In 1971, Clint Eastwood picked up a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, to take on the role of Inspector Harry Callahan in the movie, Dirty Harry. The film saw Eastwood play a no-nonsense police officer, with a penchant for shooting first and asking questions later.
Dirty Harry was a huge hit with audiences and was followed by a succession of sequels. Each sequel featured Eastwood in the lead role, and each allowed the actor to develop his character further.
One of the best aspects of the Dirty Harry movie series was Callahan’s dialogue. Across five Dirty Harry movies, Callahan got to utter many awesome lines, some of which have become truly iconic.
To celebrate the great dialogue in the Dirty Harry movies, this post is taking a look at the best Dirty Harry quotes. The quotes are taken from all five films, so that includes: Dirty Harry (1971), Magnum Force (1973), The Enforcer (1976), Sudden Impact (1983) and The Deadpool (1988).
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The best Dirty Harry movie quotes
The Mayor – “Callahan… I don’t want any more trouble like you had last year in the Fillmore district. You understand? That’s my policy.”
Harry Callahan – “Yeah, well, when an adult male is chasing a female with intent to commit rape, I shoot the bastard – that’s my policy.”
The Mayor – “Intent? How’d you establish that?”
Harry Callahan – “When a naked man is chasing a woman through a dark alley with a butcher knife and a hard on, I figure he isn’t out collecting for the Red Cross.”
Dirty Harry (1971)
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Capt McKay – “$14,379.”
Harry Callahan – “How can that be?”
Capt McKay – “You want an itemized account? You took out two front doors, one front window, 12 feet of counter, plus damages to the stock, plus one city vehicle totalled, not to mention three hostages in the hospital, all of whom will probably sue the city.”
Harry Callahan – “For what?”
Capt McKay – “Excessive use of force. For your information, Callahan, the minority community has just about had it with this kind of police work.”
Harry Callahan – “By the “minority community”, I suppose you’re talking about the hoods.”
The Enforcer (1976)
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The Mayor – “All right. Let’s have it.”
Harry Callahan – “Have what?”
The Mayor – “You report. What have you been doing?”
Harry Callahan – “Well, for the past three-quarters of an hour, I’ve been sitting on my ass waiting on you.”
Dirty Harry (1971)
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Harry Callahan – “Personnel? That’s for assholes!”
Capt McKay – “I was in Personnel for ten years.”
Harry Callahan – “Yeah.”
The Enforcer (1976)
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Harry Callahan – “Go ahead, make my day.”
Sudden Impact (1983)
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Crook – “What’s you doing, you pighead sucka?”
Harry Callahan – “Every day for the past ten years, Loretta there’s been giving me a large black coffee. Today she gives me a large black coffee, only it has sugar in it, a lotta sugar. I just came back to complain. Now, you boys put those guns down.”
Crook – “Say what?”
Harry Callahan – “Well, we’re not just gonna let you walk out of here.”
Crook – “Who’se we sucka?”
Harry Callahan – (Drawing his .44 Magnum) “Smith and Wesson… and me.”
Sudden Impact (1983)
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Harry Callahan – “A man’s got to know his limitations.”
Magnum Force (1973)
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Harry Callahan – “Did you tell them about the meeting?”
Capt McKay – “What meeting?”
Harry Callahan – “The meeting right here in your office two months ago when you said high priority was to run these hoods out of San Francisco.”
Capt McKay – “I never said to use violence.”
Harry Callahan – “What did you want me to do, yell trick-or-treat at ’em?”
The Enforcer (1976)
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Doctor – “Sure, Harry. We can save the leg.”
(Takes out scissors)
Harry Callahan – “What are you going to do with those?”
Doctor – “Going to cut your pants off.”
Harry Callahan – “No. I’ll take them off.”
Doctor – “It’ll hurt.”
Harry Callahan – “$29.50, let it hurt.”
Dirty Harry (1971)
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Harry Callahan – “You know what makes me really sick to my stomach?”
Burly Detective – “What?”
Harry Callahan – “Is watching you stuff your face with those hot dogs. Nobody, I mean NOBODY puts ketchup on a hot dog.”
Sudden Impact (1983)
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Harry Callahan – “What about that punk?”
Lt. Al Bressler – “You mean the suspect?”
Harry Callahan – “Suspect my ass!”
The Enforcer (1976)
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Father John – “These people are at war!”
Harry Callahan – “So are we!”
The Enforcer (1976)
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Harry Callahan – “You heroes killed a dozen people this week. What are you going to do next week?”
Officer Davis – “Kill a dozen more.”
Magnum Force (1973)
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Harry Callahan – “You’re out of bullets. And you know what that means… you’re shit outta luck.”
The Dead Pool (1988)
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Sunny – “Hi!”
Harry Callahan – “Oh, hi… what’s your name?”
Sunny – “Sunny. You know, I’ve been living here for almost six months now. It’s funny I’ve never met you before.”
Harry Callahan – “Oh well… I work a lot.”
Sunny – “I know. You’re the cop who lives upstairs.”
Harry Callahan – “That’s right.”
Sunny – “Mind if I ask you a question?”
Harry Callahan – “Go ahead.”
Sunny – “What does a girl have to do to go to bed with you?”
Harry Callahan – “Try knocking on the door.”
Magnum Force (1973)
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Harry Callahan – “Do you have any kids, lieutenant?”
Lt. Ackerman – “Me? No.”
Harry Callahan – “Lucky for them.”
The Dead Pool (1988)
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Harry Callahan – “Do you know the emergency phone number for San Francisco General? Well, why don’t you call them right now and have them send down an ambulance. Tell them there’s two sorry-looking assholes here with multiple contusions and various abrasions and broken bones.”
Sudden Impact (1983)
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Harry Callahan – “Now you know why they call me Dirty Harry: every dirty job that comes along.”
Dirty Harry (1971)
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Lieutenant Briggs – “You’re a good cop, Harry. You had a chance to join my team, but you decided to stick with the system.”
Harry Callahan – “Briggs, I hate the goddamn system! But until someone comes along with changes that make sense, I’ll stick with it.”
Magnum Force (1973)
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Harry Callahan – “Well, opinions are like assholes. Everybody has one.”
The Dead Pool (1988)
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Captain Briggs – “Don’t you lecture me, you son of a bitch! Do you know who I am? Do you know my record?”
Harry Callahan – “Yeah… you’re a legend in your own mind.”
Sudden Impact (1983)
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And finally…
Harry Callahan – “Uh uh. I know what you’re thinking. “Did he fire six shots or only five?” Well to tell you the truth in all this excitement I kinda lost track myself. But being this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world and would blow your head clean off, you’ve gotta ask yourself one question: “Do I feel lucky?” Well, do ya, punk?”
Dirty Harry (1971)
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If you’re a fan of the Dirty Harry movies (and quite frankly, who isn’t?), then you may wish to know that all five movies are currently available to buy in a nifty Blu-ray boxset.
The Clint Eastwood Dirty Harry Collection is a five-disc set which includes Dirty Harry, Magnum Force, The Enforcer, Sudden Impact, and The Dead Pool.
The Clint Eastwood Dirty Harry Collection is available from all good entertainment stockists, including Amazon US and Amazon UK.
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Thank you for stopping by It’s A Stampede! to read this post about the best Dirty Harry movie quotes. For more movie-related content, be sure to check out the recommended reads below.
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