Top 10 Clint Eastwood Movie Lines

May 31, 2010 marks the 80th birthday of one Clint Eastwood. Yes, that is his real name, unlike so many Hollywood tough guys, John Wayne, (Marion Morrison) for example.

From Rowdy Yates on the 60s TV series Rawhide to the Man With No Name in all those Italian made "spaghetti westerns" of the 60s to a DJ and "Dirty" Harry Callahan, he of the "most powerful handgun ever made", Clint Eastwood has mouthed many great movie lines in his squinting, deadpan style.

Clint Eastwood has been quoted as saying something to the effect that his acting role model was Gary Cooper. "Don't just do something, stand there" was Gary Cooper's motto. Nobody in movie history "stands there" with quite the presence of Clint Eastwood.

Eastwood's understated style and dry humor have been the trademarks of his long movie career. After years of being dismissed as a macho, knuckle-dragging neanderthal by film critics or a shoot from the hip rightwing cop by others, Clint Eastwood has been embraced by many of the same critics in the last 15 years or so. With only subtle changes in his style, I might add.

Clint Eastwood was both ahead of and behind his time, maybe. Here are my top 10 Clint Eastwood movie lines in chronological order with the oldest movie line first:

10. In the first such film in the series, Dirty Harry, after what for him was a long diatribe on the 44 magnum, "the most powerful handgun ever made", Clint Eastwood, after having difficulty remembering whether he had fired 5 or 6 shots at the fleeing murderer: "what you have to ask yourself is, do I feel lucky. Well do ya' punk?"

9. Also from Dirty Harry, Clint Eastwood was defending his shooting of a suspect for attempted rape to his disapproving boss who inquired as to how Harry knew the man's intentions. "When a naked man's chasing a woman through an alley with a butcher knife and a hard-on, I figure he's not out collecting for the Red Cross."

8. In 1973, Clint Eastwood and director Don Siegel teamed up for the 2nd Dirty Harry film, Magnum Force. In a scene with his stern boss Lt. Briggs (Hal Holbrook), Dirty Harry has just been harangued about his job performance with a stream of expletives shouted in his face from 1-2 inches away. 'Well, do you have anything to say for yourself?" Callahan was asked. "You're mouthwash ain't makin' it" Callahan deadpanned.

7. Also in Magnum Force, Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry, after blowing up his boss turned vigilante killer, Lt. Briggs: "man's gotta know his limitations." Eastwood had also used the quote earlier in the film in reference to Briggs' shooting skills.

6. In The Gauntlet, which was an over the top film about a cop being targeted by his corrupt boss and was one of a string of films with Sondra Locke as costar, there was a great Clint Eastwood movie line. After one of a gang of bikers protested Eastwood's character asking to borrow his Harley with "these are OUR choppers, Charlie!" Clint Eastwood replied by pulling his weapon and retorting: "this is my gun, Clyde!"

5. In what I consider to be Eastwood's best film, The Outlaw Josey Wales, Clint Eastwood uttered several great movie lines. One was to a snake oil salesman who made the mistake of pitching his questionable product to the no nonsense Wales. After a long list of remedies that the carpetbagger's elixir was good for, Eastwood spit tobacco all over the man's white suit and asked: "how's it for stains?"

4. In a tie for 4th, both lines are also from Josey Wales. the first was as Wales faced off against a bounty hunter, Josey asked the man why he chose such a dangerous profession. "Man's gotta do somethin' for a livin'" the man replied. Clint Eastwood: "Dyin' ain't much of a livin', boy".

The other Clint Eastwood movie line was much better than the wimpy title of a book years later by Judge Judy. After being fed what was obviously lies about the Union troops ' intentions Eastwood's Josey Wales: "don't p!$$ down my back and tell me it's rainin;"

3. In the 90s thriller In The Line Of Fire with Clint Eastwood and John Malkovich, Eastwood's character, a Secret Service agent was sitting at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial when he looked up and said: "sorry I wasn't there for ya', Abe."

2. In The Rookie was one of Clint Eastwood's best movie lines: "you want a guarantee, buy a toaster."

1. Finally, the #1 Clint Eastwood movie line was from Gran Torino a couple of years ago. Even in his late 70s at the time, Clint Eastwood, as retired auto worker and Korean War vet Walt Kowalski can still be convincing saying a line like "ever notice how sometimes you come across somebody you shouldn't have #^*#ed with?" Well, I'm that guy".