MovieChat Forums > Dirty Harry (1971) Discussion > Why is Scorpio convincing?

Why is Scorpio convincing?


The actor looks like a choir-boy. Why hire him for the role? Also, Scorpio is the dumbest cartoonish name ever.

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It's better than tvippy

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LOL

"Sister, they don't know what to do with just one of me." Riddick

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Hahahahaha! Hahaha! Haaaaaa! (Laughin' Tom Haverford style)

He asked for that. Screw it, he got down on his knees and begged for it!

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Credit to Andrew Robinson for creating such a convincing psychopathic villain under Don Siegal's direction. It is undoubtedly his best known role and I'm a little surprised he didn't continue on landing more high profile roles.

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I don't agree at all that he was right for the role.

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That's OK, that's your opinion.

To go back to your original complaints regarding Scorpio, Don Siegal hired Andrew Robinson because of his looks and on Clint Eastwood's recommendation.

He wanted some one who had very much the opposite sort of looks to your typical cinematic heavy...to highlight his psychopathic nature.

They used the name Scorpio, because it referred to the Zodiac killer, who haunted the same areas from the late 60's to the mid 70's.

If you haven't seen the David Fincher movie of the same name, I can thoroughly recommend it.

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Thanks. =)

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He's convincing because he is not the atypical steely eyed killer.

He could be the dorky guy next door,

who delivers your newspaper in the morning on his moped.

The guy everybody is stunned to discover he buries women alive.

" I USED TO KNOW HIM, HE SEEMS LIKE A REGULAR GUY."

Then you find out he is a psychotic whackjob.

Andrew Robinson embodied Scorpio and made him one of the

greatest film villains ever.

" DO WE UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER???"

Great movie.

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"Pffft, my suspension of disbelief has higher standards than that"

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...and for a real life "don't judge a book by its cover" psycopath, consider Ted Bundy. Clean cut, smiling, well-mannered young man, except for the kidnapping/raping/killing/cutting into pieces part.

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:...and for a real life "don't judge a book by its cover" psycopath, consider Ted Bundy. Clean cut, smiling, well-mannered young man, except for the kidnapping/raping/killing/cutting into pieces part."

Yeah, there was that part of his persona.

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Just out of curiosity, OP, who do you think should have played Scorpio?

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[deleted]

That scream he makes when Callahan sticks him with the switchblade is downright scary. Then there is the crazy laugh at the end when he goes for the gun and gets blown off the dock with the .44. Those two scenes makes me think he's a convincing nutjob villain.

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Great acting by Andrew Robinson. This is why the first movie is easily the best of the series, for me.

Calling disagreement hate is childish.

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Yeah, I must say, I think Robinson did a fantastic job. The part where he clobbers the liquor store owner, who had killed a couple robbers, is extremely well done by him (owner points gun at Scorpio: "Please....I scare easily". "You sure you want the rest of it?" "EVERY PENNY, YOU BLACK SONOF ABITCH!" ..."This one's on the house"). I totally believe this guy is a complete psycho...

Not to mention he was fantastic in Charley Varrick as well...

"It is hard to be a man of peace. It would be so pleasant to kill Mr. Weddle." - Massai, 'Apache'

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[deleted]

Scorpio is the dumbest cartoonish name ever.


It's a reference to the Zodiac killer.
Watch Zodiac (David Fincher, 2007), there's a scene where the protagonists go watch Dirty Harry at the cinema.

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OK, didn't know that. Thanks for enlightening me.

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The actor was great, I just thought the character sucked.

Wayne Enterprises buys and sells companies like Stark Industries

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A Scorpio character is going to turn up on Marvel's Agents Of SHIELD very soon.

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You can tell Andrew Robinson did some serious research on psychopathy.

You want to play the game, you'd better know the rules, love.
-Harry Callahan

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The fact that he looks like a choir-boy makes him even more dangerous, because looks can be so deceiving. Also, Scorpio was probably his horoscope, hence the name Scorpio.

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