Harry's Hometown
After visiting the scene of Charlie
Russell's murder, Harry and Chico drive around Potrero Hill questioning the
residents. As they continue to be greeted with suspicion from everyone, Harry begins
to talk about how the people are raised mistrusting cops. He tells Chico that he
grew up in Potrero Hill, and learned at an early age not to depend on the police. He
soon decides that this case is not one that will be solved by the usual methods of
policework, and that Scorpio will not be satisfied until he has made good on his threat to
kill a priest. This scene was most likely included as part of Harry's character
while he was still written as an older, disillusioned cop. As Harry gets his leg
bandaged, listen for Steve to confirm the Potrero Hill background with the line, "We
Potrero Hill boys gotta stick together."
The Airport Hijacking
One of the original ideas for the film's
ending included a sequence with Scorpio kidnapping a group of schoolchildren at an
airport, then attempting to hijack a plane. When the studio decided that the whole
thing would be too expensive to film, it was Eastwood who suggested using the rock quarry
for the ending. He remembered it from his childhood; having lived nearby, he passed
it often on drives with his parents. The airport sequence eventually found its way
into the series, being worked into the plot of Magnum Force.
The Badge Toss
The ending of the film, with Harry tossing
his badge off the pier, originally didn't appeal to Clint Eastwood. He worried that
the scene depicted Harry as somewhat of a 'quitter', and asked Don Siegel about changing
it. Siegel suggested an alternate ending from one of the earlier drafts, in which
Harry replaces the star in his wallet upon hearing the approaching police sirens.
Eastwood put off filming the scene, ultimately deciding to perform the toss. This
presented a new problem for Siegel, however, since he had only ordered one badge for the
scene. Luckily, Eastwood nailed the take on the first try. (Just in case, a
large black cloth was placed in the pond in the hopes that they could have recovered it.)
If used, the alternate scene would have at least cleared up one thing that has
often been asked of the sequel: How did Harry get back on the force?
