My solution to that, was to go to the local "Family Video" store and for the sum of $1.00, I rented one of my favorite movies starring one of my favorite all time actors. I sat in my recliner and thoroughly enjoyed watching Steve McQeen play detective lieutenant Frank Bullit, in the 1968 movie, "Bullit".
I rented it for two reasons. First of all it had Steve McQeen in it, and secondly it has the greatest car chase scene in the history of Hollywood in it. I am not talking about a lot of impossible special effect shots of cars flying through the air, burning and exploding cars and trucks going end over end, etc. I am talking about realistic filming of a real chase through the streets of San Francisco at speeds of up to 110 MPH.
Terrence Steven McQeen (1930-1980) was nicknamed the "King of Cool", and during the mid 1970's was the highest paid actor on the planet. He was bigger than life to me as a kid. I was born in 1947, and Steve during the same year, joined the Marine Corp and was a tank driver with the 2nd Marine division of the fleet Marine force.
Steve's movie career as near as I can count totaled 25 different movies. Some of my personal favorites other than Bullit include but are not limited to:
Somebody Up There Likes Me / 1956
The Blob / 1958
The Magnificent 7 / 1960
The Sand Pebbles / 1966
The Thomas Crown Affair / 1968
Junior Bonner / 1972
The Getaway / 1972
Tom Horn / 1980The Hunter / 1980
Back to the Bullit movie and the chase scene:
Steve drove a 1968 Ford G390 CID Fastback Mustang in Highland Green color, while chasing a 1968 Dodge Charger R/T 440 magnum that contained the two hit men who had shot one of Frank's detectives and a Chicago mobster by the name of Johnny Ross. Ross was under 48 hours protection as he was about to turn evidence on Organized crime.
The chase scene started in the Mission district, proceeded to midtown, with filming at Hyde street and LaGuna streets showing shots of Coit Tower. Other locations around Filbert and University streets and ends on Guadalupe Canyon Parkway in Brisbane out of the city. The total chase lasted10 minutes and 53 seconds and to this day, if you ask action movie buffs, what was the greatest chase scene ever, to this day, most will tell you hands down, the movie Bullit.
Steve did most of the driving himself with some scenes that were very risky done by famed stuntman and motorcycle racer, Bud Ekins. Bud was also the guy who laid the motorcycle down in front of the skidding truck.
During the movie, Bullit packed either a Colt Python .357 Mag or possibly a Colt Diamondback .38 special in a Safariland Model 19 medium frame shoulder holster. Critics seem to argue over which revolver Steve was packing at the time, however we KNOW it was a COLT.
Shoulder holsters are somewhat out of style today, however I still have 2 or 3 in my safe and watching this movie makes me want to haul them out of storage again.
The shotgun carried by the hit men was reported to be simply a Winchester Pump, presumably a 12 gauge, but not sure on that either.
I would enjoy hearing from any Steve McQueen fans or anyone who has definitive information on the revolver that Steve carried or the Winchester pump carried by the hit men.
If it has been a while since you rented the movie Bullit, or if you have never seen it, rent it today or download it. It is truly a movie for guys who like movies.
Dan
1 comment:
Steve always played a "mans man" in all of his movies-he was a great actor.His talent and technique is surely missed.I quess the old expression is true-THEY DON'T MAKE THEM LIKE THEY USED TO !!
Post a Comment