, "Dirty Harry" transformed Clint Eastwood from cult figure to superstar. Another maverick cop thriller, "The French Connection," was released a few months earlier, and it may have won the Oscars and garnered the critical acclaim, but "Dirty Harry" is the true classic of the two, and the most influential. Great action magnificently directed by Don Siegel, the master of the genre, great dialogue, and relentless tension make this the ultimate detective thriller and one of the defining films of the 1970s.