In line with his reputation as one of the most iconic stars in Hollywood history, Clint Eastwood has spoken some of the most iconic lines of dialogue in Hollywood history.
The actor is one of the industry’s most indelible presences, having spent more than 70 years carving out various niches for himself as the face of the spaghetti western, the genre’s most famous star not called John Wayne, an accomplished and acclaimed filmmaker, and an all-time great action hero.
Carrying himself with an effortless sense of authority, whether that was his intention or not, Eastwood took to onscreen badassery like a duck to water. His thousand-yard stare, rugged features, and ability to say more in one word than his peers could say in a hundred were integral to securing his A-list status in the 1960s, and he’s refused to let go of it ever since.
The debate over which of his many memorable characters is the definitive one could rage on for days without a clear answer being reached, but what can’t be argued is that Harry Callahan gave Eastwood more unforgettable soundbites than any other.
Of course, that makes sense, seeing as he played the role five times between 1971’s Dirty Harry and 1988’s The Dead Pool, but it often goes overlooked that one of the no-nonsense cop’s favourite one-liners came in one of the most forgettable entries.
Everyone knows it was Dirty Harry that gave rise to the legendary, “Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?” but how many people would instantly pinpoint The Dead Pool as the movie where Eastwood dropped the phenomenal “You’re out of bullets, and you know what that means; you’re shit out of luck”?
Dirty Harry quotes have embedded themselves into the cultural consciousness so deeply that even those who’ve never seen any of the five flicks know at least one of them; such is how Eastwood’s rule-breaking protagonist has been woven into the fabric of everyday life.
Ronald Regan was happy to quote “make my day” when he was the president, which just goes to show how far Dirty Harry’s reach expanded. Eastwood has spent decades having it yelled at him in the street everywhere he goes, but who actually wrote the line?
What movie does Clint Eastwood say, “Go ahead, make my day”?
It’s not even close to being one of the top three entries in the Dirty Harry saga, but 1983’s fourth instalment, Sudden Impact, nonetheless carved out its own slice of history thanks to Eastwood dropping one of cinema’s most iconic verbal bombs.
It comes right at the beginning of the movie, too, with Callahan visiting his favourite diner for his morning brew when he stumbles into an in-progress robbery. Being the type of guy that he is, he guns down every single one of the criminals except one.
The sole survivor seizes a waitress as a hostage, places a gun to her head and threatens to shoot her if he isn’t allowed to leave. Never one for diffusing a situation when violence is an option that remains on the table, Harry points his signature .44 revolver at the man’s head and dares him to do it, snarling, “Go ahead, make my day.”
He almost repeats it towards the end, saying, “Come on, make my day” to Paul Drake’s Mick after he aimed a shotgun in the direction of Sondra Locke’s Jennifer Spencer, but the first time is the only time he ever said the iconic quote verbatim.
Who wrote the line, “Go ahead, make my day”?
Normally, it would make sense to credit the line to the two writers who were credited on Sudden Impact, with Joseph Stinson penning the screenplay from a story from Earl E Smith and Charles B Pierce.
However, it’s been widely acknowledged that the movie – and Dirty Harry’s – most famous line hailed from a writer who wasn’t even billed. John Milius had performed uncredited rewrites on the original and scripted Magnum Force, making him a key component of Eastwood’s ongoing adventures and the originator of “make my day.”