Movie Flashback: Dirty Harry

I know what you’re thinking. “Did he fire six shots or only five?” Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement I kind of lost track myself. But being as this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you’ve got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?

Dirty Harry was released in 1971.

It was the first film in which Clint Eastwood starred as “Dirty” Harry Callahan, a San Francisco Police Inspector with a “shoot first, ask questions later” method of Law Enforcement.

The film would spawn four sequels, Magnum Force, The Enforcer, Sudden Impact, and The Dead Pool.

(Trailer by youtube user Syrah412)

In the film, Callahan is chasing a sadistic serial killer called Scorpio. The killer was loosely based on the real-life Zodiac Killer that was terrorizing the Bay Area at the time the movie was in production.

Unbelievably, the role of Dirty Harry was originally given to Frank Sinatra. He backed out of the project and a search was undertaken for a younger actor to play the role. Both Steve McQueen and Paul Newman turned down the role. It was Paul Newman that recommended that Clint Eastwood would be good in the role. So, without Newman, we might never have had Eastwood in one of his signature roles of his Hollywood career.

Callahan’s weapon of choice in the film is the .44 Magnum. After the film was released, sales of the gun dramatically increased.

In a 2008 poll by 20th Century Fox, the .44 Magnum finished as the 2nd most popular movie weapon…..behind the Light Sabre from Star Wars….

The film was made for $4 Million dollars and earned nearly $36 Million at the Box Office.

All these years later, when it came time for me to send Clint Eastwood a photo to be signed as part of my autograph collecting hobby, I just had to choose one of him as Dirty Harry Callahan.