Dirty Harry Dirty Harry Dirty Harry is a 1971 American action crime thriller film produced and directed by Don Siegel, the first in the "Dirty Harry" series. Clint Eastwood plays the title role, in his first outing as San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan. The film drew upon the actual case of the Zodiac Killer as the Callahan character seeks out a similar vicious psychopath. "Dirty Harry" was a critical and commercial success and set the style for a whole genre of police films. It was followed by four sequels: "Magnum Force" in 1973, "The Enforcer" in 1976, "Sudden
Dirty Harry (character) a film icon, so much so that his nickname, "Dirty Harry", has entered the lexicon as slang for ruthless police officers. All of the "Dirty Harry" films feature Callahan killing criminals, mostly in gunfights. Phrases he utters in armed stand-offs, ""Go ahead, make my day"" and ""[...] you've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya, punk?"" have become iconic. As the 1971 film was criticized for carrying fascist, or at least authoritarian, undertones, the sequels attempted to be more balanced by pitting Harry against villains from a broader ideological spectrum; notably in 1973's "Magnum