The first Dirty Harry movie came out in 1971. My late first wife and I saw it in a theater during our honeymoon. One of my first published articles was a review of it that appeared in New Hampshire’s statewide newspaper, the Manchester Union-Leader. Suffice to say (nothing against Clint Eastwood) the Dirty Harry character is not a role model for law enforcement, in my opinion.
Nonetheless, it’s an iconic movie. I recently ran across some interesting “inside story” stuff on the movie, here:
Since I was a critic of the film, I was particularly interested in this one, advertising that it criticized the critics:
It turns out I mostly agree with its criticism of some critics.
And, for perspective, the iconic Siskel and Ebert:
Trip down memory lane with a few extras thrown in. I didn’t read any of the reviews back then, so the “fascist” labels strangely echo the common complaints of the left today. Oh, racist too. Except when it’s them being fascist & racist. Come to think of it, while conveniently ignored, fascists were socialists.
I did see the movie, yeah, I did cringe at some of the scenes. There’s one scene that brought back memories of things seen on actual surveillances. Blinds and curtains folks, blinds and curtains. Also recall paying at least twice MSRP for a S&W .44 Magnum for deer hunting where a rifle was a hinderance, NOT because of Harry.
Also recall (second movie?) where Harry demonstrates an understanding of concealment rather than cover.
or just get a Ruger Super Redhawk in .44 Mag. I happen to know at least some were made in a 9.5 inch barrel.
I was on both waiting lists, Ruger was much longer and the S&W came in surprisingly fast.
I actually just had an old timer in who was talking about his favorite 300 gr grizzly flat point load in .44 Mag when I pulled this up, Mas. That said, I remember an article you wrote back around 1985 or so which detailed the likely fate that would befall our Harry if he were to carry out the “do you feel lucky?” drill for real. Not a good day out.
One of my favorites. We must remember that these films were ENTERTAINMENT, not training. We must also ensure our youngsters understand that when they play Halo of GTA.
In those days I couldn’t afford a Model 29, even if I could find one.
I was a rookie policeman in December of ’71, fresh out of the Army and only 14 months from leaving Viet Nam. I remember that a week before Dirty Harry premiered you could buy a new Smith Model 29 for less than $200 at the most expensive sporting goods store in Houston. A week later, used “29s” went for over $350 (that’s 1971 dollars, remember.)
As far as all the cries of “fascism” and “racism”…those are the same people (or rather their children or grandchildren) who call for defunding the police today.
You saw what happened then…you see what’s happening now.
I enjoyed the Collative video. Thanks for posting.
Commetary:
1) This is a movie drama, not a documentary.
B) I didn’t realize that intersectionality was a thing back then. Also “dog whistles”.
III) The .454 Casull was more powerful. 😉
Four) I’m glad that Harry tosses his badge at the end. My interpretation was that he was sick of the police business and that it was no longer worth it.
11-6) I was unable to find a Model 29 and had to settle for a Model 57. 😆
Your numbering of comments reminds me of an IRS form.
Richard,
I’m guessing that Rick wanted to be non-partisan, and use as many diverse numbering systems as possible. After all, if you only use Arabic numerals, you are showing favoritism to the Arabs. If you only use Roman numerals, you are favoring the Romans. If you only use letters from the English alphabet, you are favoring those WASPs, the Anglophones.
I thought he messed up when I saw “11-6).” Then, I realized, 11-6=5. Or, to be more inclusive, XI-VI=V. Rick is very creative!
The Dirty Harry films are fantasy. Especially with the original 1971 film, people enjoyed the fantasy of the big, tough cop dishing out rough justice to criminals.
People, nowadays, forget just how bad crime was back in this time period. People think crime is bad today. Well, it is bad enough (in truth) but, in today’s World, the top criminals all hold positions of power in Washington, D.C., or in Wall Street or the big global firms. In 1971, the crime was in the streets and in people’s faces. It was not hidden in corporate reports or hidden by the abetting media as it is today.
Let me provide a few statistics to illustrate. These are all drawing from the New York City Police firearm discharge / use-of-force reports:
In 1971, in New York City alone, there were 810 incidents wherein the NYPD discharged their firearms. During these incidents:
The number of NYPD officers shot and killed = 12
The number of NYPD officers shot and injured = 47
The number of suspects shot and injured by the NYPD = 221
The number of suspects shot and killed by the NYPD = 93
Total number of shots fired by the NYPD in these 810 incidents = 2,113
Now, contrast the above with more current statistics drawn from the Year 2019:
Total number of firearm discharge incidents = 52
The number of NYPD officers shot and killed = 2
The number of NYPD officers shot and injured = 4
The number of suspects shot and injured by the NYPD = 13
The number of suspects shot and killed by the NYPD = 11
Total number of shots fired by the NYPD in these 52 incidents = 319
See the difference? Let me tell you, folks, it was like the Wild West in NYC back in the early 1970’s!
People were fed up with crime back then. Therefore, when a movie came out showing a super-tough cop kicking a$$ and blowing away criminals with a .44 magnum cannon, the audience was ready and willing to whoop it up and cheer! 🙂
The timing was perfect for the original Dirty Harry movie and its sequels.
What we need today is a movie about a super-tough hero who leads a revolution to “Drain the Swamp” in D.C. and on Wall Street. Such a movie would “clean up” (forgive the pun) at the box office as the Hero “cleans up” Washington.
Sadly, such a movie could never, never, ever be made today. Hollywood is totally in the pocket of the Swamp and the global corporations. Hollywood would never bite their Master’s hand by making such a movie. If anyone dared do it, he/she/it would be “Blacklisted” out of Hollywood so completely that it would make the ghost of the late Senator McCarthy turn green with envy!
Perhaps an independent film company… going around the entire Hollywood camp. Or perhaps an offshore company or set.
Pondering your statistics showing the big difference fifty years have made in crime, etc… back then, it would seem crime was mainly active within certain relatively closed circles, and/or in big cities. I grew up in Southern California far enough outside of Los Angeles were I never was exposed to anything of that sort. I was far removed from the drug scene (minimal at that time anyway), the whole underworld and corruption scene, and even in the mid sized city in Orange County were I lived the crie reports in the Daily Fishwrap (which I diligently consumed daily) had little in way of crime detailed as typical of any part of my normal activities. The whole hippie thing was definitely a thing, more a curiosity than any reality. Most “crime” was a stoner getting pinched for his weed, either by the coppers or by a competing dime bag dealer. Or crashing your car when driving drunk.
Nothing on a par with the activities portrayed in Dirty Harry.
By that standard, today’s crime is far more common and dangerous..carjackings at random anywhere, beatings and robberies, sometimes armed, of anyone anywhere, housebreakings are many times more common now than back then…. typically looking for stuff to flip to feed their drug habit. I live in a quiet rural area far enough frm a big city major crime is not common, but the petty stuff that can turn deadly in a heartbeat IS far more common here, and my exposure to it is far greater than when I was a kid in So Cal. But guns in the hands if good guys ARE far more common, though my state are trying to change that, illegally, but….. net door neighbour had his garage raided a couple times, began to take defensive measures, made sure his trusty .38 special was handy. Went out to check on a noise one night at bout 0230, noticed the light on in the garage, through the open mandoor. He was in slippers, so quietly placed himself in a good position, drew down on the perp inside his garage, and quietly informed him he was to leave IMMEDIATELY, without the stuff in his hands…. Perp about jumped out of his skin, nearly dropped his load into his britches, then beat feet out the mandoor sprinted the 75 feet to the road, and nor he nor any of his mates have ever been seen on this street in the last fifteen years, and NOT ONE housebreaking or pilfering incident in that time either. There really IS a fuctioning Bush Telegraph around here. We are now “marked” as self-policed.
Wow! Imagine standing up to a bully, and making such an impression, that no bullies frequent your neighborhood for 15 years. I’ll bet there is a lesson in that, somewhere.
In one scene, Harry tortured the killer to reveal the location of a kidnapping victim whose minutes were numbered. That shows the terrible dilemma decent society sometimes faces. But it’s not so much that this act torture was wrong so much as the danger that its acceptance could devolve into more casual use of torture.
Aside from that, what was the moral objection to the character? That he killed armed robbers while they were in the very act of threatening (and even attempting) murder? The law has always considered that justifiable. I think those who find that problematic are the ones who need to explain themselves.
I swear to God, I still remember, and talk about to this day, Siskel and Ebert reviewing one of the Dirty Harry movies and Siskel saying something about how there was no plot followed by Ebert saying something like “Plot! This is a Dirty Harry movie! There’s no ‘plot!'” It was beautiful! I remember it and talk about it fondly to this day! Thank you for this article, Mas!
40 years ago a buddy loved those movies and purchased a used 6” M29. It became the first gun I fired, very intimidating but enormously fun.
Triskel Arts Centre in Cork Ireland. Is this the coolest movie house ever?
https://triskelartscentre.ie/cinema/
February calendar:
Scarface
Coogan’s Bluff
Escape From New York
Two Mules for Sister Sara
Blade Runner
Robocop
Dirty Harry
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Predator (with the original all-Governor cast)
Escape from Alcatraz
Love Dirty Harry Callahan! Also, tell us about the five “Death Wish” movies next. Too bad real life can’t be like the movies. In real life, the good guys have to lose.
He fired 5 shots, not 6!
The last DVD re-issue added the sound effect for a 6th shot in apparent response to the ignorant who didn’t understand how “Harry” could click empty if he’d fired only 5 times.
If the character pulled the trigger not knowing whether or not the 29 would fire, he was a homicidal maniac. If he had cocked the hammer and then lowered it, knowingly cycling to an empty chamber, then Harry merely had an impish sense of humor.
But even Millius gave up trying to explain it.
I was in my second year in uniform when DH 1 came out. But it was number 2 that wad often discussed in the locker room. Guys would sit and argue who they would put on the list. Thanks Mas for bringing this up. Many of today’s officers wouldn’t understand.
I recently watched “Death Wish” for the first time in decades. I had forgotten what a well done movie it was (Dino de Laurentiis). Great seeing Jeff Goldblum as the psychotic young criminal. The frustration one feels with the “criminal justice system” today is echoed in that movie.
But, he did “say” (in Magnum Force) – “I shoot a “light-special”, it has less recoil than a 357 magnum with wad cutters”.
Was that just his competition load? Or, his street load?
Does it matter? It was a movie.
Whilst walking the dogs today I had a thought about real world incidents that are similar to the DH theme, and also some of the reactions in the aftermath.
Back in the last Century, some what in the same time frame, the Provos/PIRA (Provisional Irish Republican Army) liked to style themselves as “soldiers”. Their press releases/claims etc, proclaimed that their (terrorist) attacks were performed by “active service units”.
Yet when they were actually treated like enemy combatants, there was much screaming and arm waving from the usual individuals (plus the political wing) about how their rights were violated. (Funny thing, the various judicial processes ruled all justifiable homicides.)
Besides the action, I think that audiences also loved the dark and wicked humor displayed in the Dirty Harry films. For example:
Now, that’s the reruns
from the 4 o’clock news.
Since then he’s given
a statement to The Chronicle.
He claims you’ve been following him.
And beat him up.
What about it, Harry?
-You want my star?
-I want an answer.
Have you been following him?
Yeah, I’ve been following him
on my own time.
-Anybody can tell I didn’t do that.
-How?
Because he looks
too damn good, that’s how!
Classic Dirty Harry response! I loved that line! 🙂
I wonder that if sf had more cops like this on the force and were supported by the administration at the time would sf be the shit hole it is now? This applies to all the other shit cities we have in America. At least it would slow down the crap that is gong on now in the shit cities.
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