Recollections of "Bullitt"

[Cal Metal]

My mixed doubles tennis partner was over at the house today with her boyfriend to borrow a couple of movies. To start with they are considerably younger than I am. As I was going through my limited film library, I pulled out a couple of good dramas. At the far left of the bookcase, I grabbed "Bullitt". Neither one had ever seen it. After giving them about six casettes, I said, "Watch Bullitt first".

I first saw that movie when it was released in late '68 as a freshman in college. I am still amazed at the coolness of the film. One of those great stories, coupled with great acting by McQueen, Robert Vaughn, Jacqueline Bisset and Simon Oakland. San Francisco seems almost rural in its complexion. Despite the film's intensity, I always felt it had a soft, relaxed character. McQueen never seemed as though he was in a hurry (barring the chase scene). A testimonial to his great acting ability--measured and methodical. He was absolutely outstanding.

How does this rank in your top ten? We discussed this topic a long time ago but newer members have joined since then. A discussion that I never get tired of.

I heard a movie critic talking the other day about this particular genre of film. He said producers are still looking for the director that can deliver the chase scene filmed in "Bullitt". Sorry guys, "Bullitt" was more than a chase scene---but as a chase scene, it "don't get any better than that one"...........

Please weigh in, particularly the Bay area folks. You guys probably know the route.

[Jamo]

Well--I'm a McQueen fan--many of my favorites were his...

Bullitt, LeMans, Sand Pebbles, Thomas Crown Affair (Dunaway with the chess piece--oh my!), The Rain Must Fall, The Getaway, etc.--ultimate coolness during a period of turmoil (60s/early 70s).

Bullett and LeMans are two of my favorite car movies--the only close since then was Ronin...

[Dan Semko]

Cal,
You're exactly right about Bullitt, it is a classic and one of Steve McQueen's best. I have it in my collection also and I still get tachycardia when the Charger's driver reaches down and tightens his seat belt because I know that within seconds the hill hopping will commence.(Watch the hubcaps disappear and reappear in the next frames as they skid through the streets and sideswipe the parked cars) The fact that McQueen did all of his own driving without a stunt backup is incredible. Bisset is a living testamonial that it is possible to age with grace, dignity and appeal. The fact that she drove a Porsche 356 just adds to her beauty. McQueen satisfies that subconscious desire that we all share with the contempt for arrogant authority especially when he lays it on the line with Vaughn at the airport.
Great film choice!

[Jamo]

He didn't do all the driving--director skrewed him one morning by giving him the wrong call time and having a stunt driver do some of it because some production folks saw some rushes and got a little nervous about their star... The missed turn and rear axle hopping in reverse was all his--he wanted to do it over, but they decided to keep it--he was evidently a bit embarrassed about it--always wanted to impress the real racers. His son did a thing on History--talked about getting to "drive" the 917 on his dad's lap at the end of a day's shooting--got to drive the same car later. Canepa of Canepa Design in Santa Cruz (hopped up Suburbans, etc.) now owns it--bought it from the guy who who bought it at Pebble Beach. I got to see it when I was talking to them about a supercharged Tahoe for Cheerleader (she killed that idea).

When it comes to McQueen, I'm like the guy in the milk commercial who couldn't say "Aaron Burr"--I've got books, copies of films, etc.--wear my Heuer Monaco at least once a week.

[computerworks]

...the "definitive" page on the making of the movie...
(one of MY all-time favorites)
http://www.people.freenet.de/pony/bullitf.htm

[Cal Metal]

Ron:

Great piece. Thanks. I remember a piece in AW a number of years ago on Eikens, the stunt driver. He said he really admired McQueen because, during some of the tough driving scenes, McQueen would approach Eikens and tell him that they were beyond his limit, and would ask Eikens to drive the scene. He thought that was a rare quality not often found with an actor of McQueen's stature.

[Dan Semko]

Thanks for the refresher guys, I thought Steve Mc Queen did all the driving. Does anyone remember how many Mustangs and Chargers were destroyed making the movie?

[Fred Douglass]

Could not agree more. Even the "French Connection" sequence is pale by comparison. Cal--what's this about mixed doubles partner's BOYFRIEND!? Whaddat? It should be along the lines of"Here's to our wives and girlfriends..may they never meet.." And don't sweat being "old"---I GRADUATED from collitch in '68! In fact today, I nearly sliced a finger in two---and, while waiting for Nurse Ratchet, counted the rings, and.....I'm actually older than most of the trees in my yard!
Back to the chase---my wife (not girlfirend) drive a VW camperbus (now there's a road-rocket...hmmm?) down Lombard Street---back when one could do so legally.
Kudos to you...you're right on the money with McQueen and THE chase scene.

Tallywhacker,

[Flyin_Freddie]

DDS...I know what you're talking about...when the 'bad guy' cinches up that seat belt, my butt starts to pucker 'cuz I know what's commin'!

Guess I've seen "Bullitt" half-a-dozen times, but I don't own the tape. Probably should...as much as I liked McQueen and that chase scene.

Saw it once at a drive in well past it's release date. It was the second feature - can't remember what the first one was...who cares? Anyway, no one left the drive-in all the way through the first feature and well into "Bullitt". Then, right after the big chase and the Charger slides into the gas pumps, everyone almost simultaneously cranked up their cars and headed for the exit. It was like someone dropped a green flag. It was soooooo cool....

[Hal Copple]

Mr. Elkins, the driver of the Charger, died about a year ago. Apparantly he drove lots of cars in movies. I too think the click of the seatbelt is about the most sublime movie moment i ever saw.

Soon after i saw the movie, i went out and bought my first new car, as i was graduating from the University of Nebraska in ROTC, and about to be a 2nd Lieutenant of Infantry, first being posted to Germany in '69-70, thence to the Mekong Delta in sept of '71.

The '69 Dodge Charger R/T with the 440 cost me $3275, with a Torqueflight, and i was there to help take it off the transporter with .3 miles on it. Sold my MBG for the Dodge. The 426 Hemi was a $770 option. About a forth of the cost of the car!! My base pay was only $330 a month.

That 440 R/T was a fabulous car in Europe, army gas at 18 cents a gallon, drove it all over. Hated the French because they had just pulled out of NATO, so i carried Jerry cans of gas to get across France to Spain, just so i would not put one cent into their economy. The Charger would cruise all day at about 90 mph, but much over a hundred on the Autobahn, it just felt light, and since it had the three inch Imperial drum brakes on it, it would not make one complete stop from that speed.

Coming back from Spain, returning thru France, i was stopped at the Spanish exit border by a guard with a SMG over his shoulder, who did not like my army leave papers, and refused me to proceed to the French entrance about a hundred yards away. The Spanish guard kept motioning me to Go Back into Spain.

I looked at his slung 9mm submachine gun, across to the French Boarder, smiled at the guard, and nailed the throttle, leaving rubber out away from the Spanish Guard, as i raced across to safety in France.

You gotta have torque to out run a Border Guard!

Saw Vanishing Point, with Barry Neuman, in Vietnam, running a 16mm projector off our 1.5KW generator, projected onto a sheet. The Vietnamese villagers loved it!!

Another good car movie, about 12 words in the whole movie.

hal

[computerworks]

Originally posted by Hal Copple
Mr. Elkins, the driver of the Charger, died about a year ago. Apparantly he drove lots of cars in movies. I too think the click of the seatbelt is about the most sublime movie moment i ever saw

Bill Hickman, who appeared in many other movies of the same vintage, drove the Charger, not Elkins.
Mr. Hickman passed away in 1986.

He is credited for stunts in the following movies:

Hindenburg, The (1975) (stunts) (uncredited)
Seven-Ups, The (1973) (stunt co-ordinator)
What's Up, Doc? (1972) (stunts)
Diamonds Are Forever (1971) (stunts) (uncredited)
French Connection, The (1971) (stunt co-ordinator)
Patton (1970) (stunts) (uncredited)
Bullitt (1968) (stunt co-ordinator)
Great Race, The (1965) (stunts) (uncredited)

"The actor is better known for his prowess as a stunt driver. His work in Bullitt is legendary where he drove the black Dodge Charger 440 Magnum that was pursued by Steve McQueen in his Ford Mustang 390 G.T. For his reputation earned on Bullitt, Hickman was hired by William Friedkin to stage a similar chase on the streets of Manhattan but with a greater presence of civilians, an element that had been missing in Bullitt. Doubling for Gene Hackman in the more hazardous stunts, Hickman drove the brown 1970 Pontiac at speeds up to 90mph with Friedkin manning the camera right behind him. Hickman's third spectacle would be captured in The Seven-Ups where, yet again, he virtually outdid himself doubling for Roy Scheider in another landmark car chase."

[Cal Metal]

The "Seven Ups" was Philip D'Antoni's first shot at directing a film. He had produced the famed, "French Connection" prior to that. That scene in the "Ups" is considered, I believe, to be the longest car chase in history, at least in a city. While the movie has its shortcomings--Roy Scheider's first attempt as a leading man--the chase was pretty spectacular.

To me, the "Bullitt" scene will always be the magical one. Hard to say why. The San Francisco venue with the vertical streets was a brillant idea; it was really the first major scene of its kind. The fact that it integrates so well into the movie-- and not just a chase movie. Unlike "Connection" there is superb pacing as the stalker becomes the stalked. One thing that has always captivated me was the sound of the exhaust as the scene begins--much like the growl of a couple of feline predators out to get one another. From the time McQueen starts the Mustang, and the Charger accelerates out of the underpass, the growl of the exhaust says this chase is about machines dueling for supremacy, as it is about men.

[bonyhadi]

does anyone remember the movie.. A MAN AND A WOMAN?

[Dan Semko]

Bony,
It had one of the most memorable music scores by Michelle LeGarand, "Windmills in Your Mind". Pretty romantic story especially in the Mustang cruising scenes when it was raining. The only movie that I've ever seen that is more romantic is "Lady Hawk" with Rutguer Huer (sp?) and the young Mathew Brodrick. Wonderful story that will rekindle the flicker in most hearts.

[ERA535]

I always wanted to do a "Tour de France" Mustang with steel wheels etc. like the one in that film.

It would be the kind of car that hardly anyone would appreciate.

Pat

[bonyhadi]

Dano - LNP
==========
oh yes, saw it on a rainy Sunday afternoon, with my sweetie at the Presidio in San Francisco.
It was a nice afternoon and a better evening!
Remember the Mustang going through the alps with the studs sparking on the road?
Great car flick and a great chick flick wrapped into one!

[SFfiredog]

This thread reminds me of my dealership days wrenching at S&C Ford in San Francisco. A fellow mechanic (old timer) I worked with worked the swing shift at Geary Ford (in San Francisco) during the late Sixties. One night, a dark green '68 Mustang is towed in trailing a small stream of oil. The dispatcher gives the car to my buddy and tells him to put a new oil pan on it and make it snappy, these guys were on a schedule. He was told that the car is being used in a movie. Over the next 10 days he puts 3 oil pans on this car, and replaced the radiator in another Mustang with mounts, bars, and brackets welded all over the bottom of it. He also swears there was a 3rd dark green fast- back that had a light green or Ivory interior. He had no idea what the movie was about or who starred in it. Since my buddy was a Chevy guy he really didn't care anyway.
The rest is history.
--Mike

[cobralee]

I have a good friend who is a stuntman, does alot of driving, now towards the end of his career. He states that Bullitt with the Mustang and Mopar chase is considered one of the all-time best car chases. I'm sure there have been more suspenful ones since then, but Bullitt was the precedence. He also says that the scene in Godfather where Sonny finds and beats up on his brother-inlaw with the trash can, is also considered one of the best scenes for beating someone up.

[Satanpez]

I remember reading one of the reasons for it being such a good car chase scene (and I believe it) is that it wasn't that long.

Compared to many other chase scenes in movies, it's pretty short. It leaves you wanting more. Other movies by the time the chase is done...you're almost bored.

-steve in nj-

Plus, it's more or less believable. Outside of the fact that anyone who has owned one of those cars knows that those jumps woulda sent the control arms and wheels flying apart from the car.

Go watch the new Gone in 60 Seconds. (Or better yet...don't) How cheesy can you get? If there's a sequal I envision cars doing acrobatic flips.

[grumpy]

My brothers 390GT Bullitt is sitting in his garage today, unrestored
with less than 70,000 miles on it. I remember very clearly how this car preformed against a 440 Charger and it's a line of crap that the Dodge would come out on top. They didn't at the strip, then or now, and definitley not in a street bash of turning corners and the like. I'll be the challenger on that one, now someone dig up a 440 Charger (bone stock) and I'll be glad to prove it at the next Ford Fun Fest at Baytown, Texas near his place.
grumpy