Deadline Auto Theft

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Deadline Auto Theft
Image:DeadlineAutoTheftdvdcover.jpg Deadline Auto Theft and Gone in 60 Seconds 2 Collectors Edition DVD Cover
Directed by	H.B. Halicki
Produced by	H.B. Halicki
Written by	H.B. Halicki
Starring	H.B. Halicki Eleanor UDUNOME Hoyt Axton Dan Grimaldi Judi Gibbs Jerry Daugirda Marion Busia George Cole Ronald Halicki James McIntyre Markos Kotsikos Maureen Coddington John Halicki Pat Hartigan Lang Jeffries
Music by	Philip Kachaturian Ronald Halicki Eb Jensen Hoyt Axton
Cinematography	Scott Lloyd-Davies Jack Vacek
Editing by	Warner E. Leighton P.J. Webb
Distributed by	H.B. Halicki Junyard and Mecantile Company
Release date(s)	October 28, 1983
Running time	98 min
Language	English
Budget	1 Million Dollars

Deadline Auto Theft is an 1983 independent film written and directed by H.B 'Toby' Halicki. It centers on a group of car thieves and the 48 cars they must steal in a matter of days. The film is infamous for having wrecked and destroyed 186 cars in a 17 minute car car chase scene and a 40 minute car chase scene. The cars were a 1974 Bricklin SV-1 and a 1973 Ford Mustang Mach 1 named Eleanor. H.B 'Toby' Halicki simply went out his way as a director by combining the best of Gone In 60 Seconds and The Junkman. He was able to reprise he role as the legendary car thief who can't be stopped. He asked his friend Hoyt Axton to play the police captain hot on his trail.

1 Plot Summary
2 Production
3 The Cast And Crew Of Deadline Auto Theft
4 The List Of 48 Cars Stolen From The Movie
5 External links

[edit] Plot Summary

The climactic jump scene

After the attempted theft of his daughter's (Judi Gibbs) husband's car (Dan Grimaldi), LAPD Captain Gibbs (Hoyt Axton) declares war on master car thief Maindrian Pace (H.B 'Toby' Halicki), whose insurance investigation company provides the perfect front. Everyone knows him as an intelligent, respectable insurance investigator, they also know that he runs a quality auto shop in town. What very few know is that he is the leader of a group of professional car thieves. If a car disappears, it's most likely Pace's gang that's done it. Pace also has Eugenes wedding to go to in Dunkirk, New York. Pace asks Eugenes to call off his honeymoon for some court cases next week.

After arriving back at Los Angeles International Airport Pace and his crew have to take him to meet the important client.

Today is Tuesday and a very valued client has just contacted Pace with an exceptional order. A South American drug lord pays Pace and his team to steal 48 cars for him, all but one, a 1973 Ford Mustang Mach 1, are in the bag, so they set out on the job while the police frantically try to track him down. The buyer wants Pace to deliver 48 specific cars to him by Saturday. All are very high-end cars ranging from Mustangs to limousines, making the order difficult to fill under the time limit. Still, Pace savors the challenge and agrees to complete the order. At the same time Captain Gibbs is having a meeting with Lt. Arthur and Lt. Reed (Lang Jeffries and Pat Hartigan) about how were going to remind these people.

Then later on that night his crew is somewhat taken aback by the audacity of the plan, but they realize that if anyone can do it, Pace can. Mapping out a basic strategy, the gang begins to scout out their targets, which have all been given female names. Being part of the insurance industry, Pace does have one small idiosyncrasy when it comes to stealing, all of the cars he steals must be insured. Pace refuses to take a car from a person who hasn't insured it because of his secretary Pumpkin (Marion Busia) has got him to agree with it during a walk in the park in Dunkirk, New York.

Today is Wednesday and Captain Gibbs wants to have a meeting with The Long Angeles Police Department to remind them there here to serve and protect not to terrorize and destroy. Then Officer DuPree (Maureen Coddington) asks Captain Gibbs about a hot and stolen car. Then Captain Gibbs begins to tell Officer DuPree all about hot and stolen cars and at the same time tells Sgt. Hawkins to shut up. At the same time Pace is having a meeting with his crew about the court appearances and stealing insured cars and don't forget your wigs.

Then later on that night Pace goes to Asscott Park and steals J.C. Agajanians 1974 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow. Then also later on that night Pace goes and steals Harold Blight Smiths (Edward Abrahms) Eleanor right out of his garage. Then Mr. Smith pulls right out in his blue 1972 Plymouth Satellite and chases Pace all the way down the street screaming that's my car.

Today is Thursday and Pace and Eugene have about giving the car back to Mr. Smith which is also insurance investigator and a client of theirs. Then Pace has a meeting with Captain Gibbs and also with his daughter Judi Gibbs and her husband Carl Augusta. At the same Atlee Jackson (George Cole) is stealing Lyle Waggoners car from Roy's Auto Care for the car cleaner (Terenece H. Winkless) who goes crazy as soon as he drives off in the car, then the car pick up man shows up, and demands his insurance papers. Then Mr. Smith and starts talking to Pace about that 1973 Dodge Challenger that they sold to Taylor Webb a couple of days ago and Pace promises to investigate the car.

Today is Friday and Pace comes early in the morning and tows the 1973 Dodge Challenger away from Prince Chrysler, Dodge, and Plymouth to the junkyard and crushes and destroys it. Then Pace steals the Semi Truck and all seven Limousines and The Pantera and finally Eleanor. Then Atlee steals the 1974 Cadillac Coupe DeVille right in front of The Hungary Tiger Restaurant. Then Pace steals the 1974 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow and the 1971 Chevrolet Corvette.

And so they begin stealing the 48 cars. As it happens, it's proceeding extremely smoothly, the thieves have found all the cars they need with little hardship, and no complications have arisen. That is, until they come to Eleanor, a prized '73 Mach 1 Ford Mustang. They've found their Eleanor, stolen it, but then discover that it's not insured. The owner has placed an ad in the paper pleading for the car's return, no questions asked. Of course, Pace agrees, much to the chagrin of his buddies.

As Pace prepares to rip-off the fastback, codenamed "Eleanor", in Long Beach, California, he is unaware that his boss Jerry Daugirda has tipped off the police after a business dispute involving a car the team stole that turned out to be full of heroin. Telling his boss he was going to take care of the car, Pace instead torched it in the desert. As a result of the tip-off to Sgt. Hawkins (John Halicki) to put a steak out at the International Towers in Long Beach. Detectives (Butch Stockton and Phil Woods are waiting and pursue Pace through five cities as he desperately tries to get away. While Police pursue Pace in "Eleanor", the last of the cars needed to fulfill their contract, through southern California as he tries to get away.

Every section of this sequence was filmed on live city streets or freeways, often containing real pedestrians running from Pace's car. In a notable scene, Eleanor is seen to be involved in an accident as a result of misjudging the freeway and colliding with a lamp post. This scene was, in fact, a real accident, as Halicki misjudged both the lane and speed of a car travelling behind. He was injured in the crash, but the scene was left in and Eleanor is seen leaving the site of the accident as the chase continues.

The infamous "yellow Mustang", Eleanor with H.B 'Toby' Halicki at the International Towers Apartments in 1974.

The jump scene contained at the end of the chase is also notable and set the standards for a number of subsequently produced pictures. Acting as the climax to the lengthy chase sequence, Eleanor is seen to jump over the scene of another accident after debris from a separate car allows it to catch air. The jump manages to achieve 30 feet of distance - a feat which would not be easily replicable without the use of modern CGI techniques - and the Mustang barely manages to land safely as it meets the ground in a rather awkward fashion, injuring Halicki once again.

Then Sgt. Hawkins during the police chase walks outside of the Los Angeles Police Department to get Captain Gibbs and tells him that Long Beach Police Department has a description of your man Pace. Then Captain Gibbs demands that Sgt. Hawkins get him a Helicopter and get whole police department going to go to the scene of the chase. Then Captain Gibbs demands Sgt. Hawkins to take him to Moran Cadillac in Torrance, California. Then Captain Gibbs demands Sgt. Hawkins to take him to the Rosecrans Car Wash in Carson, California.

Shortly after this jump, the chase, which occupies most of the screen time, is ended by Pace as he spots another yellow Mustang pulling into a car wash. He asks for his car to be washed and then dupes the owner of the undamaged Mustang into a fictitious meeting with the garage's manager before stealing her car and switching the plates. Pace subsequently leaves the garage with the stolen car as the owner of the car wash (who matches the description of Pace, who was wearing a grey wig and a grey jacket during the chase) is arrested and then Captain Gibbs arrives and sees that it is not Pace and tells the men to let him go and then Pace drives off into the sunset.

[edit] Production

Deadline Auto Theft was classified as an independent film - H.B. Halicki wrote, starred, directed, produced and even did his own stuntwork in the film, which, at the time, was phenomenal. In a contemporary context, however, the portions of the film preceding the chase sequences are seen as typical of a badly acted - and poorly received - 1970s and 80s movies. This film was re edited in 1983 by Warner E. Leighton and P.J. Webb. This movie is actually a remake of Gone in 60 Seconds and The Junkman. The reason for this view is that Halicki employed family and friends (instead of professional actors) to play parts in his movie to keep the budget low. Therefore, the acting is somewhat substandard when compared to other films of the time. The characters depicted as being members of the emergency services were actual police officers, firemen, or paramedics. The then-mayor of the City of Carson, Sak Yamamoto, also appeared as himself.

[edit] The Cast And Crew Of Deadline Auto Theft

H.B 'Toby' Halicki .... Maindrian Pace/Vicinski/Mr. Villis
Hoyt Axton .... Captain Gibbs
Lang Jeffries .... Lt. Arthur
Pat Hartigan .... Lt. Reed
Maureen Coddington .... Officer DuPree/Hungary Tiger Girl
John Halicki .... Sgt. Hawkins
Judi Gibbs .... Herself (Penthouse Pet of the Month)
Dan Grimaldi .... Carl Augusta
Marion Busia .... Pumpkin Chase
Jerry Daugirda .... Eugene Chase
James McIntyre .... Stanley Chase
George Cole .... Atlee Jackson
Ronald Halicki .... Corlis Pace/The Crane Operator
Markos Kotsikos .... Uncle Joe Chase
Tony Ostermeier .... Orvall (The Air Cover Helicopter Thief)
Sharon McCreedy .... Helicopter Pilot
Bruce Cameron .... Farley
Dennis Stouffer .... Detective at Rosecrans Carwash/Policeman
John Olsen .... Detective Olsen
Dr. William Pounds .... Ambulance Patient
Frank Zeigon .... Phil Zeigon
Rudy Halicki .... Policeman
Cindy Reynolds .... Queen Mary Waitress
Chip Giannettino .... Policeman
Phil Boroff .... Policeman
Garland Brown .... Policeman
George Barris .... Policeman
Christopher Stone .... Policeman/The Los Angeles Flood Control Man
Freddy Canon .... Policeman
Richard L. Muse .... Policeman
Lynda Day George .... Policewoman
Rita Rickard .... Policewoman
Susan Shaw .... Policewoman
Bud Wacen .... Himself
Christine White .... Herself/The Lady At The Rosecrans Carwash
Kelly Busia .... The Real Estate Girl In The Park
Edward Havens .... Kid in park
Sak Yamamoto .... Himself (City of Carson mayor)
Edward Abrahms .... Harold Blight Smith
J.C. Agajanian Jr. .... Himself/The Light Blue Unmarked Detective
Wally Burr .... Male Police Dispatcher
Terence H. Winkless .... Lyle Waggoner's Car Cleaner
Butch Stockton .... 1-Baker-11 detective (driver)
Phil Woods .... 1-Baker-11 detective (passenger)
Hal McClain .... Himself (KFOX host)
Jonathan E. Fricke .... Himself (KFOX interviewer)
Jack Vacek .... Merle/WK90 Officer (voice)/Cal In The Flying Fox/The Los Angeles Flood Control Man
Billy Englehart .... Lowrider
Anthony Cole .... Lowrider
Mark Cole .... Lowrider
Michael Cole .... Lowrider
Edward Booker .... Lowrider
Don Simmons .... Lowrider
Ron Simmons .... Lowrider
Nicolas Cage .... Little Boy at the Roscrans Car Wash