10 Classic Movie Anti-Heroes Dirty Harry Fans Would Love

From gritty urban landscapes to dystopian future wastelands, there were plenty of classic movie anti-heroes that admirers of Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry would love. Detective Harry Callaghan developed a reputation as a no-nonsense cop who was not afraid to step outside of the confines of the law to get what he wanted and this type of personality has been seen in a variety of movies across action, crime, film noirs, and other genres. Considering this, there were lots of anti-hero protagonists who demonstrated the same lone wolf and determined tendencies of Dirty Harry.

Not all the anti-heroes who were reminiscent of Dirty Harry worked in law enforcement and some were even more known for their criminal behavior, but, despite this, they still possess many of the same qualities as Callaghan and it’s easy to compare the two. From the lone-wolf vigilantism of Travis Bickle in Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver right to Humphrey Bogart’s iconic portrayal of Detective Philip Marlowe in The Maltese Falcon, lots of cinematic anti-heroes have aspects of Callaghan’s no-nonsense nature. There were plenty of classic movie anti-heroes that Dirty Harry fans would love.

10 Travis Bickle

Robert De Nero in Taxi Driver (1976)

Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver could be seen as a dark mirrored reflection of the no-nonsense cop played by Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry. Much like Detective Harry Callaghan, Travis was disgusted by the crime, decay, and murder that plagued his city, but, without the legal system behind him, he decided to take matters into his own hands. The dark consequences of Travis’ actions in his shootout against pimps and criminals in Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver could have been Callaghan’s story if instead of becoming a police officer he was a troubled war veteran that society left behind.

9 Snake Plissken

Kurt Russell in Escape from New York (1981) and Escape from L.A. (1996)

The anti-hero Snake Plissken from John Carpenter’s Escape from New York and Escape from L.A. was once a lieutenant in the United States Army Special Forces before turning to a life of crime and had a lot in common with Detective Harry Callaghan from Dirty Harry. Worn out and cynical towards the conventional way of doing things, Snake, like Harry, was unafraid to cross professional boundaries to achieve his aims. With his own code of justice, Pilssken also had the attitude and charisma of Callghan and represented how his character might act in a crime-ridden dystopian future.

8 Sam Spade

Humphrey Bogart in The Maltese Falcon (1941)

Both Sam Space from The Maltese Falcon and Harry Callaghan occupied law enforcement jobs in a gritty urban environment and were unafraid to tackle the crime they witnessed head-on. Each possessed a no-nonsense attitude and an unflinching determination for justice, and admirers of Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry would be sure to enjoy witnessing Humphrey Bogart’s sardonic depiction of Spade in The Maltese Falcon. A major figure in the development of the hard-boiled private detective in fiction, without Space there would have been no Dirty Harry.

7 John Rambo

Sylvester Stallone in the Rambo franchise

The tough guy demeanor, incredible resilience, and skillful knowledge of Vietnam War veteran John Rambo meant he had a lot in common with the anti-hero, boundary-pushing detective Harry Callaghan. Those with a love for the Dirty Harry series and Clint Eastwood’s willingness to stop at nothing to achieve his aims would surely be impressed by Sylvester Stallone’s turn as the action hero Rambo throughout the five-movie Rambo franchise. While the two characters have different origin stories, the lone-wolf mentality, raw aggressive nature, and wayward vigilantism made them two sides of the same coin.

6 Jim Stark

James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause (1955)

While viewers never got to see Detective Harry Callaghan as a teenager, it’s easy to imagine that without the sense of purpose of his job as a cop, he may have been something like Jim Stark from Rebel Without a Cause. As a teenage anti-hero and a representation of the conflict between different generations, James Dean as Stark brought much of the same brashness and wayward determination seen through Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry. As an iconic example of somebody who won’t let society dictate their behavior, there’s a lot of comparisons that can be made between Callaghan and Stark.

5 Scottie Ferguson

James Stewart in Vertigo (1954)

James Stewart as Scottie Ferguson in Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo brought a dark obsessive nature to this story of a private investigator embroiled in a shocking conspiracy that would surely be of interest to admirers of Dirty Harry. While Scottie’s tactics were different from that of Detective Harry Callaghan he was still proven to be a man who was more than willing to cross boundaries to achieve his goals. As a tense and suspenseful psychological thriller, the emotional weight of the story in Vertigo was just as thrilling as the game of cat-and-mouse seen in Dirty Harry.

4 Dave Bannion

Glenn Ford in The Big Heat (1953)

While The Big Heat may not get as violent as Dirty Harry, the dark and determined story of Dave Bannion, played by Glenn Ford, taking down a crime syndicate that controlled the city had striking similarities to the Clint Eastwood movie. Much like Detective Harry Callaghan, Bannion was not to go outside the confines of the law to take out his enemies and was guided by his moral compass rather than strictly adhering to the legal system. The Big Heat was a gritty film noir that helped lay the groundwork for later crime movies like Dirty Harry.

3 Randal McMurphy

Jack Nicholson as One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)

One factor that defined both Randal McMurphy from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, who was played by Jack Nicholson in one of his best roles, and Detective Harry Callaghan was their willingness to rebel against authority. The difference between the two was that, in Dirty Harry, Callaghan stepped outside of the law for the greater good, while in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, McMurphy’s goals were often guided by self-interest. Despite this, those who loved the Dirty Harry series would likely get a kick out of McMurphy’s antics and its heartfelt story set in a psychiatric hospital.

2 Philip Marlowe

Humphrey Bogart in The Big Sleep (1946)

The detective Philip Marlowe was created by crime writer Raymond Chandler, famously portrayed by Humphrey Bogart in the classic film noir The Big Sleep, and has come to represent the quintessential lone-wolf detective of crime fiction. As a character who was both a wise-cracking, hard-drinking, private eye, and a quiet and contemplative intellectual, Marlowe contained aspects of Dirty Harry’s characteristics while remaining a unique and compelling classic character. Those who love the Dirty Harry series would surely find a lot to admire about Marlowe’s character and the wild goose chase he found himself on in The Big Sleep.

1 The Man With No Name

Clint Eastwood in Sergio Leone’s Dollar Trilogy

Those with a love for the anti-hero antics of Detective Harry Callaghan in Dirty Harry should look no further than Clint Eastwood’s other most famous role, as The Man With No Name in Sergio Leone’s Dollars Trilogy, for a new protagonist to enjoy. Across three movies, A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Eastwood embodied this quiet and calculated cowboy with such effectiveness that he became one of the best iconic characters in all cinema. Much like Callaghan, The Man With No Name was a lone wolf of great integrity.

Dirty Harry

R

Action

Crime

Thriller

Clint Eastwood stars in the western Dirty Harry as a no-nonsense San Francisco cop who takes the law into his own hands in pursuit of a serial killer, Scorpio. Directed by Don Siegel and featuring a memorable score by Lalo Schifrin, the film is known for its iconic catchphrases and intense action scenes, and has influenced countless films and TV shows in the years since its release.

Release Date

July 14, 1971

Director

Don Siegel

Cast

Clint Eastwood , Harry Guardino , Reni Santoni , John Vernon , Andrew Robinson , John Larch

Runtime

102 minutes

Writers

Harry Julian Fink , Rita M. Fink , Dean Riesner , John Milius , Jo Heims

Budget

$4 million

Studio(s)

Warner Bros. Pictures

Distributor(s)

Warner Bros. Pictures