"This is the 44 Magnum, the most powerful hand gun in the world and could blow your head clean off. Do ya feel lucky?" Dirty Harry - Magnum Force (1973)

Magnum Force was the 1973 sequel to the excellent 1971 film Dirty Harry, starring Clint Eastwood as maverick cop Harry Callahan. Ted Post, who also directed Eastwood in TV's Rawhide and the feature film Hang 'em High, directed the second film in the Dirty Harry series. The screenplay was written by John Millius (who provided an uncredited rewrite for the original film) and Michael Cimino. This film features early appearances by David Soul, Tim Matheson and Robert Urich as the primary antagonists, the vigilante traffic cops. At 124 minutes, it is also the longest Dirty Harry film.

In 1972, mobster Carmine Ricca (Richard Devon) drives away from court after being acquitted on a technicalty. An unseen SFPD Motorcycle cop stops Ricca’s limo for a traffic violation. Suddenly, the patrolman pulls his service revolver—a .357 Colt Magnum Python—shoots all four men in the car, then rides away.

Inspector Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) and his partner Earlington Smith (Felton Perry) visit the crime scene. Callahan is controversial within the department. His superior Lieutenant Briggs (Hal Holbrook) views Callahan and his tactics—such as his handling of the Scorpio case, and foiling an aircraft hyjacking at the airport by impersonating a pilot—as reckless and dangerous. The dislike is mutual, with Callahan mocking Briggs with the words "A man's got to know his limitations". Others, such as rookie traffic cops Philip Sweet (Tim Matheson), John Davis (David Soul), "Red" Astrachan (Kip Niven), and Michael Grimes (Robert Urich), see the inspector as a role model. The young officers' zeal and marksmnanship impress Callahan.

More criminals are killed. A motorcycle cop attacks a mobster's pool party, using a satchel charge and a 9mm Smith and Wesson M76 machine gun to kill multiple people. A pimp (Albert Popwell) who killed one of his prostitutes (Margaret Avery) is himself shot by a motorcycle cop. Callahan realizes that the pimp had let his killer approach him and had offered a bribe. He deduces that a cop is likely responsible, perhaps his old friend Charlie McCoy (Mitchell Ryan), who is suicidal and unstable after leaving his wife.

A motorcycle cop murders drug kingpin Lou Guzman and associates with the Colt Python equipped with a suppressor, but encounters McCoy and kills him to eliminate a potential witness. Callahan presents his suspicions to Briggs, who informs him of McCoy's death and that Davis was the first on the scene of the shooting. Davis' promptness draws Callahan's suspicion. During a shooting competition with the rookie, Callahan borrows Davis' gun and embeds a slug in a wall. He finds that the slug matches those found at the crime scene involving Guzman and McCoy, and begins to suspect that a secret death squad within the department is responsible for the murders.

Briggs insists that mob killer Frank Palancio is behind the deaths and obtains a warrant for his arrest. Callahan requests two of the four rookies, Davis and Sweet, as his backup. Palancio and his gang are called shortly before the raid and told that men dressed as police officers will attack. Palancio kills Sweet during the resulting shootout with a 12 gauge Winchester Model 1897 shotgun; he and his men are also killed.

The three remaining renegade cops ask Callahan to join their organization; he responds, "I’m afraid you've misjudged me." He discovers and defuses a bomb in his mailbox left by the vigilantes in case he refused their offer, but a second bomb kills Smith. Briggs arrives and asks Callahan to drive; in the car he draws his Smith and Wesson Model 19 snubnose revolver and forces the inspector to disarm. Briggs reveals himself as a member of the death squad, cites the traditions of frontier justice and summary executions, and says, “You’re a great cop, Harry...But you’d rather stick with the system.” Callahan responds, "I hate the goddamn system, but until someone comes along with some changes that make sense I'll stick with it."

Callahan distracts Briggs and knocks him unconscious, then kills the pursuing Grimes by hitting him head-on with his car. He runs onto an old aircraft carrier as the remaining two vigilantes arrive. The unarmed Callahan evades his pursuers and kills Astrachan, then rides his motorcycle with Davis in pursuit. After a series of daring jumps on the carrier, the two cyclists run out of deck space; Callahan is able to stop but Davis is killed. Briggs confronts the inspector back at his car and threatens to prosecute Callahan for killing fellow cops. The inspector surreptitiously activates the timer on the mail bomb; it explodes, killing Briggs. The final scene of the movie is a close-up of Callahan's face as he says, "Man's got to know his limitations", before he walks away.

Writer John Milius came up with a storyline in which a group of rogue young officers in the San Francisco Police Force systematically exterminate the city's worst criminals, portraying the idea that there are worse cops than Dirty Harry. Clint Eastwood specifically wanted the story to show that, in spite of the 1971's film perceived view of Inspector Callahan, Harry was not a 100% vigilante. David Soul, Tim Matheson, Robert Urich and Kip Niven were cast as the young vigilante cops. Milius was a gun aficionado and political conservative and the film would extensively feature gun shooting in practice, competition, and on the job. Given this strong theme in the film, the title was soon changed from Vigilance to Magnum Force in deference to the 44 Magnum that Harry liked to use. Milius thought it was important to remind the audiences of the original film by incorporating the line "Do ya feel lucky?" repeated in the opening credits.

With Milius committed to filming Dillinger, Michael Cimino was later hired to revise the script, overlooked by Ted Post, who was to direct. According to Milius, his script did not contain any of the action sequences (the car chase scene and duel on the aircraft carriers) at the end of the film. His was a "simple script". The addition of the character Sunny was done at the suggestion of Eastwood, who reportedly received letters from women asking for "a female to hit on Harry" (not the other way around)

The film received negative publicity in 1974 when it was discovered that a scene in which drain cleaner is used to murder a prostitute had allegedly inspired the infamous Hi-fi murders with the two killers believing the method would be as efficient as it was portrayed in the film. The killers said that they were looking for a unique murder method when they stumbled upon the film, and that had they not seen the movie, would have chosen a method from another film. The drain cleaner reference was repeated in three other films, Lethal Weapon (1987), Heathers (1989) and Urban Legend (1998). According to scriptwriter John Milius, this drain cleaner scene was never meant to be filmed, but was only mentioned in his original script.

Although the film was a major success after release, grossing $58.1 million dollars in the United States alone, a new record for Eastwood, it received a mixed critical response. New York Times critics such as Nora Syre criticized the conflicting moral themes of the film and Frank Rich believed it "was the same old stuff". Pauline Kael, a harsh critic of Eastwood for many years mocked his performance as Dirty Harry, commenting that, "He isn't an actor, so one could hardly call him a bad actor. He'd have to do something before we could consider him bad at it. And acting isn't required of him in Magnum Force."

Magnum Force
Directed by	Ted Post
Produced by	Robert Daley
Screenplay by	John MIlius Michael Cimino
Story by	John Milius
Based on	characters created by Julian Fink R.M. Fink
Starring	Clint Eastwood Hal Holbrook Mitchell Ryan David Soul Felton Perry Robert Urich Tim Matheson
Music by	Lalo Schifrin
Cinematography	Frank Stanley
Editing by	Ferris Webster
Studio	The Malpaso Company
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	December 25, 1973
Running time	124 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Dirty Harry - The Enforcer (1976)

The Enforcer is a 1976 American film, and the third in the Dirty Harry film series. Directed by James Farego, it stars Clint Eastwood as Inspector 'Dirty Harry' Callahan, Tyne Daly as Inspector Kate Moore and Deveren Bookwalter as terrorist leader/main antagonist Bobby Maxwell.

Two gas company men are lured by a scantily-clad woman to a remote spot and killed by Bobby Maxwell. Maxwell's gang, the People's Revolutionary Strike Force (PRSF), plans to use the gas men's uniforms and van as part of an ambitious series of crimes that will make them rich.

Inspector Harry Callahan and his newly-acquired partner Frank DiGeorgio arrive at a liquor store where robbers armed with shotguns and revolvers have taken hostages. The robbers demand a car and insult Callahan; the inspector provides one by driving his squad car into the store and shooting the robbers with his famed .44 Magnum revolver.

His superior Captain McKay reprimands Callahan for "excessive use of force", injuring the hostages, and causing more than $14,000 of damage to the store, and temporarily transfers him out of the Homicide Division. While assigned to Personnel Callahan participates in the interview process for promotions, and learns that three of the new Inspectors will be Female including Kate Moore, despite her very limited field experience.

The PRSF uses the gas company van to steal M72 Laws rockets, M16 Rifles and AR-18 Rifles from a warehouse, killing DiGeorgio during the robbery. To Callahan's distress, Moore is his new partner; she claims to understand the risk, noting that—besides DiGeorgio—two other partners of his have died in the line of duty. They visit the Hall of Justice for an autopsy where a bomb explodes. Callahan and Moore chase and capture the PRSF bomber and meet "Big" Ed Mustapha, leader of a black militant group the bomber formerly belonged to.

Although Callahan makes a deal with Mustapha for information, McKay arrests the militants for the PRSF's crimes. Callahan angrily refuses to participate in a televised press conference in which the publicity-seeking Mayor would commend him and Moore for solving the case, and McKay suspends him from duty. Moore supports Callahan and gains his respect.

The PRSF boldly kidnaps the Mayor after a Giants game and demands a $5 million ransom. With Mustapha's help Callahan and Moore locate the gang's headquarters at Alcatraz Island, abandoned at the time. The two arrive on the island by way of the San Fransisco's Fire Department Fireboat Phoenix, where they attack and kill numerous PRSF members with it's powerful water cannons. They then engage in a shootout with the kidnappers to rescue the mayor, who is being held in an old prison cell. Moore frees the Mayor after killing one of the kidnappers, but Maxwell kills her with an M16 as she saves Callahan's life. He avenges Moore by killing Maxwell, perched atop an abandoned tower, with a LAW rocket. The inspector is uninterested in the Mayor's gratitude, returning to his partner's corpse as McKay and others arrive by helicopter in agreement to meet the PRSF's demands, without knowledge that Callahan has already killed them all and rescued the mayor.

The first script was written in 1974 by two young San Francisco area film students, Gail Morgan Hickman and S.W. Schurr, with the title Moving Target. After seeing Dirty Harry and Magnum Force, the two fledgling writers decided to pen a screenplay of their own featuring the character of Inspector Harry Callahan. Inspired by the Patty Hearst kidnapping in 1974, the storyline had Inspector Harry Callahan going up against a violent militant group reminiscent of the Simbionese Liberation Army. In the script, the militants kidnap and ransom the mayor of San Francisco.

After the screenplay was finished Hickman visited Eastwood's Carmel restaurant, The Hog's Breath Inn, and approached Eastwood's business partner, Paul Lippman, asking if he would give their effort to Eastwood. Lippman was initially hesitant, but finally agreed. Although Eastwood thought the script needed work, he liked the concept, particularly the priest with militant leanings and the portrayal of black militants, which was based on the Black Panther Party.

Warner Brothers, meanwhile, eager to capitalize on the success of the two Dirty Harry films, had hired seasoned screenwriter Stirling Siliphant to write a new Harry Callahan story. Silliphant wrote a script called Dirty Harry and More, in which the Callahan character was teamed up with an Asian-American woman partner named More. Eastwood liked the woman partner angle, but felt the script spent too much time on character and did not have enough action. Eastwood then showed the Hickman/Schurr script to Silliphant, and Silliphant agreed to rewrite it.

Silliphant wrote the script throughout late 1975 and early 1976 and delivered his draft to Eastwood in February 1976. While Eastwood approved, he believed there was still too much emphasis on the character relationships rather than the action and was concerned the fans might not approve. He then brought in screenwriter Dean Riesner, who had worked on the scripts of Dirty Harry and Coogan's Bluff, to do revisions.

Recurring characters Lieutenant Bressler (Harry Guardino) and Frank DiGeorgio (John Mitchum) reprise their roles for the last time in a Dirty Harry film. Bressler was Callahan's boss in the first film of the series, while DiGeorgio appeared in the previous two while he dies in this film. A new character, Captain Jerome McKay (Bradford Dillman), was introduced as Callahan's superior officer. Dillman played a similar role, Captain Briggs, in Sudden Impact.

Kate Moore was originally proposed to play the part of the female cop, but in the end it went to Tyne Daly. Her casting was initially uncertain, given that she turned down the role three times. She objected to the way her character was treated in parts to the film and showed concern that two members of the police force falling in love on the job was problematic, given that they would be putting their lives in jeopardy by not reaching peak efficiency. Daly was permitted to read the drafts of the script developed by Riesner and had significant leeway in the development of her character, although after seeing the film at the premiere was horrified by the extent of the violence. Regarding Callahan's relationship with Moore, Eastwood stated:

"I didn't see Dirty Harry going for a Hollywood-type glamour girl. He's the kind of guy that when he dated somebody it was probably a secretary or receptionist somewhere, somebody he would meet along the way...Tyne Daly was perfect for the part. It starts out like great love should, it starts out...by earning respect and she earns his respect and then you think "Could be, could go another step."

When production began the working title of the film was Dirty Harry III, in keeping with other sequels of the time. Eastwood, however, felt that the film needed a title of its own, and in the middle of production came up with the title The Enforcer.

After his disputes with Ted Post on the set of the previous Dirty Harry instalment, Eastwood fully intended to direct The Enforcer himself. In a twist of irony however, Eastwood's replacement of Philip Kaufman on The Outlaw Josey Wales (and the consequent need to handle post-production on that film) left Eastwood without enough preparation time to prepare himself to direct The Enforcer. As a result, Eastwood gave the director's chair to James Fargo, his longtime assistant Director, who made his debut as a full director on this film. Eastwood had the final say on all the critical decisions, but since the two men were far more familiar with each other's working styles than Eastwood had been with Ted Post, they rarely butted heads during production.

Filming commenced in the San Francisco bay area in the summer of 1976. Eastwood was initially still dubious about the quantity of his lines and preferred a less talkative approach, something perhaps embedded in him by Sergio Leone. The film ended up considerably shorter than the previous Dirty Harry films, and was cut to 95 minutes for its final running time.

The music score for The Enforcer was written by Jerry Fielding, making The Enforcer the only Dirty Harry film without a score by Lalo Schifrin. The film was originally intended to be the last Dirty Harry film of a trilogy. A poll conducted by Warner Bros in 1983 led to the development of a fourth film, Sudden Impact and the resurrection of the film series. Eastwood never intended to make more Dirty Harry films, but private agreements with the studio allowed him to do more "personal" films in exchange for doing the subsequent sequels.

Critically, Eastwood's performance was poorly received and was named "Worst Actor of the Year" by the Harvard Lampoon and the film was criticized for its level of violence. A Variety review indicated that the film was a "worn out copy of Dirty Harry. ... The next project from this particular mold had better shape up or give up."

Eastwood's performance in the third installment was overshadowed by positive reviews given to Daly in her convincing role as the strong-minded female cop, which she would follow up with a similar and more famous role in Det. Mary Beth Lacey in the television series, Cagney & Lacey Feminist reviewers in particular gave Daly rave reviews, with Marjorie Rosen remarking that Malpaso "had invented a heroine of steel" and Jean Hoelscher of Hollywood Reporter praising Eastwood for abandoning his ego in casting such a strong female actress in his film.

Box office performance

Upon release in the fall of 1976, The Enforcer was a major commercial success and grossed a total of $100 million, $60 million in the United States and easily became Eastwood's best selling film to date, earning more than some of his previous films combined. Overall this figure made it the most profitable of the Dirty Harry series for seven years until the release of Sudden Impact.

Did he fire six shots or only five? Remembering Dirty Harry - 1971

Dirty Harry (1971) was a critical and commercial success and set the style for a whole genre of police films. The film was followed by four sequels: Magnum Force in 1973, The Enforcer in 1976, Sudden Impact in 1983 (directed by Eastwood himself), and The Dead Pool in 1988.

In 2008, Dirty Harry was selected by Empire magazine as one of The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time.

A serial killer who calls himself "Scorpio" (Andy Robinson) murders a young woman in a San Fransisco swimming pool, using a high-powered .30-06 hunting rifle from the top of 555 California Street. SFPD Police Inspector Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) finds a ransom message promising his next victims will be "a Catholic Priest or a nigger" if the city does not pay $100,000. The chief of police and the Mayor (John Vernon) assign the inspector to the case.

Callahan goes to a local diner for lunch, where a robbery is in progress. The inspector—alone with his .44 Smith & Wesson Model 29 revolver—challenges one of the robbers, after shooting three others, who lies wounded near a loaded 12 gauge Winchester Model 1912 shotgun:

"I know what you're thinking: Did he fire six shots or only five? Well, to tell you the truth, in all of this excitement I kinda lost track myself. But being this is the 44 Magnum, the most powerful hand gun in the world and could blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question. Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya punk?"

The robber surrenders rather than taking the risk, then says "I gots to know". Callahan answers the question by pulling the trigger, while aiming at the criminal; the gun was, in fact, empty.

Callahan is assigned a rookie partner, Chico Gonzalez (Reni Santoni). The veteran officer notes that his partners always get injured or worse so he needs someone experienced, but has no choice. Scorpio kills a young black boy from another rooftop, and the police believes the killer will next pursue a Catholic priest. Callahan and Gonzalez wait for Scorpio near the Sts. Peter and Paul Church. A shootout ensues, but Scorpio escapes, killing an officer.

Scorpio kidnaps, rapes and buries alive a teenage girl (Debralee Scott), then demands twice his previous ransom before the girl's air runs out. The mayor decides to pay, and tells Callahan to deliver the money with no tricks, but the inspector wears a wire and brings a knife. Scorpio sends Callahan to various payphones throughout the city to separate the inspector from any backup, but his partner follows him. The chase ends at the enormous cross at Mount Davidson. Scorpio brutally beats Callahan; Gonzalez arrives and saves his partner, but is wounded. Callahan stabs Scorpio in the leg, but the killer escapes without the money. Gonzalez survives his wound, but decides to resign from the force.

The doctor who treated Scorpio tells Callahan and his new partner, Frank DiGiorgio (John Mitchum), that he has seen Scorpio in Kezar Stadium. running out of time, the officers search the killer's room without a warrant and Callahan shoots Scorpio in his wounded leg. When Scorpio refuses to reveal the location of the girl and instead asks for a lwayer, Callahan tortures the killer by standing on the leg. Scorpio confesses and the police exhume the dead girl.

Because Callahan broke into Scorpio's home and seized his rifle, the District Attorney decides that the killer cannot be charged. An outraged Callahan follows Scorpio on his own time. Scorpio pays a thug to give him a severe, but controlled beating, then claims that the inspector is responsible. Callahan is ordered to stop following Scorpio, despite his protest that he did not beat the killer. Meanwhile, Scorpio assaults a liquor store owner and steals his Walther P38 handgun.

Scorpio kidnaps a school bus load of children. He demands another ransom and a plane to leave the country. The mayor again insists on paying but Callahan instead pursues Scorpio without authorization, jumping onto the top of the bus from a railroad trestle. The killer flees into a nearby rock quarry, where he has a gun battle with Callahan. Scorpio retreats until he takes a young boy as a hostage.

The inspector pretends to be willing to surrender then wounds the killer. The boy runs away and Callahan stands over Scorpio, gun drawn. The inspector reprises his "Do I feel lucky?" speech. Scorpio tries his luck and lunges for his 9mm Walther P38 pistol. The inspector shoots him in the chest, propelling Scorpio into the water. As Callahan watches the dead body float on the surface, he takes out his inspector's badge, angrily hurls it into the water, and walks away.

Dirty Harry was well received by critics and is regarded as one of the best films of 1971. The film holds a 95% approval rating on the Review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes. It was nominated at the Edgar Allen Poe Awards for Best Motion Picture. The film caused controversy when it was released, sparking debate over issues ranging from police brutality to victims' rights and the nature of law enforcement. Feminists in particular were outraged by the film and at the Oscars for 1971 protested outside holding up banners which read messages such as "Dirty Harry is a Rotten Pig".

Many critics expressed concern with what they saw as bigotry, with Newsweek describing the film as "a right-wing fantasy", Variety as "a specious, phony glorification of the police and police brutality with a superhero whose antics become almost satire" and a raging review by Pauline Kael of The New Yorker who accused Eastwood of a "single-minded attack against liberal values". Several people accused him of racism in the decision to cast four African-Americans as the bank robbers. Eastwood dismissed the political outrage, claiming that Callahan was just obeying a higher moral authority, and said, "some people are so politically oriented, when they see cornflakes in a bowl, they get some complex interpretation out of it".

Eastwood's iconic portrayal of the blunt, cynical, unorthodox detective who is seemingly in perpetual trouble with his incompetent bosses, set the style for a number of his later roles and, indeed, a whole genre of "loose-cannon" cop films. The film resonated with an American public that had become weary and frustrated with the increasing violent urban crime that was characteristic of the time. The film was released at a time when throughout 1970 and 1971 there were prevalent reports of local and federal police committing atrocities and overstepping their authority by entrapment and obstruction of justice. Author McGilligan, argued that America needed a hero, a winner at a time when the authorities were losing the battle against crime. The box-office success of Dirty Harry led to the production of four sequels.

The motif of a cop who cares more for justice than rules was one subsequently imitated by a number of other films. John Wayne, who like Eastwood was associated with the Western genre, starred in McQ and later Brannigan. Sylvester Stallone's Cobra and Judge Dredd shares many elements with Dirty Harry, a cop with an obsession for justice, a law system that is more concerned about the criminal than the victim, and a psychotic killer. The film is also an adaption of the novel Fair Game and was originally intended by Stallone to be the basis of Beverley Hills Cop while he was involved with the project. Stallone's own movie was plagiarised by Italian film producers for the Fred Williamson Blaxploitation film Black Cobra, which also mimicked the famous 'Do You Feel Lucky, Punk?' scene from Dirty Harry.