Gone in 60 Seconds (1974)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

H.B. Halicki

Writer:

H.B. Halicki (writer)

Release Date:

28 July 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama

Tagline:

HIS BUSINESS IS STEALING CARS...when he goes to work, the excitement starts---and GOES---and GOES---and GOES!

Plot:

Insurance investigator Maindrian Pace and his team lead double-lives as unstoppable car thieves. When...

Plot Keywords:

Ford Mustang | Police | Car Wash | Disguise | Garage

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
Parnelli Jones	...	Himself
Sak Yamamoto	...	Himself (City of Carson mayor)

Also Known As:

Gone in Sixty Seconds (USA) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

105 min | Spain:93 min (DVD edition)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | Spain:13 | Australia:M | Australia:PG (DVD rating) | Finland:K-16 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Carson, California, USA

Company:

H.B. Halicki Mercantile Co.

Trivia:

When Maindrian is first telling Atlee about the new contract, a message on the blackboard behind them is visible saying, "Sgt. Hawkins called about Vacek case" - a reference to director of photography Jack Vacek.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The wrecked Challenger is a 1972 model. The Challenger stolen from the airport is a 1973 model.

Quotes:

[looking at a car Corlis and Atlee have just stolen]
Hawkins: What's this?
Maindrian Pace: A Cadillac.
Hawkins: What's wrong with it?
Maindrian Pace: Oh, it's, er, theft recovery.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Stunt Rock (1978)

If not the greatest car chase ever filmed, certainly one of them...

At last, the Great grandaddy of all car chase films has been released on DVD.

OK, so first things first. The plot, well, isn't. A guy steals cars, but his girlfriend, who's alos part of the car theft ring, doesn't like stealing cars which aren't insured, so after he steals 40 cars in a week, she makes him give one back because it's not insured. But her brother's mad at him, so he tips off the cops. There's that 40-minute chase. The hero escapes. End of film. Character development? no. Resolution? Nope, not here. Believable? Ha!

And yet still, it's got that ultra-cheap magic that makes it work. No, the car stunts aren't the greatest ever filmed (the sequel, Gone in 60 Seconds II AKA The Junkman has far better ones) but it's all real, no CGI efects, and it was all done with one car - no substitutes here, so you don't get that detached feeling you do with most Hollywood blockbusters (read: The Bruckheimer remake).

Just one thing. I have an old vide copy of this with the original music that's been completely altered for the DVD release, and I wish that they'd left it intact. Yeah, the songs are cheesy seventies pop, but they go with the film so much better, and sorry, but I personally consider "I Do Hope The Man Doesn't Catch Me", "Lois Lane Blues" and "Gone (Movin' On) in Sixty Seconds" to be far better suited to the movie than the replacement stuff, which alters the feel of scenes which were supposed to be comedic, and at one point spoils a whole sequence where a character was originally listening to a song on the radio, and now appears to just be sitting around doing nothing while the soundtrack takes over.

Still, there's that chase, which may not be quite the greatest ever filmed, but which is still a remarkable achievement. Not to mention a great advertisment for 1973 Ford Mustangs...