Photo Opportunity #62 Do you feel lucky?
I’ve been wanting to post this shot for a while now – it’s just so cool. The photo is of course from the original Dirty Harry (1971). The scene is the famous bank robbery attempt which happened as Harry was about to bite down into his hot dog from the diner across the street.
Clint would share this iconic scene with the late great Albert Popwell, an actor who had first appeared opposite Clint in the tough New York thriller Coogan’s Bluff. Popwell would go on to appear (as different characters) in the first 4 Dirty Harry movies. As the Bank robber in the first, and as the murderous pimp in Magnum Force (1973). He appeared as militant Big Ed Mustapha in The Enforcer (1976), a film Popwell said he had not planned on being in. Another actor had been cast in the role of Mustapha in The Enforcer but director James Fargo felt the other actor did not have the proper feel for the role. With time getting down to the wire, Fargo and Eastwood immediately put in a call for their self-described "good luck charm." Popwell later portrayed Dirty Harry's detective colleague Horace King in Sudden Impact (1983). In 1988, Popwell was offered a role in The Dead Pool - the last film in the series - but could not appear due to a scheduling conflict.
He died at age 72 in 1999, from complications following open-heart surgery. He will always be remembered for the Bank Robbery scene, and a long association with Clint – an association of which he was incredibly proud.
