Dirty Harry

Dirty Harry is a 1971 film directed by Don Siegel and starring Clint Eastwood, as Harry Callahan, a San Francisco cop with a bad attitude, a big gun, and a reputation for unorthodox, dangerous, but effective methods that tended toward the extralegal.

Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.

The movie is popularly credited for being responsible for the famous line: "Do you feel lucky, punk?", although this is in fact a misquote. The actual quote follows. To set it up, after quite a few shots have been fired, Dirty Harry is holding his .44 Magnum and standing over a criminal. The criminal's gun is but inches from his hand. Does he grab it, or ...

"Ah Ah, I know what you're thinking, punk. You're thinkin', 'Did he fire six shots or only five?' Now, to tell you the truth, I've forgot myself in all this excitement. But being as this is the .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and will blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself a question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya, punk?"

This was a very popular crime film that spawned four sequels in which Eastwood reprised the role. The first movie stars Andrew Robinson as the psychotic serial killer 'Scorpio'. Of some note, Scorpio was inspired by the real-life Zodiac Killer who terrorized San Francisco in the late 1960s.

Many cop movies since borrow from Eastwood's "alienated cop" role in Dirty Harry.

There were four sequels to the film:

Magnum Force, directed by Ted Post. The main theme of this film is vigilante justice, and the plot revolves around the killings of criminals who have avoided conviction in court. It is generally considered the second best in the series.

The Enforcer, directed by James Fargo. In this film, Harry is teamed up with a female partner, and takes on a terrorist ring. The film contains themes of feminism and political correctness. Fans of the series hold this to be a weak, overly silly entry, but more casual viewers seem to like it better.

Sudden Impact, directed by Clint Eastwood. This film's plot revolves around Harry being sent to a small town to follow up a lead in a murder case. It is best known for the phrase "Go ahead, make my day" (which is often incorrectly attributed to the first film), and usually considered a better film than The Enforcer.

The Dead Pool (1988), directed by Buddy Van Horn. In the final film in the series, Harry finds out about a game called The Dead Pool, in which people bet on which celebrity will die first. Eventually, someone tries to rig the game by killing certain celebrities. Universally regarded as the worst in the series, and proved a severe financial and critical flop upon release.

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Dirty Harry became the locals' nickname for a nuclear test of May 19 1953 in Nevada.

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