Dirty Harry (1971)

Action/Drama. Directed by Don Siegel. Starring Clint Eastwood, Andrew Robinson, Reni Santoni, John Vernon, Harry Guardino, John Mitchum. Synopsis:An embittered and no-nonsense cop tracks a maniacal killer who threatens the city of San Francisco. 

A few disclosures before I blog on about this one: I'm a huge Clint Eastwood ( Gran Torino, Heartbreak Ridge) fan, to me, he is the greatest star of all time-not actor, but movie star-and I have seen this movie over a dozen times, but first saw it recently on DVD, which will replace the VHS copy in my collection; and I happen to think the series of "Dirty Harry" films created the action hero as we know him (and now, thankfully, her, too) today. That's right, I think Clint begat Bronson, Bruce, Arnold, Chuck, Wesley, Jean-Claude, Steven, Jennifer, Uma, and all of the rest who have come, are here now, and will come. I think Clint is more of the legend of John Wayne than John Wayne was. I think Dirty Harry is the rare film that was perfectly in step with its time, yet does not-and will not-feel dated decades later. (If you look past the special effects and hair styles) 

Other than that, I don't think too much of the film at all. 

As I'm sure all of you between the ages of 15 and 99 know, Inspector "Dirty" Harry Calihan is a bitter, jaded, and brutally effective San Francisco police officer who is swimming against the tide in the early 1970's wave of anti-police setiment in addition to a growing sense of lawlessness.

That he is in San Francisco, the site of one of the most rebellious cities of that era and also the location of the Zodiac killer, one of the most notorious unsolved series of murders in the twentieth century, is no accident. Its almost as if the film is saying that San Francisco, one of the most beautiful cities on Earth, is covered by a layer of filth, largely of its own doing. Of course, that is just my take and the great thing about this movie is that it will draw you in, whether you're left, right, or middle of the road politically or even apolitical. (I think the phrase of the time would have been: "whether you're with the hawks or the doves")

The plot is straightforward, a maniac killer and Vietnam vet who calls himself Scorpio (Andrew Robinson) is terrorizing the City with random killings and ransom demands. What's even worse, in the eyes of Harry Calihan, is the fact that the police department-handcuffed by criminal friendly laws and citizen apathy-seems reluctant to confront Scorpio, instead choosing to try to deal with him as if he is a rational person. As you might guess, Harry will have none of that.

The actions of the Scorpio escalate, until we get the final showdown between Harry and the Scorpio in what has to be one of the most legendary monologues (...do I feel lucky? Well, do ya', punk!?!) in movie history...at least in action movie history.(Although I will say that "Go ahead, make my day." from Sudden Impact might be close, especially for those in the under 40 club...but not me)

Actually, those of you who have seen the movie will know that Clint actually utters the line twice in the film, once with humor to a failed bank robber (the late Albert Popwell, who made appearances in all of the Dirty Harry films until his death), and the final time with bubbling rage to Scorpio. ( I saw an interview with Andrew Robinson-Scorpio-about five years or so back and he said that he doesn't think a month has gone by in the last thirty  years without at least one guy-he said its always a guy- coming up to him no matter where he is or what he's doing and saying the line verbatim)

Its also interesting how many social issues are touched on in retrospect, including race, homosexuality, and, in later Dirty Harry movies, feminism. To me, the film and the series were ahead of its time, only by a few years, which is a lot when you think about it. Surprisingly, I don't think the movie is as political as some have said, the decision of the prosecutor (Josef Sommer Witness, The Court Martial Of Johnson C. Whittaker) not to charge Scorpio initially and to accuse Harry of breaking the law is-I can say as a former criminal prosecutor, pure fantasy and not even good fiction in the context of believability. But, its great theater, the scene, as most scenes in Eastwood movies, is made not because of what Clint says but what he does in reaction. 

Has there ever been a trait more recognizable for all it means than Clint's squint? This is one of the top 100 American films ever made. 

At least, that's what I think.