Dirty Harry 1971

A serial killer who calls himself "Scorpio" (Andy Robinson) murders a young woman in a San Francisco high-rise rooftop swimming pool using a high-powered sniper rifle from the top of the 555 California Street skyscraper. The spent shell casing is found on the roof of another high-rise across the street by Inspector Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood); it's accompanied by a message from the Scorpio Killer:

'To the city of San Francisco, I will enjoy killing one person every day until you pay me $100,000. If you agree, say so tomorrow morning in Personal Column San Francisco Chronicle and I will set up meeting. If I do not hear from you, it will be my next pleasure to kill a Catholic priest or a nigger-Scorpio'

The department cautiously assigns Harry to the case (he's recently been in trouble for pre-emptively shooting a rapist in the Fillmore district). They also provide extra helicopter surveillance and station men on rooftops around the churches and the city's black community.

Below: How Dirty Harry may have opened when seen in UK cinemas with its original X certificate

Below: Here are 4 great Original TV spots (60sec and 3 x 30secs) from Dirty Harry. Thanks to our great friend Sim at GRFilmFarm1 for supporting the Archive and letting us use their collection.
               
As a point of interest, the original opening of Dirty Harry included the Warner Brothers Kinney logo which was later replaced with the more standard 'shield in the sky' logo. For people who are perhaps unaware of this logo (it ran between 1970-72) I have included an image of it here, it is after all, a part of Dirty Harry's film history..

Dirty Harry / Magnum Force / Sudden Impact Anthology Soundtrack Lalo Schifrin CD

Dirty Harry / Magnum Force Rare Original 60 sec US TV Spot 16MM
            
Dirty Harry 1971 2-colour stills personally autographed by Clint in 2003

Dirty Harry 1971 Clint Eastwood Andy Robinson Massive Italian 2 piece poster 55x77

Dirty Harry 1971 Clint Eastwood Andy Robinson re-release Australian daybill poster (Scroll down for the Original release poster)

Dirty Harry 1971 Clint Eastwood Andy Robinson Swedish Insert poster

Dirty Harry 1971 Clint Eastwood Don Siegel Original German A1 poster

Dirty Harry 1971 Complete Lalo Schifrin Full Score CD from 2004

Dirty Harry 1971 Folded reproduction poster of the original US 1 sheet poster
Dirty Harry 1971 German booklet on Dirty Harry and Harry films

Dirty Harry 1971 German Original film program

Dirty Harry 1971 Japan Original fully illustrated Program

Dirty Harry 1971 Lobby set x 12 Spain

Dirty Harry 1971 Lobby set x 14 German

Dirty Harry 1971 Lobby sets A and B x 16 French


Dirty Harry 1971 UK FOH cards (x5)

Dirty Harry 1971 mini Lobby stills x 2 USA
Dirty Harry 1971 10 x 8 Press Stills b/w x 99 + 19 Colour

Dirty Harry 1971 Original Radio Spots 60, 60, 60, 30, 30, 30, 10 10 secs

Dirty Harry 1971 UK Original press book

Dirty Harry 1971 UK Original Press sheet

Dirty Harry 1971 US 1 sheet Spanish writing version
Dirty Harry 1971 US Original press book


Dirty Harry 1971 Very rare original UK quad poster in near mint condition red design version

Below: Dirty Harry / Klute another Double Bill release from Warner Brothers, below the UK Quad

Dirty Harry 1971 x 2 Diff Original film tie in Paperbacks
Below: The U.S. version of the Paperback by Bantam 1971

The UK version of paperback released by Star (Star-30099)

Dirty Harry 1971 x 8 Mexican (rare full set) 14 x 11 Lobby set

Dirty Harry 1971 x 8 very nice reprints of the original US lobby card set on 8 x 10 card stock








Dirty Harry 1971 LD Widescreen Starring Clint Eastwood stars in this Classic cop thriller

Dirty Harry 1971 Special Edition DVD Remastered in 5.1 sound and many extras

Dirty Harry The Original DVD This is the extremely rare U.S. promo Documentary on the films.

Here is a rare item that is always worth looking out for. Most people have probably seen this Documentary 'Dirty Harry The Original' it has appeared as a bonus on the Dirty Harry collection DVD and Blu-ray sets, The 29 minute documentary has host Robert Urich (who also appeared in Magnum Force) going through the five films in the series and includes interviews with Eastwood as well as John Millius. Also interviewed are co-stars from the series including Andrew Robinson, Patricia Clarkson, Evan C. Kim, Hal Holbrook and fan Arnold Schwarzenegger. So what makes this self-contained DVD so rare? Well, firstly it is a 'For your consideration' DVD Promo from Warner, Bros, which makes it nice in itself, however the running time for this particular version is almost 20 minutes longer than the transmitted version. You don't see this little gem come up too often, but it is most certainly worth looking out for - if at a good price.

Dirty Harry: City of Blood paperback based on the Clint Eastwood Character

Dirty Harry: Death on the Docks paperback based on the Clint Eastwood Character

Dirty Harry: Duel for Cannons paperback based on the Clint Eastwood Character

Dirty Harry: Family Skeletons paperback based on the Clint Eastwood Character

Dirty Harry: The Long Death paperback based on the Clint Eastwood Character

Dirty Harry: The Mexico Kill paperback based on the Clint Eastwood Character

Below: French versions of the Dane Hartman Dirty Harry novels

Dirty Harry: Very best of (my own Harry comp CD) 31 tracks 77.19

Below: Original Advance Ad from Warner Brothers when Frank Sinatra was set to play Harry, only to pull out after an injury to his hand. This Ad is very hard to come by these days.

Below: Japanese mini poster for Dirty Harry

Above: A rare Harry collectable is the Standee, designed for the theatre Lobby and shown here on an unknown studio backlot.

Below: The standee in its full colour glory..

And while on the subject of stands, here are a couple more, starting below with the Time Life Advance standee, another very rare Gem.

Below: Another die cut example of an Original Dirty Harry Standee

Below: The 40x60 US Poster and below that the US 3 Sheet poster


Below: The US Lobby set of 8 cards size 14x11

Below: The U.S. Insert, another collectable which always demands a high price

Below: The U.S. 1 sheet poster

Below: The U.S. Mini Lobby set 10x8

Below: Original Window sticker


Above: The slick Italian Dirty Harry Locandina
Below: Also from Italy, another wonderfully painted poster

Below: Belgium poster for Dirty Harry

Below: The Regular Dirty Harry UK Quad Poster Size 30 x 40

Below: Dirty Harry UK quad with header banner

Below: The Rare UK ABC Dirty Harry poster 60 x 40 (Thanks to Davy Triumph)

Below: Dirty Harry Australian 1 sheet poster

Below: Dirty Harry 1971 Poster 40 X 60 Life Magazine Style B

Below: Dirty Harry / Magnum Force Combo Warner Brothers R 1975 UK Quad poster

Below: Dirty Harry / Enter the Dragon Combo Warner Brothers Rare UK Quad poster (Thanks to Davy Triumph) 

Below: A rare Australian Press advertisement for the Dirty Harry / Klute combo release

Below: Another rare Newspaper advertisement for the same double bill, this time from the UK, my thanks to Davy Triumph

Below: Dirty Harry / Magnum Force Combo Warner Brothers R 1975 US 1 sheet poster

Below: Dirty Harry / Magnum Force Combo Pressbook R 1975 US

Below: The U.S. Half sheet from 1975

Dirty Harry 1971 Ltd edition poster for the 2010 showing in Washington Square, San Francisco Only 300 were printed, so be aware of fakes.

Below: Dirty Harry 1971 New Zealand 1 sheet poster

Below: The Spanish Dirty Harry 1 sheet poster

Below: A selection of wonderful photos taken during the making of the classic Dirty Harry

Below: A wonderful publicity shot of Clint, note the Dirty Harry Standee and the U.S. Insert poster in background!

Above: Don watches Eastwood and actor Albert Popwell play out the famous 'Do you feel Lucky' bank robbery sequence.

Above: Another superb rare shot from the Bank Robbery sequence
(Thanks to Kevin Wilkinson for sending in this shot)

Below: Examples of the Italian fotobusta set for Dirty Harry

Here's the U.S. Laserdisc (Full Screen) edition, original issue not featured in the Laserdisc box set above

Below: Another 2 versions of both the Australian Daybill poster and the Swedish Insert poster

Dirty Harry 1971 Clint Eastwood Andy Robinson Original Australian daybill poster

(Thanks to daybillposter for confirming that this is the original release daybill)

Below: Another Australian Re-release daybill poster

Dirty Harry 1971 Clint Eastwood Andy Robinson Swedish Insert poster
Below: Japanese B2 poster
Below: A Rare Dirty Harry Yugoslavian poster
Below: The Original Nordic poster for Dirty Harry and the 1975 re-release version. Many thanks to Davy Triumph.

Below: A couple of nice U.S. items, the U.S. Half sheet poster and the very rare U.S. Theatre banner
Below: An Original script for Dirty Harry, dated September 23rd 1970
Below: A Rare French Advertisement for Dirty Harry
Below: Another stunning collection of rare pictures from Dirty Harry 1971

Below: These are the original 12 Dirty Harry Novels that were released in the U.S.

Original Reviews
Chicago Sun Times, Dec. 29, 1971

There is a book named From Caligari to Hitler that tries to penetrate the German national subconscious by analyzing German films between 1919 and the rise of the Nazis. I have my doubts about the critical approach (it gets cause and effect backwards), but if anybody is writing a book about the rise of fascism in America, they ought to have a look at Dirty Harry. The film is directed by Don Siegel, and like Coogan's Bluff it considers the role of a cop in society with lots of dynamite action and enough wry cynicism to keep the blood from getting too thick. It is photographed all over San Francisco, and is filled with good character actors.

The presence of Eastwood in an action role is enough to explain the movie's popularity, but when you see it you discover that the movie has a message with a vengeance. It is loosely based on 1970's headlines, and makes Eastwood a cop who is assigned to find a mysterious killer named Scorpio. The killer has kidnapped and killed various girls and is trying to extract $200,000 ransom from the city, and in the film's climax he hijacks a schoolbus. The gimmick is that Eastwood is so filled with hatred for Scorpio that he violates the poor fiend's civil rights. While attempting to find out where a kidnapped girl is, for example, Eastwood gets no less than four amendments wrong. And so the city has to set Scorpio free, even though they have a murder weapon and a confession.

Eastwood doesn't care; he says to hell with the Bill of Rights and stalks out of the District Attorney's office. But when Scorpio hijacks the schoolbus, it is Eastwood again, who is asked to be bag man and carry the ransom. This time he refuses. He wants Scorpio on his own. We've already seen him twisting Scorpio's broken arm ("I have a right to a lawyer" Scorpio shouts), and soon we will see him kill Scorpio in cold blood. Then, in a thoughtful final scene, Eastwood takes his police badge and throws it into a gravel pit.

It is possible to see the movie as just another extension of Eastwood's basic screen character: He is always the quiet one with the painfully bottled-up capacity for violence, the savage forced to follow the rules of society. This time, by breaking loose, he did what he was always about to do in his earlier films. If that is all, then Dirty Harry is a very good example of the cops-and-killers genre, and Siegel proves once again that he understands the Eastwood mystique.

But wait a minute. The movie clearly and unmistakably understands the Bill of Rights, understands his legal responsibility as a police officer, and nevertheless takes retribution into his own hands. Sure, Scorpio is portrayed as the most vicious, perverted, warped monster we can imagine, but that's part of the same stacked deck. The movie's moral position is facets. No doubt about it.

I think films are more often a mirror of society than an agent of change, and that when we blame the movies for the evils around us we are getting things backward. Dirty Harry is very effective at the level of a thriller. At another level, it uses the most potent star presence in American movies, Clint Eastwood, to lay things on the line. If there aren't mentalities like Dirty Harry's at loose in the land, then the movie is irrelevant. If there are, we should not blame the bearer of the bad news. -Roger Ebert

Time, Jan. 3, 1972

This is a real police movie. Where The French Connection was fundamentally a chase film, with lots of jolts and a good eye for police procedure, Dirty Harry is a genre piece: it has a fine feeling not only for the danger of a cop's life but also for the monotony and frustrations. It is the best film about cops since Madigan, which by no coincidence, was also directed by Don Siegel.

Siegel is a film maker who works mostly within the conventions of the action movie. His films move with a closely calculated, irresistible momentum. He also has an explosive talent for violence that turns his action scenes (like a bank robbery in Dirty Harry) into set pieces that pummel the senses.

His films are spare, the scripts laconic. This is partly a question of personal style and partly the approach best suited to his frequent leading man, Clint Eastwood. In Dirty Harry, Eastwood plays a maverick San Francisco cop named Harry Callahan who sasses everybody- his chief, his superiors, even the mayor. A psychopathic killer is on the loose, sniping from rooftops, kidnapping young girls to hold the city up for ransom. Callahan is against the mayor's decision to pay the ransom. When he is appointed to deliver the $200,000, he typically decides to try to trap the killer.

Dirty Harry is bound to upset adherents of liberal criminal-rights laws. Callahan holds such laws in contempt and violates them openly. He is compelled to act on his own. This only reinforces Siegel's theme: that both cop and killer are renegades outside society, isolated in combat in their own brutal world. Siegel makes the point in eloquent cinematic shorthand, notably in the film's opening, where a shot of a policeman's badge dissolves into the muzzle of the sniper's rifle, and later when Callahan catches up with the killer in a deserted stadium. The camera draws back from the hunter and his quarry in the middle of the field, then moves back farther until both are lost to sight and the whole stadium is swallowed up in darkness.

It has been clear from the first of his Italian westerns that Eastwood is a story of considerable stature. In Dirty Harry (his 4th film with Siegel) he gives his best performance so far- tense, tough, full of implicit identification with his character. Harry Guardino is appropriately harried as Eastwood's superior, and Andy Robinson, who plays the killer, is truly remarkable. The script is suitably hard boiled, and there is an excellent, eerie jazz score by Lalo Schifrin. They all help Siegel to make Dirty Harry the kind of movie that adds a little luster to Hollywood's tarnished name. -Jay Cocks

Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
"You've got to ask yourself a question: 'do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya, punk?" Dirty Harry provoked a critical uproar in 1971 for its "fascist" message about the power of one, as it also elevated Clint Eastwood to superstar status through his most enduring screen persona. Harry Callahan (Eastwood, in a role meant for Frank Sinatra) is a sardonic, hard-working San Francisco cop who can't finish his lunch without having to foil a bank robbery with his 44 Magnum, "the most powerful handgun in the world." When hippie-esque psycho Scorpio (Andy Robinson) goes on a killing spree, Harry and new partner Chico (Reni Santoni) are assigned to hunt him down, but not before the Mayor (John Vernon) and Lt. Bressler (Harry Guardino) admonish Callahan about his heavy-handed tactics. Racing against a deadline to save a kidnap victim from suffocating to death and unbothered by the niceties of Miranda rights and search warrants, Callahan brings in Scorpio, only to see him released on technicalities. "The law's crazy," opines Harry in disgust, before taking it upon himself to ensure that Scorpio doesn't kill again. Directed in violent and efficient fashion by Don Siegel, with a propulsive score by Lalo Schifrin, Dirty Harry was the fourth Siegel-Eastwood collaboration after Coogan's Bluff (1968), Two Mules for Sister Sara (1970), and The Beguiled (1970). Critics at the time strongly objected to the heroic image of a cop's violations of a suspect's Miranda rights, forcing Siegel and Eastwood to deny that they were right-wing reactionaries. All the same, Dirty Harry proved to be highly popular and spawned four sequels: Magnum Force (1973), The Enforcer (1976), Sudden Impact (1983), and The Dead Pool (1988). ~

Below: Another rare collection of stills taken by Doris Nieh during the production of Dirty Harry. I recently discovered these on the web, so thank you to whoever uploaded them.

Below: Another super rare shot of Clint and Don on location during Dirty Harry, Clint's tie seems to confirm this was taken during the hospital sequence when Harry visits Chico - my thanks to Davy Triumph for supplying this great image.

Below: A Rare full page Advertisement for Dirty Harry, from Variety Fri, Jan 28th, 1972

Below: Another rare advance Ad for Dirty Harry's Christmas release

Below: Another original Ad naming Dirty Harry as one of the year's best

Below: A very rare Dirty Harry US Military 1 sheet poster proclaiming that Dirty Harry was tougher than his own Man with No Name, Superfly and James Bond!

Below: Another newly discovered set of close up shots from Dirty Harry (My thanks to Davy Triumph) 

Below: Here are some very rare scenes from the benefit world movie premier of Dirty Harry at Loews Theater in San Francisco, on December 22nd 1971. There are views of crowds cheering in the rain as guests arrive (including Mayor Joseph Alioto) and the film's star Clint Eastwood is seen being interviewed on a podium outside by KPIX's Rolf Peterson. Also features members of the Progressive Labor Party protesting against the film, one of whom is carrying a sign which reads: "Cops are no pals to Clarence Johnson." Ends with Peterson listing a few of the dignitaries who showed up despite bad weather, before wrapping up the story.

Recording medium: 16mm color magnetic sound film

Date aired: 12/22/1971

Originally aired on: KPIX Eye on the Bay News

Below: I like this short tribute by A.O. Scott and The New York Times critics' picks series

  

Below: The Dirty Harry figure from Redman Toys

Below: Two newly discovered photos from Dirty Harry

Below: A super candid shot taken while on location for Dirty Harry

Below: A great, newly discovered shot from Dirty Harry

Above: Clint with a young fan on Polk Street SF in front of City Hall

Below: A great shot of Clint taken between filming of Dirty Harry

Below: This original Ad invites you to 'stalk the maniac with Dirty Harry'

Below: Here's a nice alternative shot from the usual Kezar Stadium photo, thanks to our friend Davy Triumph 

Below: An incredibly rare promotional LP that was issued for radio, containing Eastwood talking about Dirty Harry - High on my most wanted list, I would just welcome the chance to hear it, can anyone help?

Below: Another rare and recently discovered photo of Clint taken on Dirty Harry 

Below: A rare shot of Clint who seems to find something amusing in between takes with Harry Guardino.

Below: Here's a couple of unusual press stills from Dirty Harry. Firstly, a commonly enough seen scene, but look closely at the window of the Sandwich bar and you will spot a very calm looking gathering of people watching the filming. Below that, a strange one to slip through. The picture looks official with its copyright details at the bottom. However it features Clint signing autographs for the ladies and not a scene from the film at all. On the far right you can just make out Don. There are several photos that exist of Don getting increasingly frustrated with autograph hunters - which always makes me smile.

Below: Another superb alternative shot of Clint as Harry taken at the film's final quarry scene. My thanks to Davy Triumph.

Here's another great shot from the quarry sequence. Many thanks to our friend Steve Saragossi for this corker.

Below: A very rare text only UK Quad poster for Dirty Harry

Below: Here's a very rare opportunity to view the UK Double Crown poster for the Dirty Harry / Magnum Force Double Bill. Size 30" x 20" - the poster dates from 1975

Below: A couple of great photos from Dirty Harry - the first a super shot of Don during a break in filming and provided by Davy Triumph and below that, Clint in the make-up call during production provided by our cowgirl Jayne - thank you guys.

Below: Here is a variant shot of Clint as Harry stood posed under the famous Play Misty For Me marquee 

Below: Here's a couple of interesting photos of the location site from the climax of Dirty Harry. The mill can be clearly seen from the screen capture before the final credits. The photo below that shows it as it is today, the mill has long gone, the lake where Harry tossed his badge is now filled and the site has undergone major developments. So if you're going to San Francisco to visit this site you may be a little disappointed. My thanks to Kevin Walsh for these photos.

Below: Clint and Don on location discus the opening rooftop sequence 

Below: Clint and Don discuss the Bank Robbery sequence

Below: A great shot taken from the Bank Robbery sequence during Dirty Harry

Below: A nice little piece, what looks like to be a daily contract for Angela Paton on April 20th 1971