Revealing mistake: In the sidewalk scene, after one of the robbers leaves the bank and dives into the car, and it drives towards Harry, you can see a wire rope that appears to have been used to either stop the car from going too far or has been used to help roll the car. (00:02:07)
Dirty Harry (1971)
1 video
Directed by: Don Siegel
Starring: Clint Eastwood, John Vernon, Andrew Robinson, Reni Santoni
Factual error: When Harry is confronting the bank robber and the robber says he has to know if Harry had any shots left, Harry cocks the hammer which rotates the cylinder. If you watch closely when he pulls the trigger the cylinder rotates again. This can happen only when the trigger is pulled in double action mode (hammer down). (00:14:00)
De Georgio: Morning, Harry.
Harry Callahan: Morning, fatso. Bressler wants to see you.
De Georgio: You're a sweet man, Harry.
Trivia: When Harry is being run all over town by Scorpio, he passes a wall which bears the graffiti "Kyle", the name of Clint Eastwood's son.
Question: When Harry delivered his famous "do you feel lucky" monologue at the start, did he know his gun was empty? And when he repeated it at the end, did he know the gun was loaded?
Chosen answer: That question is the entire point of the first scene. You're meant to wonder whether he knew or not. At the end of the film, you're given the impression he does know, and is hoping the killer will attack him, giving him an excuse to fire.
The way I see the scene, he knows that he still has one round, and he is giving Scorpio a chance to live. He will only fire if he has to.
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Answer: He certainly knew at the start, which is why he felt confident in pointing the gun at the (disarmed) robber and pulling the trigger. Harry knew he was bluffing, but passed it off so well the robber wasn't sure. At the end of the film, again, he knew he had one bullet left and wanted to bait Scorpio into attacking him, giving him an excuse to fire.