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Bullitt (1968)

Director(s) Peter Yates
Producer(s) Robert E. Relyea
Top Genres Action, Crime, Drama, Film Adaptation, Mystery, Thriller/Suspense
More Films Directed by Peter Yates More Films from 1968 More Films from the 1960s Top Classic Movies of the 1960s

Bullitt Overview:

Bullitt (1968) was a Action - Crime Film directed by Peter Yates and produced by Robert E. Relyea.

SYNOPSIS

McQueen is a detective who senses that something is wrong behind his assignment to guard a criminal witness. This edge-of-the-seat thriller features one of the great car chases of cinematic history. Based on Robert L. Pike's book Mute Witness.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

Bullitt was inducted into the National Film Registry in 2007.

Academy Awards 1968 --- Ceremony Number 41 (source: AMPAS)

AwardRecipientResult
Best Film EditingFrank P. KellerWon
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Bullitt BlogHub Articles:

Bullitt (1968)

By Beatrice on Feb 28, 2020 From Flickers in Time

Bullitt Directed by Peter Yates Written by Alan Trustman and Henry Kleiner from a novel by Robert L. Fish 1968/US IMDb link First viewing/Amazon Instant Bullitt: Bullshit. Fairly solid film for fans of Steve McQueen, car chases, and San Francisco. McQueen plays Frank Bullitt, a San Francisco police ... Read full article

Bullitt (1968)

By 4 Star Film Fan on Jun 21, 2019 From 4 Star Films

There was never a better city for crime pictures than San Francisco. Much of this reputation comes from Bullitt and the enduring cool of its hero Steve McQueen. He had many great films and he was a part of some truly epic ensembles including The Magnificent Seven and The Great Escape, but Bullitt is... Read full article

Bullitt (1968) Turns 50: Reflections on a New Hollywood Trend-Setter

By The Lady Eve on Oct 5, 2018 From Lady Eve's Reel Life

The TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, famously known for decades as Grauman’s, is the most historic of movie palaces world-wide, and one of the most magnificent. Famed for its lavish “Oriental” décor, its klieg light-lit Old Hollywood movie premieres, and its hand- and footprint-s... Read full article

Top 10 Reasons Why You Should Watch Bullitt (1968)

By Raquel Stecher on Aug 8, 2013 From Out of the Past - A Classic Film Blog

My contribution to the TCM Summer Under the Stars Blogathon Bullitt (1968) will be showing on August 9th (Friday) 4:00 PM EST on Turner Classic Movies as part of the Summer Under the Stars Steve McQueen day. Here are my top 10 reasons why I think you should watch this fantastic film. 1. The fant... Read full article

Bullitt: Steve McQueen Plays It Cool (What Else?)

By Rick29 on May 30, 2013 From Classic Film & TV Cafe

Bullitt was not the film that established the Steve McQueen "cool quotient." Steve was displaying coolness earlier in the 1960s in movies such as The Great Escape (1963), The Cincinnati Kid (1965), and The Thomas Crown Affair (1968). Heck, his character was even known as The Cooler King in The Great... Read full article

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Bullitt Quotes:

[Bullitt and Delgetti have searched the luggage of Dorothy Simmons and her boyfriend]
Delgetti: No passports, no tickets.
Bullitt: Call Immigration in Chicago, have them wire Rennick's passport application, I'll get a fingerprint check on Ross.
Cathy: What will happen to us, in time?
Bullitt: Time starts now.
Bullitt: Look, you work your side of the street, and I'll work mine.
Bullitt: You sell whatever you want, but don't sell it here tonight.
Bullitt: [revealing Johnny Ross' death] I've got him downstairs, under a John Doe.
Baker: [stunned] You are sick. Smuggling a dead man out of a hospital, and now two men killed who may have had nothing to do with it?
Bullitt: The man I was chasing killed Ross.
Captain Bennett: How do you know? Did you see him?
Bullitt: Yes. He tried to nail me with a shotgun, a Winchester pump.
Baker: The radio report said the two men were burned beyond recognition. Now all he's got are two dead men. It would never hold up in court.
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Bullitt Facts
Two Mustangs and two Dodge Chargers were used for the famous chase scene. Both Mustangs were owned by the Ford Motor Company and part of a promotional loan agreement with Warner Brothers. The cars were modified for the high-speed chase by veteran auto racer Max Balchowsky. Stunt coordinator Carey Loftin got Bud Ekins to drive the Mustang for the bulk of the stunts. Both of the Dodges were junked after the filming, as was one of the Mustangs. The other less banged-up Mustang was purchased by a WB employee after all production and post-production was completed. The car ended up in New Jersey a few years later, where Steve McQueen attempted to buy it. The owner refused to sell, and the car now sits in a barn and has not been driven in many years.
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.
Joanna Cassidy's film debut.
Director Peter Yates was personally selected for this movie by Steve McQueen because Yates had filmed a realistic car chase a year earlier through the streets of London in Robbery.
Robert Vaughn, who plays politician Walter Chalmers received the script and didn't like it. Vaughn felt that there was no plot nor a sensible storyline. Steve McQueen insisted Vaughn do the film which the actor had refused, until the studio kept offering him more money when he finally said yes.
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