Clint Eastwood

The Only Killer Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry Let Go Free (& Why)

There weren't many criminals who survived encountering Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry, but only one of the movies saw him let a killer go free.

Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry was famously uncompromising in his pursuit of justice, but there’s one example of him letting a killer go free. “Dirty” Harry Callahan is arguably Eastwood’s most popular character, but also one of the most controversial. The original movie was turned down by names like Paul Newman and George C Scott because they were uncomfortable playing a detective who was so willing to subvert the law to get results. Eastwood didn’t have any such qualms, instead seeing Dirty Harry as a taut thriller, but while it was a major hit in 1971, many critics like Pauline Kael and Roger Ebert labeled it “fascist.”

This backlash was so vocal that 1973 sequel Magnum Force attempted to soften Harry’s image, and saw him pursue an actual band of vigilante police officers; the reviews weren’t much better. Most of the Dirty Harry sequels lacked the raw power of the first film, with some entries introducing cartoonishly evil villains so that the morality of the titular character gunning them down was never in question. That said, the only outing that Eastwood directed saw Harry chasing after a killer with somewhat similar views on justice to himself.

Sudden Impact Ends With Harry Letting The Killer Go Free

Jennifer aiming a gun in Sudden Impact

Sudden Impact from 1983 is the fourth installment and finds Harry investigating a series of murders in San Paolo. There’s no mystery as to who is committing the killings or why with Sondra Locke’s artist Jennifer Spencer being Sudden Impact’s other main character. The movie reveals that a decade prior, Jennifer and her sister Beth were sexually assaulted by a gang, which left Beth in a catatonic state. Jennifer is systematically killing her way through their attackers, while she and an unwitting Harry – who lost MANY partners – enter a romantic relationship. However, by the finale, the gang leader Mick (Paul Drake) has kidnapped Jennifer while Harry has uncovered the truth.

Following a brutal shootout, Jennifer gives Harry a bitter speech about the attack she and her sister suffered and how they both deserved some form of justice. When an officer mistakenly believes that the revolver used in the killings belongs to Mick, not Jennifer, Harry doesn’t correct him, absolving her of the crime. Sudden Impact’s ending is the only time in the entire series Harry willingly let a killer go free. Throughout the movies, Harry always strongly empathized with the victims of crime, so perhaps feeling Jennifer had suffered more than enough, he looked the other way.

Sudden Impact Is The Darkest Of The Series

Clint Eastwood in Sudden Impact Cropped

Sudden Impact is well-known for Harry’s iconic “Make my day” quote, which suggests a crowd-pleasing action romp. In truth, the sequel is only rivaled by the original in terms of its bleakness. Sudden Impact’s exploration of sexual violence and trauma often makes for uncomfortable viewing, and it feels like a gender-flipped remake of Death Wish, as the story is just as focused on Jennifer as it is on Harry. Sudden Impact and its messy views on justice would have served as a more fitting finale to the series than 1988’s disappointing The Dead Pool, which felt like a tepid police procedural.

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