Vitals

Clint Eastwood as Insp. Harry Callahan, renegade San Francisco inspector

San Francisco, Summer 1971

Film: Dirty Harry
Release Date: December 23, 1971
Director: Don Siegel
Wardrobe Department: Glenn Wright

Background

As mentioned in the previous Dirty Harry post, many travelers are fooled into thinking that San Francisco’s climate is reflective of California as immortalized by the Beach Boys. Instead, the city enjoys cooler Mediterranean-style weather with dry summers and mild winters.

Travelers unaware of the fact that they’ll be enjoying a summer with evenings that can dip into the 40s (Fahrenheit) are easily spotted by their brightly-colored hoodies emblazened with the name “SAN FRANCISCO” on the front, newly purchased from an enterprising street vendor rightly taking advantage of ill-informed tourists.

Harry Callahan defines his distinctive look in the early scenes of Dirty Harry, putting a patterned sportcoat over a sweater vest and tie, matching it all with a pair of comfortable and casual slacks. While the look may suggest “I failed as a writer and settled as a science teacher”, Eastwood’s gritty gaze and the .44 Magnum in his holster say different. Continue reading →