Gone in 60 Seconds (1974 film)
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- This is about the 1974 film. For the 2000 remake, see Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000 film)
| Gone in 60 seconds | |
|---|---|
 Gone in 60 Seconds promotional poster |
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| Directed by | H.B. Halicki |
| Produced by | H.B. Halicki |
| Written by | H.B. Halicki |
| Starring | H.B. Halicki Eleanor |
| Music by | Ronald Halicki Philip Kachaturian Eb Jensen |
| Cinematography | Scott Lloyd-Davies Jack Vacek |
| Editing by | Warner E. Leighton P.J. Webb |
| Distributed by | HB. Halicki Junkyard and Mecantile Company |
| Release date(s) | October 28, 1974 |
| Running time | 98 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1,000,000 |
| IMDb profile | |
Gone in 60 Seconds is a 1974 film written, directed, and produced by and starring 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 famous for having wrecked and destroyed 93 cars in a 40 minute car chase scene. It was later remade in 2000 as Gone in Sixty Seconds.
Contents |
Plot summary
Insurance investigator Maindrian Pace (played by H.B 'Toby' Halicki) and his team lead double lives as car thieves. 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. In order to protect themselves in the event the police overhear them, Pace declares that they will only refer to cars by code names, not by the actual make and model of the car. Today is Tuesday and a very valued client has just contacted Pace with an exceptional order. A South American drug lord pays Pace $400,000.00 to steal 48 specific cars for him, and all but one - a 1973 Ford Mustang Mach 1, whose code name is "Eleanor" - are successfully stolen by Maindrian and his associates. The buyer wants Pace to deliver the 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. Pace also has Eugene's wedding to go to in Dunkirk, New Yorkwhere he asks Eugene to call off his honeymoon for some court cases next week. After arriving back at Los Angeles International Airport Pace and his crew spot Eleanor at the airport and Corlis (Ronald Halicki) tries to steal her but fails because the driver is still in the car asleep at the wheel. Then they leave the airport.
Later 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) got him to agree to it during a walk in a park in Dunkirk.
Later that night Pace goes to Ascot Park and steals J.C. Agajanian's 1974 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow. Also later that night Pace goes and steals Harold Blight Smith's (Edward Abrahms) Eleanor right out of his garage at his home. After Mrs. Smith's constant nagging, Mr. Smith takes his dog out to the front yard where he discovers his Mustang backing out of his garage. Mr. Smith then jumps in his blue 1972 Plymouth Satellite and chases Pace for several miles screaming "that's my car", causing the police to pull him over in order to find out why he is driving maniacally around town. Because Smith has cheated a number of people on insurance claims, Pace returns Smith's undamaged automobile in the exact position it was in the garage, so that when Smith and the police officers return, Smith is in trouble because (as far as they can see) nothing has happened.
Pace manages to steal all seven Limousines and The Pantera and finally Eleanor. Then Atlee steals the 1974 Cadillac Coupe De Ville right in front of the Hungry 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. Because of giving his word to Pumpkin, Pace decides, much to the chagrin of his buddies to return it.
Pace prepares to steal another 'Eleanor' Mustang in Long Beach that he had spotted earlier and made a point to remember its location, but is unaware that his boss (Jerry Daugirda) has alerted to the police to the potential theft as a result of a dispute involving a stolen Cadillac that was discovered to have million dollars worth of heroin hidden throughout it. His boss wanted to keep the drugs but Pace decides to park it in a dirt lot and burn it, telling his boss he would care of it. As a result of the tip-off, two detectives (Butch Stockton and Phil Woods) are waiting for Pace as he steals Eleanor. They do not suspect him at first but decide to check him out. Pace spots them as he has stopped in the driveway to disable the car alarm and decides to run when they show the police light. The ensuing pursuit is the longest car chase (40 minutes) in movie history and takes Pace through five cities as he attempts to lose police.
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 clipped by a Cadillac as a result of misjudging the freeway exit, spins out and collides with a lamp post. This scene was, in fact, a real accident, as Halicki misjudged both the lane and speed of a car Cadillac. Halicki was injured in the crash, but the scene was left in, and Eleanor is seen driving away from the accident and as chase continues.
The jump scene 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 jumping over the scene of a traffic accident unrelated to the chase, after a hood leaning on a car, allows him to catch air. The jump manages to achieve a height of 30' over a 128' in 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. Some close friends have said he never walked the same after the jump.
Shortly after this jump, the chase, which occupied 40 minutes of screen time, is ended when Pace spots another yellow Mustang pulling into a car wash. He asks for his car to be washed and then dupes the owner of the other Mustang into believing that her car must be washed again and instructs her to report to the managers office. Pace subsequently leaves the car wash with the stolen car as the manager (who matches the description of Pace, who was wearing a grey wig and a grey jacket during the chase) is believed to be the suspect and arrested. Pace removes his disguise, asks a police officer at a road block directions, and gets away scot-free.
Production
Gone in 60 Seconds 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 - 70s movie. 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 Carson, California, Sak Yamamoto, also appeared as himself.
All of the police cars damaged in the film, as well as the garbage truck that overturns, were bought at city auction by director H.B. Halicki in 1972, for an average price of $200 each. They sat in an empty lot for over a year until production on the movie began in 1973.The fire trucks seen on the Vincent Thomas Bridge during the main chase were real Long Beach FD units on their way to an emergency call. The "crash" staged for the film was blocking both lanes and they could not get past until the cars were cleared. Director Halicki asked the camera crew to film them in case there was somewhere to fit the shot into the movie. There was.
There was no official script for the movie, apart from several pages outlining main dialog sequences. Much of the action/dialog was improvised and made up by the cast and crew as they went along. This caused many problems for the editor, Warner E. Leighton, who never knew what footage was being dumped on him or where in the movie it belonged. In the DVD audio commentary, he described the script for the construction site portion of the main pursuit as a piece of cardboard with a circle on it. Director Halicki pointed at it and said, "That's the dust bowl. We went around it twice. There's your script."
The fire trucks seen on the Vincent Thomas Bridge during the main chase were real Long Beach FD units on their way to an emergency call. The "crash" staged for the film was blocking both lanes and they could not get past until the cars were cleared. Director H.B. Halicki asked the camera crew to film them in case there was somewhere to fit the shot into the movie. There was.
Nearly every civilian vehicle seen in close proximity to the main chase (especially in downtown Long Beach) was owned by director H.B. Halicki. This resulted in several of them being seen multiple times throughout the 40-minute sequence. The second "Eleanor" (that Maindrian steals from the car wash) and the white Ford that he and Stanley spend much of their time in are visible parked in one street that Maindrian turns into before hitting the boat in Long Beach. The white Ford also shows up in many other shots.
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.
Director/star H.B. Halicki compacted ten vertebrae performing the "big jump" in the Mustang at the end of the movie. Fortunately the injury was not very serious, although according to director of photography Jack Vacek, Halicki never walked the same again.
With the exception of a few extras, the bulk of the by-standers/public in the movie are real people just going about their business who had no idea that a film was being made. This caused several incidents where people assumed a real police pursuit was in progress, with many trying to help the accident "victims". In the scene at the Carson Street off-ramp where the two cars collide after Maindrian drives against traffic, a pedestrian can be seen in the background shouting angrily at the passing police cars for not stopping to help the occupants.
93 cars are crashed in this 97 minute movie.
The scene where the Mustang tags a car on the highway and spins into a telephone pole was a real accident. Star/director H.B. Halicki was badly hurt and filming was stopped while he recovered. The scene was left in.
The license plate of the Rolls-Royce outside the airport reads "HBH", the initials of the film's star/director/writer, H.B. Halicki.
With the exception of a few extras, the bulk of the by-standers/public in the movie are real people just going about their business who had no idea that a film was being made. This caused several incidents where people assumed a real police pursuit was in progress, with many trying to help the accident "victims". In the scene at the Carson Street off-ramp where the two cars collide after Maindrian drives against traffic, a pedestrian can be seen in the background shouting angrily at the passing police cars for not stopping to help the occupants.
The scene in which a train derailment is observed in the film was not part of the original shooting script but it is in fact a real train that derailed and when the director heard about this he wanted to incorporate it into the film.
The 2001 video release features an all new musical score and all new sound effects. In the original video release, the sound effects made by the cars (engines, tires, crashes, etc.) is authentic.
Ronald Halicki, the director's real-life brother and Corlis Pace in the film, operated the crane that lifted "Jill", the red Challenger, to its fate in the car-crusher at the junkyard.
The workshop scenes at Chase Research were filmed at director H.B. Halicki's real-life workshop, and occasionally filming would stop for several days so he could repair cars to earn money and continue production.
'J.C. Agajanian Jr.' , who plays a detective in the roadblock sequence at Torrance Mazda Agency, was almost killed when a stunt with "Eleanor" went wrong and the Mustang slammed into his unmarked police car, which he was standing behind. The scene was left in the film.
The car that flips during the earlier night-time chase in Torrance was actually overturned by six men lifting it up from one side. The film was later skip-framed to create the desired effect.
The garbage truck that overturns when two police cars smash into the side of it was actually pulled over at the precise moment the cars hit by two tow trucks. Cables can be seen attached to the top of the garbage truck as it topples.
Much of the crowd at the gas station where Harold Smith is pulled over after the night-time Torrance chase were part of a real biker gang, who verbally abused the police officers "arresting" the actor and demanding they leave him alone. Being an independent production, the film used real civilians who happened to be wherever they were filming. It was the police officers' bad luck that at the gas station there was a real biker gang filling up.
In one scene at the construction area where the Mustang has been surrounded, a patrol car roars up a hill in pursuit and overturns. This was a real accident, and the officer inside was nearly crushed when the siren "can" on the roof caved the roof in. The scene was left in.
To achieve the effect of cars sliding into each other when hit by the patrol car at Moran Cadillac, the filmmakers put oil under the tires of the first few cars to help them slide. When it came time to do the stunt, it worked too well and many of the agency's own Cadillacs that were for sale were badly damaged. Director H.B. Halicki had to purchase all of them.
1-Baker-11 is a 1970 Mercury Montego.
Parnelli Jones still owns his Big Oly Ford Bronco, and often brings it out to car shows.
The final "big jump" went 30 feet high and cleared 128 feet; Halicki suffered a compressed spine in the landing.
According to people on the set, after the mishap when a driver missed a mark and caused "Eleanor" to hit a real light post at 100mph, the first thing that Halicki said when he regained consciousness was "Did we get coverage?"
When Pumpkin tells Maindrian that they have to give Eleanor back because the car is not insured, Maindrian reads the owner's address from a newspaper - 18511 Mariposa, Gardena. This was in fact director/star H.B. Halicki's own real home address at the time.
The warhouse actually had sections for the cars and was located at the docks.
The six original songs by Philip Kachaturian featured in pre-1999 releases of the film (but since removed in the remastering process) are: "Gone in 60 Seconds" "Lois Lane Blues" "I Do Hope the Man Doesn't Catch Me" "Big Town, Big City" "Charriot Ride" "Low Rider"
Releases
Following its release, a home video VHS was released containing the theatrical version, complete with original soundtrack and effects. It has, however, been out of print since around 1986, and is therefore considered a collector's item.
In 2000, a 25th anniversary remastered edition was released on DVD and VHS to American viewers. This special remastered edition contained a completely reworked image, with a newly cleaned up print compared to the grainy, dirty and unsatisfactory previous version. It also contained another significant change to the soundtrack, replacing the original with a slightly generic overlay rather than the more country style of music chosen by Halicki for the original theatrical release. This has been the center of debate for many fans, who have objected to this alteration and, in some cases, feel almost cheated. The sound effects were also reworked for the remastered version, using more typical collision and engine sounds. This is an improvement over the theatrical release, which contained often-distorted sound effects (although these were the actual sounds used at the time of filming). In May 2005 a Region 2 DVD was released in Europe.
In the SPEED Channel broadcast of the movie, a documentary, hosted by Denice Halicki, is also shown before the beginning of the movie. The documentary described the production processes of the movies produced by H.B. Halicki, and the life of the H.B. Halicki.
Cast and crew
- H.B 'Toby' Halicki
- Marion Busia
- Jerry Daugirda
- James McIntyre
- George Cole
- Ronald Halicki
- Markos Kotsikos
- John Halicki
- Butch Stockton
- Phil Woods
- J.C. Agajanian Jr.
- Parnelli Jones
- Sak Yamamoto
- Edward Abrahms
- J.C. Agajanian
- Gary Bettenhausen
- Edward Booker
- Bunny Walsh
- Wally Burr
- Anthony Cole
- Mark Cole
- Michael Cole
- Billy Englehart
- Jonathan E. Fricke
- Edward Havens
- Hal McClain
- Jack Popejoy
- Don Simmons
- Ron Simmons
- Jack Vacek
- Bud Wacen
- Christine Wright
- Phil Boroff
- Chip Giannettino
- Garland Brown
- Terence H. Winkless
- Maureen Coddington
- Kelly Busia
Written, directed and produced by H.B "Toby" Halicki
Executive Producers
- H.B 'Toby' Halicki
- Richard L. Muse
Cinematography by Tony Syslo, Jack Vacek, Scott Lloyd-Davies, and Daniel Pearl.
Original music by Eb Jensen, Philip Kachaturian, and Ronald Halicki.
The 48 cars stolen in the film
- Locations seen in film
- 1974 Cadillac Fleetwood Seventy-Five Limousine - Donna
- The Gamby Mortuary
- 1974 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham Limousine - Marion
- The Gamby Mortuary
- 1972 Cadillac Fleetwood Seventy-Five Limousine - Diane
- Morgan Limousine]] Service
- 1972 Cadillac Fleetwood Seventy-Five Limousine - Ruby
- Morgan Limousine Service
- 1972 Cadillac Fleetwood Seventy-Five Limousine - Nicole
- Morgan Limousine Service
- 1972 Cadillac Fleetwood Seventy-Five Limousine - Martha
- 1973 Lincoln Continental Mark IV Limousine - Julie
- Morgan Limousine Service
- 1971 White Freightliner - Frances
- Transall Trucking Company
- 1973 Cadillac Coupe DeVille - Mary
- 1972 Mercedes-Benz 200SE - Joanne
- Warehouse
- 1930 Hudson Great Eight - Beverly
- Warehouse
- 1974 Cadillac Coupe DeVille - Patricia
- Hungary Tiger Restaurant
- 1974 Lincoln Continental Mark IV - Ruth
- Warehouse
- 1927 Citroën B14 Conduite - Elizabeth
- Warehouse
- 1971 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow - Terry
- 1924 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost - Eileen
- Warehouse
- 1972 Plymouth Barracuda - Susan
- Warehouse
- 1970 Jaguar XK1500 - Claudia
- Warehouse
- 1959 Rolls-Royce Phantom V - Rosie
- Glass House
- 1970 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow - Maria
- Warehouse
- 1972 Ferrari Daytona 365 GTB/4 - Sharon
- Warehouse
- 1970 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow - Kathy
- Warehouse
- 1953 Chrysler Coupe Elegance - Alice
- Warehouse
- 1972 Cadillac Fleetwood Station Wagon - Leona
- Bruce Industries
- 1971 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow - Kelly
- 1971 Cadillac Eldorado - Nancy
- Warehouse
- 1973 Jensen Interceptor - Betty
- Warehouse
- 1971 Citroën SM - Patti
- Warehouse
- 1962 Ferrari 340 America - Judy
- Warehouse
- 1966 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II - Carey
- Warehouse
- 1966 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III - Jackie
- Warehouse
- 1973 Cadillac Eldorado - Laurie
- Drug Dealer
- Warehouse
- 1972 Maserati Ghibli Coupe - Sandy
- Warehouse
- 1971 Chevrolet Vega - Christy
- Warehouse
- 1969 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray - Michelle
- Street
- 1967 Lamborghini Miura - Tracy
- Tayco
- 1969 De Tomaso Mangusta - Marilyn
- Warehouse
- 1971 De Tomaso Pantera - Maxine
- Office Building
- 1968 Intermeccanica Italia GFX - Lorna
- 1971 Chevrolet Corvette Stringray - Jean
- Warehouse
- 1949 Ferrari V12 - Paula
- Warehouse
- 1966 Lotus Europa S1 - Renee
- Warehouse
- 1974 Manta Mirage - Annie
- Whittlesey Motors
- 1971 Ford "Big Oly" Bronco - Janet
- 1972 Stutz Blackhawk - Karen
- The Up Stairs Art Gallery
- 1957 Mercedes Benz 300SL - Dorothy
- Warehouse
- 1973 Stutz Blackhawk - Dorie
- Florence Western Medical Center
- 1973 Ford Mustang Mach 1 - Eleanor
- Maureen Coddington
- Edward Abrahms
- Nancy Halicki
- Warehouse
- Hal McClain
- Christine Wright
