Movie-A-Day: Dirty Harry – Or, do you know your movie misquotes?

Starring: Clint Eastwood, Harry Guardino, Andrew Robinson, Reni Santoni Director: Don Siegel Year Of Release: 1971 Plot: San Francisco faces the terror of a maniac known as Scorpio – who kills innocent people and then demands a ransom to stop his killing spree . Inspector Harry Callahan (known as Dirty Harry by his peers through his reputation handling of homicidal cases) is assigned to the case, along with his newest partner, Inspector Chico Gonzalez. However after tracking down the killer, the suspect gets freed on a legal technicality, which leads to the kidnapping of a bus full of children. Callahan, who’s disgusted by both the criminals and the justice system, goes after Scorpio, determined to bring him down once and for all.

(NOTE: This article was previously published back in the very early days of Movie Muser, before anyone actually came to the site. But it’s a fun way to test your film knowledge, so give it a go).

Despite the fact that when you start thinking about it, Dirty Harry and its sequels have some disturbingly extreme right wing views, they’re nevertheless very entertaining thrillers, and the first film in particular is a wonderfully tense and entertaining experience. It’s also responsible for one of the best known quotes in Hollywood history, “Do you feel lucky, punk?”, which Harry asks a man after a bank robbery.  Except… that isn’t actually what Harry says in the film, despite the fact everyone seems to think he did.

In fact, you may think you know a lot of famous movie quotes, but there’s actually a good chance you’ve got a lot of them wrong! Last year Lovefilm held a poll to find out the top 10 movie misquotes and it includes many of the most famous lines in movie history. For example, nobody in any Star Wars films says, “Luke, I am your father” and despite Casablanca being littered with quotable nuggets, the words “Play it again, Sam” are never uttered. So do you know your movie quotes properly? Take a look below to see the top 10 results of the misquotes poll, and then look further down the page to see what the real quotes are.

The Misquotes:
1. Luke, I am your father – Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

2. Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all? – Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

3. Do you feel lucky, punk? – Dirty Harry (1971)

4. Play it again, Sam – Casablanca (1942)

5. Hello, Clarice – The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

6. Beam me up, Scotty – Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

7. Frankly, Scarlett, I don’t give a damn – Gone With the Wind (1939)

8. If you build it, they will come – Field of Dreams (1989)

9. I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore, Toto – The Wizard of Oz (1939)

10. Mrs Robinson, are you trying to seduce me? – The Graduate (1967)

The Actual Quotes:
1. No, I am your father. – Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

2. Magic mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all? – Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

3. You’ve got to ask yourself one question: ‘Do I feel lucky?’ Well, do ya punk? – Dirty Harry (1971)

4. Play it Sam, play ‘As Time Goes By’ (spoken by Ingrid Bergman, not Humphrey Bogart) – Casablanca (1942)

5. Good evening, Clarice. – The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

6. Scotty, beam us up. – Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

7. Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn. – Gone With the Wind (1939)

8. If you build it, he will come. – Field of Dreams (1989)

9. Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore. – The Wizard of Oz (1939)

10. Mrs. Robinson, you’re trying to seduce me, aren’t you? – The Graduate (1967)

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So, did you know what the real quote was without looking?

TIM ISAAC

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