Gone in 60 Seconds (1974)

When a South American drug lord pays Pace to steal 48 cars for him, all but one is in the bag - thereby, the police precipitate in a desperate car chase against Pace and his Eleanor across Southern California.

Director:

H.B. Halicki

Writer:

H.B. Halicki

Stars:

H.B. Halicki, Marion Busia, Jerry Daugirda

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
H.B. Halicki	...	Maindrian Pace
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
Parnelli Jones	...	Parnelli Jones
Gary Bettenhausen	...	Himself
Jonathan E. Fricke	...	KFOX Interviewer
Hal McClain	...	KFOX Announcer
J.C. Agajanian
J.C. Agajanian Jr.	...	Light Blue Unmarked Detective
Christopher J.C. Agajanian	...	Himself
Billy Englehart	...	Billy

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:

named car | coors beer | marijuana smoking | cigar smoking | telephone call | 

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Taglines:

Let the wrecking begin

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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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

The license plate of the Rolls-Royce outside the airport reads "HBH"--the initials of the film's star/director/writer, H.B. Halicki.

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Goofs

Camera and operator visible in the window of the door Maindrian opens when stealing Willie Davis's Rolls Royce from his beer distribution company.

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Quotes

Maindrian Pace: [Before the famous 40 minute chase scene] I should have read my horoscope this morning.

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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

The Norweigian version, at least when released theatrically, concluded at the end of the "big jump" scene, where Eleanor spins out to the song "Big Town, Big City". Everything afterward was removed, because the Norweigian censors did not want the bad guy to get away, as Maindrian does in the film. The scene optically turns white, then cuts straight to the end credits.

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Connections

Remade as Gone in 60 Seconds (2000)

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Soundtracks

Lois Lane Blues
Music and Lyrics by Ronald Halicki and Philip Kachaturian
Sung by Philip Kachaturian

User Reviews

Independent Filmmaking At Its Finest

If you've seen the remake of Gone In 60 Seconds (not a bad movie either) then you must see this outstanding original. Unfortunately, a movie nowadays could never be done like this. H.B. "Toby" Halicki had a dream and he certainly accomplished it here. He must have had more connections than the Gotti Family. It's good to have connections. You take care of people and they take care of you. Toby certainly took care of people and was given the freedom to make this high octane movie the way he wanted to. He had a magnificent collection of cars, among many other items, and used them all in this movie. He bought cars simply to destroy in the movie. He did his own amazing stunt driving, produced, directed, and everything in this movie. Though no one was a professional actor everyone performed well. This isn't an oscar-winning movie, but it's certainly amazing to see what had to be done to make this movie happen. I think this movie is slowly starting to become a cult classic. I can find it in any store nowadays, along with his other few great movies. If you're a fan of the car chase, you'll love this movie for the realism of the impressive 40 minute car chase at the end of the movie. It is AWESOME! Best thing since Bullitt with Steve McQueen. It's great considering you didn't have the special effects. Enjoy the movie! It's a must see!