Gone in 60 Seconds (1974)

Insurance investigator Maindrian Pace and his team lead double-lives as unstoppable car thieves. When a South American drug lord pays Pace to steal 48 cars for him, all but one, a 1973 Ford... See full summary »

Director:

H.B. Halicki

Writer:

H.B. Halicki

Stars:

H.B. Halicki, Marion Busia, Jerry Daugirda

Cast

Complete credited cast:
H.B. Halicki	...	Maindrian Pace / Vicinski
Marion Busia	...	Pumpkin Chase
Jerry Daugirda	...	Eugene Chase
James McIntyre	...	Stanley Chase
George Cole	...	Atlee Jackson
Ronald Halicki	...	Corlis Pace
Markos Kotsikos	...	Uncle Joe Chase
Butch Stockton	...	1-Baker-11 detective (driver)
Phil Woods	...	1-Baker-11 detective (passenger)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
J.C. Agajanian Jr.	...	Light Blue Unmarked Detective
Christopher J.C. Agajanian	...	Himself
Gary Bettenhausen	...	Himself
Edward Booker	...	Lowrider
Anthony Cole	...	Lowrider
Mark Cole	...	Lowrider

Storyline

Insurance investigator Maindrian Pace and his team lead double-lives as unstoppable car thieves. When a South American drug lord pays Pace to steal 48 cars for him, all but one, a 1973 Ford Mustang, are in the bag. As Pace prepares to rip-off the fastback, codenamed "Eleanor", in Long Beach, he is unaware that his boss has tipped off the police after a business dispute. Detectives are waiting and pursue Pace through five cities as he desperately tries to get away.

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Plot Keywords:

police | ford mustang | police car | manta mirage | jensen interceptor | 

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Taglines:

H.B. Halicki's original classic (DVD)

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

maintained by writer/director's widow

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 July 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

Gone in Sixty Seconds

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles Harbor, San Pedro, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$150,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$40,000,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

H.B. Halicki Mercantile

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min 93 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Mono Dolby (DVD re-release) DTS (DVD re-release)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

A filming location not mentioned was Dunkirk, NY. Some of the cars used in filming were sitting at his family's garage on S. Roberts in Dunkirk as recently as the early 2000s.

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Goofs

The fire in the back of the sedan opposite the freeway offramp eventually dwindles. When the chase speeds back past later, the flames are roaring again, only to be back to nothing when the fire department shows up.

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Quotes

Pumpkin Chase: Maindrian, we have to give Eleanor back.
Maindrian Pace: What are you talking about? The contract's filled!
Pumpkin Chase: [handing him newspaper] She's not insured. Here, look for yourself.
Maindrian Pace: You gotta be kidding me..."Owner desperate. '73 Ford Mustang stolen from 18511 Mariposa, Gardena. Not insured. Please return, no questions." Pumpkin, I'm tired. I'm not Superman. Look at that, that contract is filled!
Pumpkin Chase: Maindrian...
[Eugene bursts in]
Eugene Chase: Damn you, Pace! Where's that El Dorado?
Maindrian Pace: It's gone, Eugene.
Eugene Chase: What did you do with it, you ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

The ending credits in the 2001 DVD release features footage of H.B. Halicki's widow, Denice Shakarian Halicki, riding in "Eleanor."

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Alternate Versions

"Special Edition" re-release VHS/DVD version features remastered video, and audio. The soundtrack has also been completely changed.

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Connections

Referenced in Hell and Back (2015)

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Soundtracks

Chicken Dance
Music and Lyrics by Werner Thomas

User Reviews

Great movie - even without sound!

Background: Because I am nearly deaf, I depend upon videos and DVDs that are captioned or have subtitles. Most videos made within the past 10 years have captions and DVDs often offer BOTH of these capabilities. As you probably have guessed, I do not go to movie theaters to see a movie because I have absolutely no idea what is going on. Over the years, I have garnered an extensive collection of both videos and DVDs. All of them either captioned or having subtitles.

Current: My introduction to this movie was inspired after renting the 2000 DVD with Nickolas Cage, which I though was a terrific movie. While searching for the 1974 H.B. Halicki video, I found that it was not captioned, so I was thrilled to recently find the 25th Anniversary DVD which was released in 2000, assuming that it would at least have subtitles. Surprisingly, it is neither captioned NOR does it have subtitles. Unfortunately, I did not realize this until I attempted to view the movie. I could not return it because I had opened the package. What a disappointment.

I could not understand the dialogue and was a bit confused as to why the heist team ended up destroying the cars, I decided to check the plot at IMDb. It told me of a different reason for all of the cars being stolen as compared to the 2000 version, and that was helpful. Thank you, IMDb! So I decided to watch it anyway, because I was looking forward to the final chase scene, which had been described as even better than the N, Cage 2000 remake.

I loved this movie - EVEN IN SILENCE! I really enjoyed seeing the fashions from the 70's, hilarious as they now seem to me. Did I really dress that way? Yes! Seeing the older cars was wonderfully nostalgic. And the heist methods were ingenious. The final chase scene was terrific. Although I couldn't understand the dialogue, I laughed in a few places that seemed comic to me. Possibly not hearing what was being said made the movie even more enjoyable than it really was.

I recommend this movie very highly, even as a silent film.