Harry Callahan – Dirty Harry
Sure, Dirty Harry is a cop, and a good one at that too. But anyone who has ever seen any of the Dirty Harry movies knows that he’s not your traditional “serve and protect” officer. Clint Eastwood, who has found his second spot on this list, has made a career out of portraying characters who are on the edge of right and wrong, and Harry Callahan of the San Francisco Police Department is Eastwood at his best.
With his trademark .44 Magnum and his cavalcade of badass lines and catchphrases, Callahan, the star of the five-film franchise, has evolved into an icon, and has inspired practically every “playing by his own rules” movie made ever since. With that said, Harry’s “rules” are, to say the least,unorthodox.
In the first film, Dirty Harry, Callahan goes up against the serial killer, Scorpio, who vanquishes his hunger by sniping random innocent people. Part of what makes Harry so threatening is how unpredictable he is. He’ll kill you without thinking twice, and then sleep like a baby. ake, for example, his most infamous scene at the beginning of the movie: while eating lunch one day, three men attempt to rob the bank across the street. Harry walks out, whips out his gun, kills two of the three, and nonchalantly walks over to the third, still chewing his hot dog.
“I know what you’re thinking,” he starts off, “did he fire six shots, or only five?” He tauntingly challenges the robber to go for his gun. “You’ve got to ask yourself one question: do I feel lucky? Well, do ya punk?” A smirk emerges across Harry’s face as the robber smartly pulls his hand away from the shotgun lying next to him. To Harry, this man’s life is like a twisted game. He doesn’t care about the men he kills; they’re all scum to him, and that level of disregard for human life is the making of an evil killer.
In the case of Harry Callahan, we’ve got to ask ourselves one question: is he a cop, or a murderer with a badge?
