III.

1970s and 1980s

In 1971 Eastwood starred in the thriller Play Misty for Me, a film that also marked his directorial debut. During this period the actor moved from cowboy films to urban dramas, finding popular acclaim in his role as the hard-bitten, law-bending police officer Harry Callahan in Dirty Harry (1971) and its sequels, Magnum Force (1973), The Enforcer (1976), Sudden Impact (1983, which he also directed and produced), and The Dead Pool (1988). Other movies Eastwood appeared in during the 1970s and 1980s included Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974), The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976; also directed), Every Which Way But Loose (1978), Escape from Alcatraz (1979), Any Which Way You Can (1980), Honkytonk Man (1982; also directed), and Pale Rider (1985; also directed and produced). Showing his range of interests, Eastwood directed and produced Bird (1988), a study of the life of American jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker.