Sudden Impact is a 1983 American action-thriller film, the fourth in the Dirty Harry series, directed, produced by, and starring Clint Eastwood (making it the only Dirty Harry film to be directed by Eastwood himself) and co-starring Sondra Locke.

[3] The film tells the story of a gang-rape victim (Locke) who decides to seek revenge on her rapists 10 years after the attack by killing them one by one.

Inspector Callahan (Eastwood), famous for his unconventional and often brutal crime-fighting tactics, is tasked with tracking down the serial killer.

Meanwhile, Inspector Harry Callahan is frustrated when another judge dismisses a case due to his direct methods.

He later causes local crime lord Threlkis to suffer a fatal heart attack after threatening him with prosecution.

Callahan recognizes the modus operandi, but Lester Jannings, San Paulo's police chief, refuses to work with him.

Ray Parkins, the female member of the gang of rapists, figures out they are being targeted, and warns the two remaining men, Tyrone and Mick.

Over drinks, he learns that she shares his emphasis on results over methods when seeking justice, but he adds the caveat "'til it breaks the law."

Meanwhile, Callahan's partner Horace arrives at the motel to celebrate the easing of tensions in San Francisco.

To her surprise, Alby, like her sister, is catatonic; a guilty conscience caused him to attempt suicide, which left him with permanent brain damage.

Callahan shoots Mick, who falls from the top of the coaster, crashes through the glass roof of the carousel below, and is impaled on the horn of its unicorn.

[6] The scene where Harry chases a bank robber in the downtown business district offers a rare glimpse of the area before it was devastated by the Loma Prieta earthquake of October 17, 1989.

Footage for the robbery in "Acorn Cafe" was shot at Burger Island, later a McDonald's and now the site of a hotel, at the corner of 3rd and Townsend in San Francisco.

[7] At this point in his career, Eastwood was receiving a salary that included 60% of all film profits, leaving the other 40% for the studio.

The consensus reads: "Sudden Impact delivers all the firepower – and the most enduring catchphrase – fans associate with the Dirty Harry franchise, but it's far from the best film in the series.

"[16] Roger Ebert was more positive, awarding three stars out of four; while noting that the film was "implausible" with "a cardboard villain", he also praised it as "a Dirty Harry movie with only the good parts left in" and "a great audience picture.

"[18] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film two stars out of four and wrote that nothing in the Dirty Harry sequels "has ever come close to the evil Scorpio in its portrayal of a bad guy.

United States President Ronald Reagan used the "make my day" line in a March 1985 speech threatening to veto legislation raising taxes.