The Slumming Streets Of Sunny Frisco Town-Steve McQueen’s Bullitt (1968)-A Short Film Review

DVD Review

By Fritz Taylor

Bullitt, starring Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, 1968

Whenever I think of the late Steve McQueen and his acting career I think of motion, of him in almost constant motion even if that literally was not true. That and those soulful if secretive blue eyes (heightened whenever he wore some frequent worn blue shirt). Those two characteristics were full on display in his 1968 film Bullitt set in hilly San Francisco. You thus know by the locale if you know McQueen’s love of fast cars and fast motorbikes (some on display down at the Automotive Museum in San Diego) that this flick will involve at least one hair-raising car chase (and does not disappoint on that score.) Off of this film we should also include intrepid, Bullitt’s doggedly intrepidness.

To get to the why of the obligatory car chase SF top-rated cop Bullitt (McQueen’s role) has been asked by a politician (played by Robert Vaughn) who is running up the well-trodden road to political success by making a name for himself as a crime-buster to guard his key gangster witness set to expose all before some Senate committee. To make a long story short Bullitt and his men fall down on the job, allow one Johnny Ross, that star witness to be killed by a couple of well-armed and professional hitmen ordered to do him in by the mob bosses in Chicago. Falling down on the job though is not part of Bullitt’s vocabulary (to the chagrin of his girlfriend) and so he will move might and main to bring the killers to their just desserts. Hence the car chase once he has identified his opponents.

But like any good thriller, and this for the times was a good one, there need to be a few twists to keep things interesting. Bullitt sensing something was not right and gathering information from one of his stoolies that this Johnny had absconded with a couple of million in mob money not much today but plenty then and they were miffed about it. But Mrs. Ross did not raise any fool and Johnny had a Plan B to divert the thugs and keep that 2 mil in kale. Johnny conned some poor schmuck who looked like him to sub for him. Too bad. Too bad for a guy and his wife who Johnny subsequently had to kill to leave no witnesses who thought he was getting a nice all expenses paid vacation. Yeah, Johnny was no fool. Except he hadn’t figured on intrepid Bullitt figuring out his dodge and making him fall down in the old SF airport before he could get away. Nice, right.