Iconic actor Clint Eastwood once shared his pitch for another installment in the Dirty Harry film series. Previous entries include Dirty Harry, Magnum Force, The Enforcer, Sudden Impact, and The Dead Pool. Each film in the series starred Eastwood as cynical San Francisco detective Harry Callahan. The Dirty Harry series ended after The Dead Pool disappointed at the box office.
Unfortunately, Eastwood remains largely uninterested in revisiting his most famous role. However, he did give his own pitch for another Dirty Harry film.
“Harry is retired,” said Eastwood. “He’s standing in a stream, fly-fishing. He gets tired of using the pole — and BA-BOOM! Or Harry is retired and he chases bad guys with his walker? Maybe he owns a tavern. These guys come in and they won’t pay their tab, so Harry reaches below the bar. Hey, guys, the next shot’s on me . . .”
While Eastwood has no plans to revisit Dirty Harry, he has one condition to return.
“Yeah, people ask me all the time,” explained Eastwood. “I guess if there was a truly great script or something, but it’s hard enough to find good scripts any time, let alone one you have to bend to make it fit some franchise. The movies that interest me now take me to new places.”
Additionally, Eastwood revealed why he thought Dirty Harry had a strong fanbase.
“At the time in the press, there was a lot of attention to the rights of the accused, and that’s not bad or wrong, but nobody thought too much about the rights of the public or the rights of the victim, that’s not what the attention was on,” Eastwood said. “All of a sudden here was a picture about the rights of all the victims, and I think it really resonated with people who were frustrated.”
Clint Eastwood Talks Meeting Dirty Harry Fans
As a result of that relatability, Eastwood said fans still think of him as Dirty Harry. For his part, the actor enjoys being recognized by his fans.
“People are disappointed when they walk up to me and ask to see the gun and I tell them that, well, I don’t really carry guns,” the actor revealed. “All the movies you make, all these roles you take, and there are certain ones that people really hold on to. Harry is the one I hear about the most from the people on the street.”
In addition, Eastwood said these interactions sometimes involve fans wanting him to rough them up or cuss them out. He explained: “In the early days, I would tell these young fellas, ‘That’s just a movie, pal.’ After a while, I just gave it to them. It made everybody happy. Sometimes it even made me happy. Sometimes I even meant it. . . .”