# Dirty Harry - I gots to know **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 5, 2020, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirty-harry-i-gots-to-know/917346 "2020-08-05T16:29:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ynnad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4491bb/32.png) [@Ynnad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ynnad)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirty-harry-i-gots-to-know/917346/1 "2020-08-05T16:29:14Z")
In the beginning of the movie _Dirty Harry_, Inspector Callahan asks the not yet completely disarmed bank robber whether or not he has fired five shots or six. Notice that the hammer on Callahan’s revolver is pulled back. After the bank robber is completely disarmed, the bank robber says, “I gots to know.” Note that at this point the hammer on the revolver is now down. Apparently Callahan eased the hammer down off camera shortly before this exchange. He then pulls the hammer back and pulls the trigger but it is on an empty round. I have read elsewhere that the original movie only showed Callahan firing five shots and that only later releases had the off-camera audio of a sixth shot edited in. The revolver in the movie is a double action revolver. This means that pulling the hammer back advances the cylinder to the next round. If Callahan had only fired five shots, this means that the gun was on a live round in the sixth chamber when he asked the infamous question but then moments later he advanced the cylinder to the now spent first chamber before pulling the trigger. What does the SDMB think? Did Callahan have the situation completely under control the entire time? My theory is that of course he had it under control. He’s Dirty Harry and he always had everything under control. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirty-harry-i-gots-to-know/917346/2 "2020-08-05T16:37:39Z")
Harry knew how many shots he fired. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirty-harry-i-gots-to-know/917346/3 "2020-08-05T16:46:52Z")
I always thought it was a continuity error. It’s listed under [Goofs](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066999/goofs?ref_=tt_ql_trv_2) on IMDB. > [@](#): > > Before Harry clicks on the empty chamber for the bank robber, you hear and see him pull the hammer back to fire in single-action mode. However, when the camera faces Harry and he actually does pull the trigger, it is in double action, indicated by the fact that you see the cylinder spin again. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirty-harry-i-gots-to-know/917346/4 "2020-08-05T17:02:40Z")
Some experienced shooters load 5 instead of 6 in a revolver as a safety measure. I don’t. I always load 6. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirty-harry-i-gots-to-know/917346/5 "2020-08-05T17:10:41Z")
It’s really nice if the revolver has a transfer bar, or other internal safety when you do… See Freedom Arms, their model 81 revolver, and Harry Carlson. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirty-harry-i-gots-to-know/917346/6 "2020-08-05T17:35:20Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Some experienced shooters load 5 instead of 6 in a revolver as a safety measure Back in the cowboy days (late 1800s) the firing pin of your typical single action revolver rested on the cartridge when the hammer was down. If you accidentally bumped the hammer, BANG! Modern revolvers typically use either a transfer bar or a hammer block or some other mechanism to prevent this type of accidental discharge. If you are shooting an authentic revolver from back in the day, you definitely want to load 5 instead of 6. If you are shooting anything modern, it’s not really an issue. If you pull the hammer back and drop it without pulling the trigger, a modern revolver won’t fire. Smith & Wesson likes to use hammer blocks instead of transfer bars. The Smith & Wesson Model 29 has a hammer block so there’s no reason for Harry to load 5 instead of 6. As far as the movies is concerned, I think the bits with the hammer up or down or whatever is just typical movie continuity errors. I think Harry knew the gun was empty though when he pulled the trigger. He was just messing with the guy. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirty-harry-i-gots-to-know/917346/7 "2020-08-05T20:15:45Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > I think Harry knew the gun was empty though when he pulled the trigger. Depends if you consider the cycling of the action, and the sound effects of shots, to be a continuity error or not. Either way, Harry knew exactly how many shots he fired. If he released the hammer on an empty round, and then just dry fired on the next chamber to make a point, it doesn’t matter. The guy being arrested isn’t going to parse the finer points. He now knows he had a chance and should have taken it. If the sound was wrong, and he did have a round left, he deliberately advanced and dry fired one of his empties, to make a point. And if the guy had tried something, he would have “his head blown clean off.” Maybe Harry learned his lesson, as he did have a live round left against Scorpio ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirty-harry-i-gots-to-know/917346/8 "2020-08-05T20:39:19Z")
Here’s the scene. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/8Xjr2hnOHiM/maxresdefault.jpg "Dirty Harry Do You ( I ) Feel Lucky Punk? ( high quality )") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Xjr2hnOHiM) He fires six times. Though one is not shown, the sound is identical to the others he fired. ---
**Author:** ![Ynnad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4491bb/32.png) [@Ynnad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ynnad)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirty-harry-i-gots-to-know/917346/9 "2020-08-05T20:58:16Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > He fires six times. Though one is not shown, the sound is identical to the others he fired. It has been reported that the original only had five shots and that the off-camera sixth shot audio was edited in for later VHS and DVD releases. Does anyone have any authoritative cite for this? ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirty-harry-i-gots-to-know/917346/10 "2020-08-05T21:02:13Z")
Harry’s still a fascist. He’s just _our_ fascist. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirty-harry-i-gots-to-know/917346/11 "2020-08-05T21:11:47Z")
Defund Callahan!! Nay, just kidding. Fire away, Harry. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirty-harry-i-gots-to-know/917346/12 "2020-08-05T21:36:47Z")
IIRC he gets a partner, Chico, who gets injured during the course of the film. He visits him in the hospital and meets his wife. The back story, he tells them, is that his wife was killed in a car accident or drunk driver—“No reason for it, really,” were I think his words. And IIRC Chico said he has a teaching credential, to which Callahan says, essentially, that they should get out. “This is no life for you two.” I figured Harry was living alone, life didn’t have the meaning it once did, so he takes risks others wouldn’t. Whether he gets to keep his job or not, lives or dies, doesn’t matter. So what if the guy took the chance, grabbed for the shotgun, and killed him? Problem solved. What if there were still a bullet in the chamber and he killed the guy? In 2020 we have BLM but back then not so much. It could be an ongoing game where he finds out whether he lives or dies. Is this where someone in law enforcement comes in and says “Training drilled it into us from day one to count your shots because how else will you know when you need to reload?” [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/O5ROhf5Soqs/maxresdefault.jpg "Clue (6/9) Movie CLIP - One Plus Two Plus Two Plus One (1985) HD") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5ROhf5Soqs) ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2020, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirty-harry-i-gots-to-know/917346/13 "2020-08-06T12:42:08Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Maybe Harry learned his lesson, as he did have a live round left against Scorpio Harry knew he still had a round in his gun (hell, he time to reload while he walked over), but he gave the “Do you feel lucky” speech to Scorpio because he wanted him to go for his gun. At that point, Scorpio was unarmed with a bullet in his shoulder. Even Harry would have had a tough time shooting him if he tried to surrender instead. So Harry goaded Scorpio into going for his gun so he could kill him. ---
**Author:** ![Ynnad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4491bb/32.png) [@Ynnad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ynnad)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2020, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirty-harry-i-gots-to-know/917346/14 "2020-08-06T14:24:05Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > Harry knew he still had a round in his gun (hell, he time to reload while he walked over), but he gave the “Do you feel lucky” speech to Scorpio because he wanted him to go for his gun. At that point, Scorpio was unarmed with a bullet in his shoulder. Even Harry would have had a tough time shooting him if he tried to surrender instead. So Harry goaded Scorpio into going for his gun so he could kill him. Maybe Harry did reload. Listen to the sound effect at 1:30 just before you see the gun. What else could it be other than the hammer being pulled back? (Serious question, not a rhetorical question.) Did Harry advance the cylinder to the next chamber? Was the next chamber the now the spent first chamber? Obviously not. Did he fire four shots instead of five? I didn’t bother to count them. Maybe Harry just spun the cylinder around back to the empty fifth chamber (off camera) so that he could pull the hammer back before firing on the sixth cylinder. He would do this because the amount of effort to pull the trigger is less and the accuracy of the shot is better in single action than it is in double action. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/XF4yl9dUyBc/hqdefault.jpg "Dirty Harry - This time it was 5 shots") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XF4yl9dUyBc) ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2020, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirty-harry-i-gots-to-know/917346/15 "2020-08-06T15:34:24Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > Defund Callahan!! > > Nay, just kidding. Fire away, Harry. On the one hand, I hate how he dismisses anyone that doesn’t follow his personal cop philosophy. Like the cop that didn’t like the fact he killed someone, and Harry sneers at him as being weak. On the other hand, [i love how he handled the plane hijacking.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzbCBfi5-Bw) ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2020, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirty-harry-i-gots-to-know/917346/16 "2020-08-07T01:46:11Z")
Eastwood pulls the trigger, gun goes “click”, bad guy shits himself then realizes he’s been had. Harry laughs. Audiences in theaters laughed with him. Can’t remember where I read it but someone felt that the moment when Harry laughs is the moment at which actor Clint Eastwood a superstar.