Bullitt (1968)

Director:

Peter Yates

Writers:

Alan Trustman (screenplay) and
Harry Kleiner (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

17 October 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Steve McQueen As 'Bullitt'

Plot:

An all guts, no glory San Francisco cop becomes determined to find the underworld kingpin that killed the witness in his protection.

Plot Keywords:

Killer | Politician | Chase | Hotel | Shotgun

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 9 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Steve McQueen	...	Bullitt
Robert Vaughn	...	Chalmers
Jacqueline Bisset	...	Cathy
Don Gordon	...	Delgetti
Robert Duvall	...	Weissberg
Simon Oakland	...	Captain Bennet
Norman Fell	...	Baker
Georg Stanford Brown	...	Dr. Willard
Justin Tarr	...	Eddy
Carl Reindel	...	Stanton
Felice Orlandi	...	Renick
Vic Tayback	...	Pete Ross (as Victor Tayback)
Robert Lipton	...	1st Aide
Ed Peck	...	Westcott
Pat Renella	...	John Ross

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Portugal:M/12 | Argentina:Atp | Brazil:14 | Australia:PG (TV rating) | Australia:M | Canada:14A | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (1968) | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG | West Germany:16 | UK:AA (original rating)

Filming Locations:

1153-57 Taylor Street, San Francisco, California, USA

Company:

Warner Brothers/Seven Arts

Trivia:

One of the first things Peter Yates did when he got the job was persuade Warner Brothers to buy him a lightweight Arriflex camera that he could use for all his hand-held footage.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Bullitt leaves the hospital, taking Ross' body to the morgue, he is still dressed in in the clothes he wore when he responded to the shooting the night before: brown cardigan over a light blue shirt. Very next scene, when he pulls up and parks the Mustang, steals the newspaper, visits local grocery, he is now wearing the trench coat over the trademark green sportcoat and blue turtleneck, BEFORE he goes home, showers and is seen changing into these very same clothes for the remainder of the film.

Quotes:

[after much patient pressure, the desk clerk has finally offered up some details]
Desk Clerk: Am I helping you, sir?
Delgetti: I never had it so good.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Batman: The Tumbler (2005) (V)

Maximum Cool

Steve McQueen's career peaked in 1968 with "Bullitt" and "The Thomas Crown Affair," both ideal vehicles for his cool persona. Although superior to its recent remake, "Crown" has not aged gracefully, while "Bullitt" has held up fairly well.

Cool though he may be, Frank Bullitt is a totally committed detective, perhaps even more so than Gene Hackman's Popeye Doyle or Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry Callahan. Bullitt is a complete professional who never takes his eye off the objective, no matter how much interference he encounters from his superiors or from Robert Vaughan's scheming politician, Walter Chalmers. And Bullitt, unlike Doyle or Callahan, operates without the histrionics. No one-liners, no yelling and screaming tantrums from this officer. You may not like him very much, but you have to respect his dedication to duty and you'll quickly share his absolute contempt for Chalmers.

"Bullitt" is best remembered for its spectacular car chase in which McQueen reportedly did most of his own driving. But this is not primarily an action film. Aside from the chase and the final shootout at SFO, there's not a lot of violence. Most of the attention is on Bullitt's maneuvering to unravel the mystery and to keep Chalmers off his back.

Recommended if you like McQueen or policiers in general. The pace may be a little slow for people under 30 who are used to a more slam-bang, less cerebral approach to this sort of thing, but "Bullitt" is still worth your time. Just don't expect "Lethal Weapon."