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Dirty Harry:The Movies #1
Dirty Harry
to The CITY of San Francisco I will enjoy Killing one person every day until You pay me $100,000. If you agree say so within 48 hours in personal column San Francisco Chronicle and I Will set up meeting. If I do not hear from YOU it will be My next pleasure to kill a Catholic priest OR a nigger.
Scorpio
A psycho killer thinks he has the City of San Francisco over a barrel. Pay or there will be a high bodycount. But the madman doesn't know something. The city has its own madman. He's Inspector Harry Callahan and he has a 44 Magnum revolver and a badge. The City of San Francisco is going to get hit with an earthquake when these two meet.
Scorpio
A psycho killer thinks he has the City of San Francisco over a barrel. Pay or there will be a high bodycount. But the madman doesn't know something. The city has its own madman. He's Inspector Harry Callahan and he has a 44 Magnum revolver and a badge. The City of San Francisco is going to get hit with an earthquake when these two meet.
136 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 18, 1971
2 people are currently reading
144 people want to read
About the author
Phillip Rock
19 books29 followersPhillip George Rock was born in Los Angeles on 30 July 1927. He grew up in Beverly Hills and England, returned to America in 1940, and served in the U.S. Navy towards the end of World War II.
His first on-screen credit was for Escape from Fort Bravo (1953), directed by John Sturges and starring William Holden and Eleanor Parker. Rock then concentrated on writing novels and, in 1967, published his first: The Extraordinary Seaman.
MGM adapted The Extraordinary Seaman to the big screen in 1969. The film was poorly received and Rock is said to have vowed never to have another of his books made into a movie. Instead, Rock reversed the process and wrote a number of film novelizations for Popular Library and Bantam before turning again to writing novels.
Rock wrote a trilogy of novels — The Passing Bells, Circles of Time, and A Future Arrived — which followed the lives of the Stanmores of Abbingdo, an English family whose history Rock charted from the days of World War I to the Jazz era. The first novel was a Book of the Month Club alternate selection.
Rock died in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, California, on 3 April 2004, aged 76, of complications from cancer. He was survived by his son, Kevin, and two grandchildren.
His first on-screen credit was for Escape from Fort Bravo (1953), directed by John Sturges and starring William Holden and Eleanor Parker. Rock then concentrated on writing novels and, in 1967, published his first: The Extraordinary Seaman.
MGM adapted The Extraordinary Seaman to the big screen in 1969. The film was poorly received and Rock is said to have vowed never to have another of his books made into a movie. Instead, Rock reversed the process and wrote a number of film novelizations for Popular Library and Bantam before turning again to writing novels.
Rock wrote a trilogy of novels — The Passing Bells, Circles of Time, and A Future Arrived — which followed the lives of the Stanmores of Abbingdo, an English family whose history Rock charted from the days of World War I to the Jazz era. The first novel was a Book of the Month Club alternate selection.
Rock died in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, California, on 3 April 2004, aged 76, of complications from cancer. He was survived by his son, Kevin, and two grandchildren.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
October 18, 2015
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’ve 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 got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do you, punk?
The character of San Francisco Police Department Homicide Division Inspector ’Dirty’ Harry Callahan, the cop with a warped sense of justice and a series of movies featuring Dirty Harry was the star vessel for Clint Eastwood. Directed by Don Siegel in 1971 “Dirty Harry” was the first movie of a series, which virtually rewrote the entire police-action movie genre. When it was released the movie was received with a cult following and an accolade of criticism for the explicit violence and views of the lead character had on the concept of justice.
Dirty Harry of 1971 was the beginning of a new era of police-hero movies
Dirty Harry Callahan and Clint Eastwood
The character of Dirty Harry is the epitome of a rough, trigger-happy, ruthless policeman with his own concepts about justice and he doesn’t mind deviating from the conventional ways of law-and-justice by throwing the rule-book aside while delivering justice, in ways he deems fit. A true anti-hero in every sense.
Dirty Harry with his signature weapon – a Smith & Wesson M29 The .44 Remington Magnum
Dirty Harry as a character was quiet controversial with the ruthlessness attached to him; he was the police officer who went beyond the precincts of ethics and legal bindings when he felt justice was denied or badly served to the victim. When the offenders got away without even a slap on the wrist through the loopholes of judicial and bureaucratic systems, Harry didn’t mind delivering his own versions of the justice.
The lead role was originally offered to a ring of Hollywood stars like Frank Sinatra, John Wayne and Burt Lancaster before finally reaching Clint Eastwood. From a number of scripts that was offered to him by Jennings Lang, Eastwood chose the original script and he describes this in an interview given to MTV in 2008.
The Scorpio and Andrew Robinson
In the movie, Callahan is up against a brutally insane criminal only known as ‘Scorpio’ - one of the most maniacal, malicious, psychotic and sadistic criminal characters to be depicted in movies - who goes on a rampaging killing spree with demands of extortion. The character of ‘Scorpio’ is loosely based on a real-life serial killer – the zodiac killer who was never apprehended – of the late 1960s. The role of sadistic Scorpio, who kills without remorse with immense enjoyment, was outstandingly handled by the debutant Andrew Robinson and he stands tall along with Clint Eastwood in the movie.
Andrew Robinson as Scorpio was a powerful pillar on which the movie built its success
He is depicted as a master strategist who has planned for every contingency, which keeps him ahead of Callahan for the most part of the movie and will remind the viewer of ‘The Joker’ from Batman. For me the role of Scorpio by Andy Robinson was always one of the best villain characterizations in a movie and the success of the film owes a lot to his stellar performance. Another villain character that has fascinated me like ‘The Scorpio’ is the depiction of John Doe by Kevin Spacey in the 1995 psychological thriller Se7en.
The cat and mouse game between these Harry Callahan and The Scorpio make the main theme of “Dirty Harry”.
The political angle of the movie
The character’s depiction of being an independent policeman playing judge, jury and executioner along with his utter contempt for every sorts of religious and ethnic groups made “Dirty Harry” extremely right wing oriented. The character was met by immense protests for these right-wing attitudes, with protesters calling Dirty Harry “as a fascist pig”.
Still the character of Harry Callahan can be found in numerous Top Movie characters lists, as he was a voice that was raised against the judicial and bureaucratic system’s attitude of treating rights of criminals alone, while ignoring the victims. It was actually this unconventional portrayal of the lead character, which led to the immense success of the Dirty Harry movies, as they where in a form a protest against the way in which suspects made a mockery of the justice system and the way in which the rights of victims where often cruelly trodden on.
In an interview Clint Eastwood had expressed this opinion about the movie and the character of Dirty Harry and the criticisms it generated over its political tones.
The book by Phillip Rock
This book “Dirty Harry”, is a novelization of the 1971 movie by Phillip Rock and is based on the initial screenplay written by Harry Julian Fink. Novelizations of movies are always a difficult genre to rate and as far as the thrill factor goes, Phillip Rock has succeeded in capturing the feel of the movie into his narrative.
Phillip Rock deviates only slightly from the movie in this novelization and some of the points that are instantly noticeable are: In the book, the character of ‘Scorpio’ is driven by his fixation with astrology and his demented views of being born as a ‘Scorpio’, there is no such connection expressed in the movie; In the movie, the villain has no name except ‘Scorpio’, but the book adds that the character is actually ‘Charles Davis’, a former resident of a mental asylum from Massachusetts; In the end of the movie there is a scene in which Harry is seen chucking away his police badge, but the book omits this scene.
For fans of the ‘Dirty Harry‘ movies, this novelization can bring back the memories of the movie as the book is written with all the flair required in an action-thriller novel. For those who haven’t seen the Dirty Harry series, then I will recommend the movie instead of the book, as even though the book captures the atmosphere of the movie in its narrative, it cannot compete with the movie experience.
A side note: All around me I see repeat offenders slipping through the net of our legal systems; While writing this review I am watching the news about a 2 year old girl getting brutally raped in the capital of my country; it was only yesterday that I read about a case from my state about a 14 year old physically disabled girl who was sexually molested by a - ‘I frankly don’t know what word to use here to describe the people who does these atrocities’ ; the failure of the standard legal systems gets highlighted when we come to know that in the second incident the ‘person’ who did this crime, it was his third repeat offense. He was booked in two previous similar cases and in each instance he somehow managed to slither his way out of the legal systems. Dirty Harry’s methods may not be the answer here, but neither is the treatment of offenders and their rights with kids gloves the solution. I wrap up this review with this note…
The character of San Francisco Police Department Homicide Division Inspector ’Dirty’ Harry Callahan, the cop with a warped sense of justice and a series of movies featuring Dirty Harry was the star vessel for Clint Eastwood. Directed by Don Siegel in 1971 “Dirty Harry” was the first movie of a series, which virtually rewrote the entire police-action movie genre. When it was released the movie was received with a cult following and an accolade of criticism for the explicit violence and views of the lead character had on the concept of justice.
Dirty Harry of 1971 was the beginning of a new era of police-hero movies
Dirty Harry Callahan and Clint Eastwood
The character of Dirty Harry is the epitome of a rough, trigger-happy, ruthless policeman with his own concepts about justice and he doesn’t mind deviating from the conventional ways of law-and-justice by throwing the rule-book aside while delivering justice, in ways he deems fit. A true anti-hero in every sense.
Dirty Harry with his signature weapon – a Smith & Wesson M29 The .44 Remington Magnum
Dirty Harry as a character was quiet controversial with the ruthlessness attached to him; he was the police officer who went beyond the precincts of ethics and legal bindings when he felt justice was denied or badly served to the victim. When the offenders got away without even a slap on the wrist through the loopholes of judicial and bureaucratic systems, Harry didn’t mind delivering his own versions of the justice.
The lead role was originally offered to a ring of Hollywood stars like Frank Sinatra, John Wayne and Burt Lancaster before finally reaching Clint Eastwood. From a number of scripts that was offered to him by Jennings Lang, Eastwood chose the original script and he describes this in an interview given to MTV in 2008.
“I guess they tried to get a lot of people for it. They tried Frank Sinatra and Robert Mitchum and Steve McQueen. Then they finally ended up with Frank Sinatra. I was in postproduction [on “Play Misty for Me”], and they called up and asked, “Are you still interested in ’Dirty Harry’?” I said, “What happened to Frank Sinatra?” And they said, “Frank Sinatra’s got some problem with his hand and he can’t hold a gun.” That sounded like a pretty lame excuse, but it didn’t matter to me. 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.””
The Scorpio and Andrew Robinson
In the movie, Callahan is up against a brutally insane criminal only known as ‘Scorpio’ - one of the most maniacal, malicious, psychotic and sadistic criminal characters to be depicted in movies - who goes on a rampaging killing spree with demands of extortion. The character of ‘Scorpio’ is loosely based on a real-life serial killer – the zodiac killer who was never apprehended – of the late 1960s. The role of sadistic Scorpio, who kills without remorse with immense enjoyment, was outstandingly handled by the debutant Andrew Robinson and he stands tall along with Clint Eastwood in the movie.
Andrew Robinson as Scorpio was a powerful pillar on which the movie built its success
He is depicted as a master strategist who has planned for every contingency, which keeps him ahead of Callahan for the most part of the movie and will remind the viewer of ‘The Joker’ from Batman. For me the role of Scorpio by Andy Robinson was always one of the best villain characterizations in a movie and the success of the film owes a lot to his stellar performance. Another villain character that has fascinated me like ‘The Scorpio’ is the depiction of John Doe by Kevin Spacey in the 1995 psychological thriller Se7en.
The cat and mouse game between these Harry Callahan and The Scorpio make the main theme of “Dirty Harry”.
The political angle of the movie
The character’s depiction of being an independent policeman playing judge, jury and executioner along with his utter contempt for every sorts of religious and ethnic groups made “Dirty Harry” extremely right wing oriented. The character was met by immense protests for these right-wing attitudes, with protesters calling Dirty Harry “as a fascist pig”.
Still the character of Harry Callahan can be found in numerous Top Movie characters lists, as he was a voice that was raised against the judicial and bureaucratic system’s attitude of treating rights of criminals alone, while ignoring the victims. It was actually this unconventional portrayal of the lead character, which led to the immense success of the Dirty Harry movies, as they where in a form a protest against the way in which suspects made a mockery of the justice system and the way in which the rights of victims where often cruelly trodden on.
I didn’t care less. Somebody else called it a fascist masterpiece. People are always calling people names, the great right-wing conspiracy or the great left-wing conspiracy. You make a movie, and if somebody reads something into it, then great, more power to him. [Director] Don Siegel and I were both very moderate politically. We didn’t think much of it. We just had a good time with it.
In an interview Clint Eastwood had expressed this opinion about the movie and the character of Dirty Harry and the criticisms it generated over its political tones.
The book by Phillip Rock
This book “Dirty Harry”, is a novelization of the 1971 movie by Phillip Rock and is based on the initial screenplay written by Harry Julian Fink. Novelizations of movies are always a difficult genre to rate and as far as the thrill factor goes, Phillip Rock has succeeded in capturing the feel of the movie into his narrative.
Phillip Rock deviates only slightly from the movie in this novelization and some of the points that are instantly noticeable are: In the book, the character of ‘Scorpio’ is driven by his fixation with astrology and his demented views of being born as a ‘Scorpio’, there is no such connection expressed in the movie; In the movie, the villain has no name except ‘Scorpio’, but the book adds that the character is actually ‘Charles Davis’, a former resident of a mental asylum from Massachusetts; In the end of the movie there is a scene in which Harry is seen chucking away his police badge, but the book omits this scene.
For fans of the ‘Dirty Harry‘ movies, this novelization can bring back the memories of the movie as the book is written with all the flair required in an action-thriller novel. For those who haven’t seen the Dirty Harry series, then I will recommend the movie instead of the book, as even though the book captures the atmosphere of the movie in its narrative, it cannot compete with the movie experience.
A side note: All around me I see repeat offenders slipping through the net of our legal systems; While writing this review I am watching the news about a 2 year old girl getting brutally raped in the capital of my country; it was only yesterday that I read about a case from my state about a 14 year old physically disabled girl who was sexually molested by a - ‘I frankly don’t know what word to use here to describe the people who does these atrocities’ ; the failure of the standard legal systems gets highlighted when we come to know that in the second incident the ‘person’ who did this crime, it was his third repeat offense. He was booked in two previous similar cases and in each instance he somehow managed to slither his way out of the legal systems. Dirty Harry’s methods may not be the answer here, but neither is the treatment of offenders and their rights with kids gloves the solution. I wrap up this review with this note…
March 8, 2015
“I know what you’re thinking. ‘Did he buy six old movie and TV show tie-in books at the used book store a few years back or only five?’ Well, to tell you the truth in this excitement I kinda lost track myself. But being that you’ve got 44 unread novels laying around and since your shelves are groaning under the weight of all those unread books and would knock your head clean off if they collapsed, you’ve gotta ask yourself one question. ‘Do I feel lucky?’ Well, do ya, punk?”
No, I certainly don’t feel lucky.
It’s short, so it’s got that going for it, but it added nothing to the movie. In fact, even Harry’s famous question about feeling lucky is written out differently. It makes for a fun book to have as a curiosity if you’re a fan of the film, but you’d be better off watching the movie instead of reading it.
No, I certainly don’t feel lucky.
It’s short, so it’s got that going for it, but it added nothing to the movie. In fact, even Harry’s famous question about feeling lucky is written out differently. It makes for a fun book to have as a curiosity if you’re a fan of the film, but you’d be better off watching the movie instead of reading it.
Want to Read
October 18, 2015
November 28, 2011
I'm sure you've all seen the now iconic Ditry Harry movies, and, to be honest, Rock's novelization of the movie doesn't really add much. But, even with that said, this novelization evokes so many wonderful memories of my brothers and I watching the movies, and of Clint Eastwood's brilliant performance as Dirty Harry Callahan that you'd be remissed to miss out on a very fun reading experience. You wouldn't want to live with that, would you, punk?
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
April 15, 2008
Phillip Rock's novelization of Dirty Harry does the two things well that any novelization must do well to be successful. One, it brings memories of the movie to life for people who've seen it without leaving out any glaring details or adding in anything too bizarre. Two, it works on its own terms, and almost makes you believe you're reading a wholly original work of fiction. Granted, that "wholly original" prose is still pretty pulpy and over-the-top, but I liked it.
August 31, 2025
Krótka książka, więc i recenzja będzie krótka.
To w zasadzie pierwszy raz, gdy czytam książkę opartą na scenariuszu filmowym, i muszę przyznać, że czytało się to naprawdę dobrze.
Człowiek znany jako Skorpion terroryzuje San Francisco – strzela z dachów do przypadkowych przechodniów i szantażuje burmistrza. Grozi, że jeśli jego żądania nie zostaną spełnione, każdego dnia będą ginąć niewinni ludzie. Tylko jeden człowiek może go powstrzymać – inspektor Harry Callahan, znany z tego, że nie cofnie się przed niczym, by wymierzyć sprawiedliwość.
To bardzo lekka i przyjemna lektura, choć miałem nadzieję, że autor zdradzi nam nieco więcej z przeszłości głównego bohatera. Jeśli znacie film i chcielibyście przeżyć tę historię jeszcze raz to zdecydowanie polecam tę książkę.
Ocena: ★★★★☆
To w zasadzie pierwszy raz, gdy czytam książkę opartą na scenariuszu filmowym, i muszę przyznać, że czytało się to naprawdę dobrze.
Człowiek znany jako Skorpion terroryzuje San Francisco – strzela z dachów do przypadkowych przechodniów i szantażuje burmistrza. Grozi, że jeśli jego żądania nie zostaną spełnione, każdego dnia będą ginąć niewinni ludzie. Tylko jeden człowiek może go powstrzymać – inspektor Harry Callahan, znany z tego, że nie cofnie się przed niczym, by wymierzyć sprawiedliwość.
To bardzo lekka i przyjemna lektura, choć miałem nadzieję, że autor zdradzi nam nieco więcej z przeszłości głównego bohatera. Jeśli znacie film i chcielibyście przeżyć tę historię jeszcze raz to zdecydowanie polecam tę książkę.
Ocena: ★★★★☆
October 17, 2015
One of the first non-private detectives, though this one isn't exactly a by-the-book guy…
Eastwood's "Make my day, punk" has made it into urban speak.
Eastwood's "Make my day, punk" has made it into urban speak.
July 13, 2019
3.8/5
A well-written tie-in that does the movie justice. What I liked best, aside from Rock's prose, is that Rock gives a bit more insight on Scorpio's character, and also fleshes out a few things (without wasting time), bridging the small gaps between scenes that we see in the movie.
It does its job well, even with the early dialogue (given that this is adapted directly from the original screenplay) sometimes feeling a little shaky--the iconic "'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya, punk?" monologue is very different compared to the film. I have no complaints, however. It was interesting to read an adaptation of the original source material that would become one of the greatest cop movies ever made.
A well-written tie-in that does the movie justice. What I liked best, aside from Rock's prose, is that Rock gives a bit more insight on Scorpio's character, and also fleshes out a few things (without wasting time), bridging the small gaps between scenes that we see in the movie.
It does its job well, even with the early dialogue (given that this is adapted directly from the original screenplay) sometimes feeling a little shaky--the iconic "'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya, punk?" monologue is very different compared to the film. I have no complaints, however. It was interesting to read an adaptation of the original source material that would become one of the greatest cop movies ever made.
February 28, 2019
A fun novelization of the classic film, as i was reading it i remembered the scenes from the film, i pictured Clint Eastwood saying his classic line, i would recommend this to those that either have or haven't seen the film, a quick and easy to read book.
July 30, 2022
A succinct version based on the book. 136 pages. Ok
January 15, 2013
Probably the best film novelization ever.
March 24, 2013
I read all the Dirty Harry books before I could go and see the movies.
March 9, 2026
Dirty Harry
Dirty Harry is the novel adaptation of the movie by the same name, written by Author Phillip Rock, and first published in 1971. The story is mainly the same as the film, with some slight differences, as the novel is based on an earlier draft of the script, and not the final movie. The story follows inspector Harry Francis Callahan as he hunts down “Scorpio” in San Francisco.
The story begins with killer Scorpio taking his first victim, shooting her with a rifle from a rooftop as she swims in a pool. Harry arrives and finds shell casings and a note from Scorpio on the rooftop. After a meeting with the mayor they set up surveillance for Scorpio, he is seen on a roof trying to shoot a priest by a helicopter but escapes, Harry and his new partner, Chico, go out looking for him, Harry is caught peeping through a window after tailing a suspect. They get a call and Scorpio has shot a black boy. Harry and Chico have no luck as no one in the neighbourhood wants to talk to police. They set up a sting operation, Scorpio shows up but Harry misses, and Scorpio kills a police officer when escaping. Scorpio then kidnaps a 14 year old girl, and asks for $200,000 in ransom for her back. The mayor decides to give Scorpio his ransom, and harry is the bagman, after the drop goes bad Chico shows up to save Harry but is shot, Harry is able to injure Scorpio with a knife. After tracking him from a hospital, Harry catches Scorpio at the baseball field, he shoots and then tortures a confession from him, the girl that Scorpio had previously kidnapped is found dead. Scorpio is let go after Harry infringed in his rights, Harry begins tailing him, but after Scorpio gets himself beat up, Harry is framed and stops. Scorpio then boards a school bus and takes the children hostage, requesting money and a jet, the mayor decides to go along with Scorpios demands. Harry feels this is crazy, and can’t believe that the mayor is still going along with Scorpios demands. Harry leaves and finds the bus, he drives on and gets onto a bridge, then dives on top of the bridge as the bus passes under, Scorpio then crashes the bus try to shake him off. After a chase Harry shoots and kills Scorpio, he thinks about throwing away his badge and gun, then sits and waits for the police to show up.
The main themes of the book are police brutality and frustration with legal systems that prioritise suspect rights over victims. The book, and film, reflects 1970’s paranoia regarding rising crime, anti-hero Harry Callahan operates outside the law to deliver justice, which makes the reader question the morality of the justice system. It’s about a society frustrated with the police force, and how they care more for the suspects rights than the victims. This is shown in the scene where Scorpio is let go, the district attorney tells Harry that Scorpio has rights, and Harry responses by asking about if the 14 year old girl he took had rights. The movie and the book challenge the frustrations of society at the time, Scorpio is evil, he has no redeeming qualities, he is just pure evil, and Harry is the hero, but he is morally bent, he is able to catch Scorpio twice, but he has to go outside of the law to do so. The movie and the book came out at a time when people in society where frustrated, politicians who lived in the nice neighbourhoods where main laws for suspect rights, but the people dealing with the fallout where the police and people in the low income, crime ridden areas. The movie was extremely popular because Harry doesn’t care for the suspects rights, he is just delivering justice.
The character of Harry is used to represent the frustrations of society at the time, he doesn’t care about the justice system, he knows its flawed, he just cares about catching the suspect. When arguing with the district attorney, he says “the laws crazy”, he represents the frustration with the legal system (liberal courts, bureaucracy) that allows criminals like "Scorpio" to escape punishment. Harry also makes the reader question whether or not what he is doing is right, which plays into the theme of vigilantism in the book, Scorpio is evil, but is Harry right to torture and deny him his rights in order to catch him?
Dirty Harry is one pot my favourite movies of all time, so this was always going to be an enjoyable book. Because it is based on an earlier version of the script, it includes some more backstory to Harry which I really enjoyed. I like how well Scorpio is written, he is just evil, he has no redeeming qualities, he has no reason to make you feel bad for him, and he works so well with Harry. For me the biggest disappointment with this book is how many of the famous lines from the movie its omits, although based on an earlier script, it was frustrating that most of Harrys iconic lines from the film are missed out, or changed.
Dirty Harry is the novel adaptation of the movie by the same name, written by Author Phillip Rock, and first published in 1971. The story is mainly the same as the film, with some slight differences, as the novel is based on an earlier draft of the script, and not the final movie. The story follows inspector Harry Francis Callahan as he hunts down “Scorpio” in San Francisco.
The story begins with killer Scorpio taking his first victim, shooting her with a rifle from a rooftop as she swims in a pool. Harry arrives and finds shell casings and a note from Scorpio on the rooftop. After a meeting with the mayor they set up surveillance for Scorpio, he is seen on a roof trying to shoot a priest by a helicopter but escapes, Harry and his new partner, Chico, go out looking for him, Harry is caught peeping through a window after tailing a suspect. They get a call and Scorpio has shot a black boy. Harry and Chico have no luck as no one in the neighbourhood wants to talk to police. They set up a sting operation, Scorpio shows up but Harry misses, and Scorpio kills a police officer when escaping. Scorpio then kidnaps a 14 year old girl, and asks for $200,000 in ransom for her back. The mayor decides to give Scorpio his ransom, and harry is the bagman, after the drop goes bad Chico shows up to save Harry but is shot, Harry is able to injure Scorpio with a knife. After tracking him from a hospital, Harry catches Scorpio at the baseball field, he shoots and then tortures a confession from him, the girl that Scorpio had previously kidnapped is found dead. Scorpio is let go after Harry infringed in his rights, Harry begins tailing him, but after Scorpio gets himself beat up, Harry is framed and stops. Scorpio then boards a school bus and takes the children hostage, requesting money and a jet, the mayor decides to go along with Scorpios demands. Harry feels this is crazy, and can’t believe that the mayor is still going along with Scorpios demands. Harry leaves and finds the bus, he drives on and gets onto a bridge, then dives on top of the bridge as the bus passes under, Scorpio then crashes the bus try to shake him off. After a chase Harry shoots and kills Scorpio, he thinks about throwing away his badge and gun, then sits and waits for the police to show up.
The main themes of the book are police brutality and frustration with legal systems that prioritise suspect rights over victims. The book, and film, reflects 1970’s paranoia regarding rising crime, anti-hero Harry Callahan operates outside the law to deliver justice, which makes the reader question the morality of the justice system. It’s about a society frustrated with the police force, and how they care more for the suspects rights than the victims. This is shown in the scene where Scorpio is let go, the district attorney tells Harry that Scorpio has rights, and Harry responses by asking about if the 14 year old girl he took had rights. The movie and the book challenge the frustrations of society at the time, Scorpio is evil, he has no redeeming qualities, he is just pure evil, and Harry is the hero, but he is morally bent, he is able to catch Scorpio twice, but he has to go outside of the law to do so. The movie and the book came out at a time when people in society where frustrated, politicians who lived in the nice neighbourhoods where main laws for suspect rights, but the people dealing with the fallout where the police and people in the low income, crime ridden areas. The movie was extremely popular because Harry doesn’t care for the suspects rights, he is just delivering justice.
The character of Harry is used to represent the frustrations of society at the time, he doesn’t care about the justice system, he knows its flawed, he just cares about catching the suspect. When arguing with the district attorney, he says “the laws crazy”, he represents the frustration with the legal system (liberal courts, bureaucracy) that allows criminals like "Scorpio" to escape punishment. Harry also makes the reader question whether or not what he is doing is right, which plays into the theme of vigilantism in the book, Scorpio is evil, but is Harry right to torture and deny him his rights in order to catch him?
Dirty Harry is one pot my favourite movies of all time, so this was always going to be an enjoyable book. Because it is based on an earlier version of the script, it includes some more backstory to Harry which I really enjoyed. I like how well Scorpio is written, he is just evil, he has no redeeming qualities, he has no reason to make you feel bad for him, and he works so well with Harry. For me the biggest disappointment with this book is how many of the famous lines from the movie its omits, although based on an earlier script, it was frustrating that most of Harrys iconic lines from the film are missed out, or changed.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 22, 2022
From the rooftop a man assembles a weapon handcrafted for the business of killing. Looking through the scope at the people below, scrutinising the people, selecting one, he pulls the trigger at a young women in a pool, the bullet tearing into the armpit and exploding a fist sized hole out her hip. The crimson cloud spreading the clear cool water. Harry with his 44 magnum hung beneath his left armpit like a small cannon was on the job. A note was left at the rooftop informing that a person will be killed every 48 hours until 100000 dollars in paid signed by Scorpio. Harry will use the classic line "are you feeling lucky, Punk", on a bank robber. Scorpio will send Harry on a chase through the streets and parks directing him to phone booths. If he doesn't pick up after four rings people will die. Harry will fuck this guy up but violates his amendments so he walks on technicality. Scorpio upon release takes a bus load of kids hostage and Harry only friend his trusty 44 will blow elephant sized holes through flesh.
November 22, 2023
Surprisingly solid novelization of one of my favorite action films. Rock stays close to the screenplay while offering some nuggets of insight to the characters that don't come across in the film. It's a bit pulpy and some of the language is peculiar (clod!), but a quick, enjoyable companion to the classic film.
August 11, 2025
Dirty Harry, the novelization, serves as an excellent companion to the film, closely mirroring its narrative with subtle differences. The book provides valuable insight into the characters' thought processes, which cannot always be conveyed on screen. It is an engaging read, and I highly recommend it.
May 24, 2020
This is the novelization of Clint Eastwood's iconic cop thriller.
November 21, 2020
Enjoyed passing the time with this one.
July 31, 2021
Followed the plot of the movie.
August 23, 2022
This is a book that is not easily forgotten. The phrase, make my day, is pretty much how the book goes. The author had my interest from the beginning.
June 16, 2023
super zabawa
July 15, 2024
Some inner thoughts of the killer Scorpio otherwise the film in black and white.
August 24, 2025
definitely written by a man
September 17, 2025
Dirty Harry is one of my fave films, but I'm pleased the novelisation is a little different to the finished film. I got the impression of an older, grimmer, more hard-bitten man than the version portrayed by Clint Eastwood. And I liked it. It fit. This was much, much better than I expected it to be.
No grandstanding, no nonsense (although you couldn't accuse the film version of Harry as a man who didn't cut to the chase) and much more human, we get to know a little of Harry as a person instead of the iconic figure of swift justice he became in the public consciousness.
I fully expect the novelisation of Magnum Force to be more inkeeping with the character we know. I'm eager to read it and see the shift in tone.
Very recommended, if you can find an affordable copy.
No grandstanding, no nonsense (although you couldn't accuse the film version of Harry as a man who didn't cut to the chase) and much more human, we get to know a little of Harry as a person instead of the iconic figure of swift justice he became in the public consciousness.
I fully expect the novelisation of Magnum Force to be more inkeeping with the character we know. I'm eager to read it and see the shift in tone.
Very recommended, if you can find an affordable copy.
March 17, 2015
Novelization of the class Clint Eastward movie.
February 3, 2018
Good, but the movie was better.
April 5, 2017
Psychological thriller that is also a police drama. I think people are fascinated by Dirty Harry, a cop not afraid to do things his own way.
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