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Dirty Harry

Threat advisory: Elevated - Significant risk of entertaining activities

Movie propaganda

Detective Harry Callahan. He doesn't break murder cases. He smashes them.

Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) is a tough, streetwise San Francisco cop whom they call "Dirty Harry".

A rooftop sniper calling himself "Scorpio" (Andy Robinson) has killed twice and holds the city ransom with the threat of killing again. Harry will nail him... one way of the other - no matter what "the system" prescribes.

Target demographic movie keyword propaganda

Police serial killer crime San Francisco film ransom sniper

Persons of interest

Clint Eastwood .... "Dirty" Harry Callahan
Harry Guardino .... Bressler
Reni Santoni .... Chico Gonzalez
John Vernon .... The Mayor
Andrew Robinson .... Killer
John Larch .... Chief
John Mitchum .... Frank DiGiorgio
Mae Mercer .... Mrs Russell
Lyn Edgington .... Norma
Woodrow Parfrey .... Mr Jaffe
Josef Sommer .... Rothko
Harry Julian Fink .... Storywriter, Writer
RM Fink .... Story, Writer
Dean Riesner .... Screenwriter
John Milius .... Screenwriter
Don Siegel .... Director

Cinematic intelligence sources

FYI:

When the district attorney asks Harry if he's heard of "Miranda", that's the court case in the USA that lead to criminals on TV and in the movies being read their rights, as in to silence, an attorney, etc.
The Scorpio character was based on the Zodiac Killer, who terrorised San Francisco in the 60s and was never caught. He once sent the city a note threatening to hijack and kill a busload of schoolchildren, which is where the inspiration for Scorpio's feat originated.
Yes, Star trek fans, that's the same Andrew Robinson who plays Garak in Deep Space Nine.

See also Magnum force, The enforcer, Sudden impact, The dead pool, Zodiac
Studios and distributors:

Warner Bros * Roadshow Films

Intelligence analyst

Special Agent Matti

Theatrical report

Good cop, bad cop, all in the same man.

Harry Callahan is a man who believes in justice but is frequently caught up in the bureaucrats' fondness for legalities. He does what has to be done with a gun the size of a small rocket launcher, taking out only those who need to be taken out. If Harry comes gunning for you then you are g-u-i-l-t-y, guilty.

Not that he's a wild west cowboy maverick with a six shooter, a quick draw and a white hat - far from it - Harry brings them in alive to answer to the courts, it's just that if he has to pull out his gun he won't be shy in using it. Crime doesn't pay and criminals always get charged but Harry won't take anything payment except 500 grams of flesh (or a few litres of blood on deposit).

There's a place waiting for him in the Victorian Police Force.

All in all, Dirty Harry is a good cop thriller, suffering only from the longer attention spans of 70s audiences and some very flared trousers, but, it's a movie that anyone who wants to call themselves an aficionado of films must see, if only for the classic line:

Do you feel lucky, punk?