51 Years of "Dirty Harry"

A movie that delighted conservatives and unnerved liberals was released 51 years ago last month.

That movie was Dirty Harry starring Clint Eastwood, Andy Robinson, Harry Guardino, John Vernon and Reni Santoni. The was new type of cop movie. It was about a "loose cannon" San Francisco police inspector named Harry Callahan, who battled the hoodlums and incompetent superiors and public officials. It was directed by Don Siegel. 

It was released on December 23, 1971.  

I remember seeing it on its initial release and later with friends at the Nuart Theater in West Los Angeles with The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. I have it on DVD. 

Dirty Harry spawned four sequels. While those were entertaining, none of them matched the cinematic impact of the original. 

Above, note the movie marquee as Harry Callahan goes to a lunch counter.

"Hey, I gots to know!"

Whatever Became of...Albert Popwell?

Above, Albert Popwell in Magnum Force.

Do you know the name, "Albert Popwell"?

Probably not, but you would probably recognize his face, especially if you're a fan of Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry movies.

According to Wikipedia:

Popwell was a wounded bank robber at the receiving end of Eastwood's "Do you feel lucky?" monologue from Dirty Harry. Popwell was a murderous pimp in Magnum Force, appeared as Big Ed Mustapha in The Enforcer and as Harry's detective colleague Horace King in Sudden Impact. He did not appear in the last film in the series, The Dead Pool, due to a scheduling conflict.

Unfortunately, Albert Popwell is no longer with us. He passed away in 1999 in Los Angeles.

From Wikipedia:

His final film role was opposite Sharon Stone in Scissors. He died eight years later, at age 72, from complications following open heart surgery.

"Hey, I gots to know!" - Albert Popwell in Dirty Harry (1971).