Dirty Harry

Directed by Don Siegel, Dirty Harry follows Clint Eastwood’s loose-cannon cop Harry Callahan as he attempts to bring an insane killer (Andrew Robinson’s Scorpio) to justice. It’s a familiar premise that is, at the outset, employed to watchable yet far-from-spectacular effect by Siegel, as the filmmaker, working from Harry Julian Fink, R.M. Fink, and Dean Riesner’s screenplay, delivers a deliberately-paced endeavor that’s initially perhaps just a little too lackadaisical and meandering than one would have preferred – with this vibe perpetuated by the inclusion of a few questionable (and downright needless) episodes. (This is particularly true of Harry’s efforts at preventing a suicidal man from jumping to his death.) There’s little doubt, then, that Dirty Harry grows more and more absorbing (and electrifying) as it progresses, with the focus on Harry’s aforementioned efforts at capturing Robinson’s gleefully maniacal villain paving the way for a second half rife with engrossing sequences and set-pieces (eg Harry must hustle from phone booth to phone booth to satisfy Scorpio’s demands) – which, when coupled with Eastwood’s captivating (and justifiably iconic) turn as the tough-as-nails protagonist, cements the movie’s place as a top-tier police thriller that’s clearly inspired countless imitators over the years (ie this is essentially the template for play-by-his-own-rules cop pictures).

***1/2 out of ****