July 2013 Checker - Central Florida Region SCCA

entire shooting schedule. McQueen definitely wanted wonderful shot of the Mustang appearing in the
to handle all the Mustang stunt driving. Some Charger's rearview mirror was Fraker's idea & it took a
accounts say it was pressure from his family & the number of attempts to get timing & focus down. A
studio that got him out of the car for the most difficult pressure building jazz score from Lalo Schiffrin (he
scenes. Eventually, it was McQueen's inability to pull also composed the driving “Mission Impossible" &
off the stunts that forced Lofton to replace him with Bud "Mannix" themes) accompanied the cars on the prowl.
Ekins, McQueen’s longtime friend who performed the But music isn't needed after Hickman crosses traffic &
famous motorcycle jump in "The Great Escape."
boils the tires up a hill. In fact, virtually none of the
McQueen was overly sensitive about stunt doubles, traditional Hollywood tricks were used to emphasize
especially when it involved motorcycles & cars. The the speed, danger, or intensity of the chase … no fake
Hollywood publicity machine & McQueen stressed that shots of a 100 mph speedometer, screaming
he did all of his own stunt work in the chase & during the passengers, or crashes thru garbage cans: nothing to
dangerous airport runway scene. In reality, 3 drivers - take the audience away from the cars.
McQueen, Ekins, & Lofton drove the Mustang in the The early scenes of the chase show the cars building
chase scene & Loren Janes, McQueen's longtime speed thru the hills & taking turns at tire-screeching
stunt double, was underneath those airliner wheels on velocities. It took numerous attempts to get the right
the runway.
action at some locations as the crew worked with
"The success of the car chase still had a lot to do with McQueen. Automotive journalist Nina Padgett, who
Steve even tho he didn't do the dangerous stuff," says conducted many interviews with Lofton, says
1st assistant director Tim Zinneman.
McQueen knew he was having problems after
watching the rushes (raw footage of the previous day's
Indeed, McQueen's enormous contributions to the
filming) each morning. Finally, McQueen blew a turn
movie should have been enough to satisfy his ego
once too often, &, according to Ekins, Lofton yelled,
without fabricating more stories about his involvement.
"Get him out of the car. Ekins, go to makeup & get your
He suggested Bullitt's turtleneck-&-open-jacket look.
hair bleached." None of the crew members recalls the
He never overplayed the role, making sure Bullitt had
moment so dramatically, but Bud Ekins was eventually
the same expression whether he was driving 100 mph
called on to handle the trick assignments. It's easy to
or romancing Jacqueline Bisset. Even when he arrived
tell when Ekins is in the Mustang. The watch is
early in San Francisco to research his role, McQueen
different on Ekins' right arm from McQueen's. Also, the
was thinking about the chase.
rearview mirror is turned away when Ekins drives,
otherwise it reflects McQueen's face. Ironically,
mistakes such as McQueen locking the tires & backing
up in tire hopping anger (one of the only "speeded-up"
scenes), play an important part in the reality of the
chase. "That's what happens when you drive a car
fast," explains Yates. "It was part of spirit of the chase.
The near misses are what make it great."
Hickman had his share of problems, too. He lost
control of a 4-wheel drift around a hard right comer &
Ekins' most famous shot came when he laid crashed into a '56 Ford, knocking out a remote camera
down a motorcycle at speed while the Charger & mounted in front. You can tell it wasn't exactly planned,
Mustang drove around him.
but footage from that camera was used in the movie.
“They told him to do it," proclaims Ekins.
One evening, he went motorcycle riding with Don
Gordon, who played his partner Delgedi. "Steve took a “We may have told Bill to hit the car," recalls Yates, "but
jump off one of the hills," remembers Gordon. "When we didn't tell him to take out the camera." The actual
he came back, he said this would be a great spot to see crash in all its glass-breaking, metal-crunching glory
cars flying off the hill."
can be seen in the production short that accompanies
the anniversary video & DVD edition. Ekins was in the
"Steve was very dear," adds his former production
Mustang when it made its aerial charge at the Dodge.
partner, Robert Releya. "He always said that this movie
The action was filmed from within both cars, giving the
was a western in which he would strap on a car like a
audience a pit-of-the-stomach roller-coaster ride
gun belt." The cat-&-mouse game between the cars
unseen before m any movie theater.
after leaving the car wash was the 1st priority & help set
up the rivalry. Again, no tricks were used. The Pressure to finish the shooting schedule with a
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July 2013