Clint Eastwood’s icon-making turn as the laconic, tweed-wearing, and ruthlessly committed police officer arrives at the Odyssey.
San Francisco’s authorities are left helpless when a mysterious, unpredictable serial killer charges them hundreds of thousands of dollars to make him stop – unless misanthropic Inspector Harry Callahan can find him first. Before long, the killer’s machinations and the city’s bureaucracy dovetail to make the case unsolvable, forcing Harry to step even further
out of line to keep up. Directed by B-movie master Don Siegel (Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Escape from Alcatraz) and inspired by the then-current Zodiac killings, the film still thrills for its taut, practical action and tightly controlled plot. Eastwood’s performance gave him stardom beyond Westerns and inspired four sequels, which are less curious about just how heroic this bigoted, frequently violent character is.
