Does Clint Eastwood feel lucky? The beloved entertainment multi-hyphenate is well-known for shaking up the Western formula via his collaboration with Sergio Leone, but his signature role is, without question, “Dirty” Harry Callahan.
Recently, ScreenRant published a ranking of Eastwood’s best non-Western movies, and sitting pretty at No. 1 is, expectedly, Dirty Harry. The outlet lauded the 1971 thriller for “its influence on modern crime thrillers,” bolstered by “tense confrontations, memorable dialogue, and [its] morally provocative central character.”
Not the No. 1 Contender
Interestingly, Eastwood was far from the first choice for Dirty Harry. In fact, several other big names were offered the part prior to Eastwood taking on the mantle. John Wayne and Steve McQueen, his Western contemporaries at the time, were offered the role, as were crooner Frank Sinatra, film noir staple Robert Mitchum, and the legendary Burt Lancaster. King of Cool Paul Newman also turned it down. Marlon Brando was apparently in consideration but never approached.
After Warner Bros. purchased the script, the studio set its sights on Sinatra, who was in the right age range for the character. Sinatra was eventually attached to star but later departed the project alongside director Irvin Kershner.
Newman suggested Eastwood for the role, who was first aware of the Dirty Harry script in 1969. He was interested, to be sure, but he had one condition: he wanted to shoot with the original screenplay. At this point, the script had undergone various rewrites (Terrence Malick penned his own draft).
Speaking of the rewrites, Eastwood later explained that “they had Marine snipers coming on in the end. And I said, ‘No. This is losing the point of the whole story, of the guy chasing the killer down. It’s becoming an extravaganza that’s losing its character.’ They said, ‘OK, do what you want.’ So, we went and made it.”
‘Dirty Harry’ Cast and Crew
Dirty Harry premiered on Dec. 23, 1971. In addition to Eastwood, the classic action-thriller stars Harry Guardino as Bressler, Reni Santoni as Chico, Andy Robinson as Killer, John Larch as Chief, and John Vernon as The Mayor. Don Siegel directed from a screenplay credited to Harry Julian Fink, R.M. Fink, and Dean Riesner.
You can rent or buy Dirty Harry on Amazon, YouTube, Google Play, Apple TV, and Fandango.
