Dirty Harry - Production - Development

Development

The script, titled Dead Right, was originally written by Harry Julian and Rita M. Fink, a story about a hard-edged New York City police inspector Harry Callahan, determined to stop Travis, a serial killer, by any means at his disposal. Although Dirty Harry is arguably Clint Eastwood's signature role, he was not a top contender for the part. The role of Harry Callahan was originally written for John Wayne, whom the Finks had just finished working with on Big Jake (1971). When they were trying to sell their script, the Finks used him as an example of how they envisioned the character. Wayne said he was not interested in the role, however; he felt the violence in the script was unjustified and glorified. In Michael Munn’s book John Wayne: The Man Behind The Myth, Wayne gives the reasons why he refused the part: “First is that they offered it to Frank Sinatra first, but he'd hurt his hand and couldn't do it. I don't like being offered Sinatra's rejections. Put that one down to pride. The second reason is that I thought Harry was a rogue cop. Put that down to narrow-mindedness because when I saw the picture I realized that Harry was the kind of part I'd played often enough: a guy who lives within the law but breaks the rules when he really has to in order to save others. The third reason is that I was too busy making other pictures.” Wayne later regretted turning down the role, and went on to star in his own cop film, McQ, which was directed by John Sturges.

Robert Mitchum and Burt Lancaster were also offered the role. Mitchum dismissed this totemic role as "a piece of junk." In Dick Lochte‘s article, "Just One More Hangover: A Vodka-Soaked Afternoon with Robert Mitchum", he writes: Mitchum always got "those prices" in those days. "Somebody says, 'We really want you to do this script.' And I say, 'I'd need an awful lot of money in front to do that one.' And that never seems to be a problem. The less I like the script, the higher my price. And they pay. They may pay in yen, but they pay. Not that I'm a complete whore, understand. There are movies I won't do for any amount. I turned down Patton and I turned down Dirty Harry. Movies that piss on the world. If I've got $5 in my pocket, I don't need to make money that fucking way, daddy."

Originally it was set in New York City, not San Francisco, California, and ended with a police sniper instead of Callahan taking out Scorpio. Another earlier version of the story was set in Seattle, Washington. Four more drafts of the script were written. John Milius wrote a draft dated 23 September 1970 inspired by Akira Kurosawa's studies in lone-gun detectives. Milius has also mentioned being influenced by a friend of his, a Long Beach police officer who dealt with criminals in a rather summary fashion. According to Milius, his friend "rarely brought people back" but was, contrastingly, extremely gentle with animals. Quite a bit of Milius' script remains in the finished film, including Harry's mystique and his "Do I feel lucky?" monologue.

Terrence Malick wrote a draft of the film dated November 1970 (John Milius and Harry Julian Fink are also named as co-writers) in which the shooter (also named Travis) was a vigilante who killed wealthy criminals who had escaped justice. Malick's ideas formed the basis for the sequel, Magnum Force, though with a group of vigilante motorcycle cops instead of a single shooter.

Eventually, the Finks sold their script to Universal. Already having Clint Eastwood under contract, Universal thought of using it as a vehicle for the actor, but they never followed up on the initial plans and they let the rights to the script run out.

When producer Jennings Lang initially could not find an actor to take the role of Callahan, he sold the film rights to ABC Television. Although ABC wanted to turn it into a television film, the amount of violence in the script was deemed too excessive for television, so the rights were sold to Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. purchased the script with a view to cast Frank Sinatra in the lead. Sinatra was 55 at the time and since the character of Harry Callahan was originally written as a man in his mid to late 50s (and Eastwood only then 41), Sinatra fit the character profile. Initially, Warner Bros. wanted either Sydney Pollack or Irvin Kershner to direct. Kershner was eventually hired when Frank Sinatra was attached to the title role. But when Sinatra eventually left the film, so did Kershner. Eastwood pushed for Don Siegel when he was cast in the film.

Details about the film were first released in film industry trade papers in April, September and November 1970 with Frank Sinatra attached as Harry Callahan and Irvin Kershner listed as director and producer with Arthur Jacobson acting as associate producer.

Sinatra actually accepted the role, however he had broken his wrist during the filming of The Manchurian Candidate eight years previously, and during contract negotiations, he found the large handgun too unwieldy. Additionally, his father had recently died, and Sinatra decided he wanted to do some lighter material. In a 16 November 1970 Warner Bros. press release, it was announced that Sinatra would no longer be involved in the project. When Sinatra dropped out, so did Kershner.

After Sinatra left the project, the producers started to consider younger actors for the role. Burt Lancaster turned down the lead role because he strongly disagreed with the violent, right-wing morals of the story. He believed the role and plot contradicted his belief in a collective responsibility for criminal and social justice and the protection of individual rights. Marlon Brando was considered for the role, but was never formally approached. Both Steve McQueen and Paul Newman turned down the role. McQueen refused to make another “cop movie” after Bullitt (1968). He would also turn down the lead in The French Connection the same year, giving the same reason. Believing the character was too "right-wing" for him, Newman suggested that the film would be a good vehicle for Eastwood.

The screenplay was initially brought to Clint’s attention around 1969 by Jennings Lang and while still in post-production for his directorial debut film Play Misty for Me, Warner Bros offered him the part. By 17 December 1970, in a Warner Brothers studio press release it was announced that Clint Eastwood would star in as well as produce the film through his Malpaso Company.

One of Eastwood's stipulations for accepting the role was the change of locale to San Francisco. Eastwood has claimed that he took the role of Harry Callahan because of the character's obsessive concern with the victims of violent crime. Eastwood felt that the issue of victims' rights was being overshadowed by the political atmosphere of the time.

Eastwood was given a number of scripts, but he ultimately reverted to the original as the best vehicle for him. In a 2009 MTV Interview, Eastwood said, "So I said, 'I'll do it,' but since they had initially talked to me, there had been all these rewrites. I said, 'I'm only interested in the original script'." Looking back on the 1971 Don Siegel film, he remembered, " everything. They had Marine snipers coming on in the end. And I said, 'No. This is losing the point of the whole story, of the guy chasing the killer down. It's becoming an extravaganza that's losing its character.' They said, 'OK, do what you want.' So, we went and made it.".

Eastwood also agreed to star in the film only on the provision that Don Siegel direct. Siegel was under contract to Universal at the time, and Eastwood personally went to the studio heads to ask them to 'loan' Siegel to Warner. The two had just completed the movie The Beguiled (1970).

Scorpio was loosely based on the real-life Zodiac Killer, who had committed five murders in the San Francisco Bay Area several years earlier. In a later novelization of the film, Scorpio was referred to as "Charles Davis" by Lt. Bressler, a former mental patient from Springfield, Massachusetts who murdered his grandparents while still a teenager. There are significant differences between the book and the film, and it can only be presumed that the differences in the book were taken from an early script draft. Among the differences are Scorpio's point of view - he uses astrology to make decisions (including being inspired to abduct Ann Mary Deacon), Harry working on a murder case involving a mugger before he is assigned to Scorpio, and the omission of the suicide jumper and Harry throwing away his badge at the end. Audie Murphy was initially considered to play the Scorpio Killer, but he died in a plane crash before his decision on the offer could be made. When Kershner and Sinatra were still attached to the project, James Caan was under consideration for the role of Scorpio. The part eventually went to a relatively unknown actor, Andy Robinson. Eastwood had seen Robinson in a play called Subject to Fits and recommended him for the role of Scorpio, whose unkempt appearance fit the bill for a psychologically unbalanced hippie. Siegel told Robinson that he cast him in the role of the Scorpio killer because he wanted someone "with a face like a choirboy." Robinson's portrayal was so memorable that after the film was released he was reported to have received several death threats and was forced to get an unlisted telephone number. In real life, Robinson is a pacifist who deplores the use of firearms. In the early days of principal photography, Robinson would reportedly flinch in discomfort every time he was required to use a gun. As a result director Don Siegel was forced to halt production briefly and sent Robinson for brief training in order to learn how to fire a gun convincingly. Despite this, he still blinked when firing guns during certain scenes involving shootouts. Robinson was also reportedly uncomfortable about filming the scenes where he verbally and physically abuses several schoolchildren.

Shortly thereafter, they hired writer Dean Riesner to work on the script. Riesner worked previously with both Eastwood and Siegel as a writer on Coogan's Bluff, and Play Misty for Me. Screenwriter John Milius' contribution was also worked in by writing a draft of the film inspired by Akira Kurosawa's studies in lone-gun detectives, while director Siegel tackled the material from the viewpoint of bigotry.

As several ideas were added and changed, many others were dropped, including a visit to Harry's hometown and an airport hijacking.

In the former, Harry and Chico drive around Potrero Hill questioning the residents after the scene of Charlie Russell's murder. As they continue to be greeted with suspicion from everyone, Harry begins to talk about how the people are raised mistrusting cops. He tells Chico that he grew up in Potrero Hill, and learned at an early age not to depend on the police. He soon decides that this case is not one that will be solved by the usual methods of police work, and that Scorpio will not be satisfied until he has made good on his threat to kill a priest. This scene was most likely included as part of Harry's character while he was still written as an older, disillusioned cop. As Harry gets his leg bandaged, listen for Steve Rogers to confirm the Potrero Hill background with the line, "We Potrero Hill boys gotta stick together."

The "Bank Job" scene is different as well, and unfolds during a rainstorm. In addition to the tailpipe smoke, Harry notices that though people continue to enter, no one is exiting the bank. The biggest difference in the scene, though, is Harry's alternate "Do I feel lucky" monologue:

"You been counting? Well, was it five or was it six? Regulations say five...hammer down on the empty...only not all of us go by the book. What you have to do is think about it. I mean this is a forty-four magnum and it'll turn your head into hash. Now, do you think I fired five or six? And if five, do I keep a live one under the hammer? It's all up to you. Are you feeling lucky, Punk?"

One of the original ideas for the film's ending included a sequence with Scorpio kidnapping a group of schoolchildren at an airport, then attempting to hijack a plane. When the studio decided that the whole thing would be too expensive to film, it was Eastwood who suggested using the rock quarry for the ending. He remembered it from his childhood; having lived nearby, he had passed it often on drives with his parents. The abduction of the school children was still worked into the end of the film, basing it again on the real-life events of the Zodiac case, where the killer threatened to hijack a school bus full of children. The airport sequence eventually found its way into the series, being worked into the plot of Magnum Force.

The idea of a car chase was also dropped as Bullitt (1968) had already set the bar for that. However, car chase sequences were used in the sequels Magnum Force and The Dead Pool.