On this date 50 years ago, a film was released that changed cinema forever and catapulted Clint Eastwood into the stratosphere of the Hollywood elite. The movie that I’m referencing is, of course, “Dirty Harry.”
Eastwood was already a huge star before the movie came out in 1971, but in 1972 he was first crowned No. 1 in Quigley’s “Top Ten Money-Making Stars Poll.” You can credit a lot of that to the character of Harry Callahan. When it was all said and done, the movie grossed $36 million at the box office, on the budget of only $4 million. It’s no wonder why the movie spawned four sequels, but the original was as memorable as movies get.
The film is largely credited with starting the “loose cannon” cop character, who has been ripped off more times than we can count. The thing about Callahan was that he had to be a loose cannon. There was no good cop/bad cop. There was only him, taking on one of the great sharpshooter villains, Scorpio.
The film wasn’t released without a little controversy, with some critics calling it fascist, while also claiming it glamorized police brutality. On the other hand, some critics loved it right out of the gate. Despite what the media thought of the film, it has grown into a cult classic and a must-watch for any fan of Eastwood or cop thrillers.
There’s a lot more that could be said about Eastwood and his paramount role in this iconic movie, but we should look at it through the lens of three of the guns that make this movie so meaningful and memorable.