Bullitt (1968): Steve McQueen, the Mustang Chase and Its Lasting Influence

Bullitt is a 1968 American crime thriller directed by Peter Yates and starring Steve McQueen as San Francisco detective Frank Bullitt. It is best known for a car chase through the city's streets, a sequence that many critics still rank among the most important in cinema. The film grossed $42.3 million worldwide, and its editing earned an Oscar.

What is Bullitt about?

Bullitt is assigned to guard Johnny Ross, a Chicago mobster who has fled the Outfit and is due to testify before a Senate subcommittee. Ross is shot in a cheap hotel room, and Chalmers, a politician with ambitions, holds Bullitt responsible. Bullitt then traces a long-distance call that leads him to a murdered woman and a hidden identity.

The plot is built on procedure rather than bombast. Delgetti takes the first watch over Ross, then Stanton, then Bullitt, and the detectives trade the duties on a hotel schedule that looks mundane but goes badly wrong. Bullitt and his partner examine a victim's luggage, find a travel brochure and traveller's cheques, and wait for passport applications to arrive from Chicago by telecopier. Those papers reveal that Ross used a body double, Albert Renick, so he could slip out of the country on a different flight.

The climax takes place at the airport. Bullitt and his partner watch the wrong gate, and Ross switches to an earlier London flight. Bullitt gets aboard as the plane is turned back toward the terminal, but Ross slips out through the rear cabin door. In the crowded terminal, Ross kills a deputy sheriff before Bullitt shoots him dead.

The film's emotional thread is Bullitt's relationship with Cathy, played by Jacqueline Bisset. Cathy sees his work up close, and she confronts him about the grim world he lives in. The ending settles that tension quietly, when Bullitt returns home to find she has chosen to stay.

The supporting cast adds weight to the investigation. Captain Sam Bennett ignores a writ over the weekend, allowing Bullitt to keep working, while Chalmers and his colleagues press from above. Robert Vaughn, who plays Chalmers, first refused the part because he felt the plot was too thin, and the role of Cathy was first offered to another actress who turned it down.

A detective film that made a city into a character and a car chase into the standard every later action film measures itself against.

How was the film made?

Yates was hired after McQueen saw his 1967 British feature Robbery, which had its own extended car chase. Principal photography took place throughout 1967, and the film was shot almost entirely on location in San Francisco. Solar Productions, McQueen's own company, produced the picture with Warner Bros.-Seven Arts, and Robert Relyea served as executive producer alongside Philip D'Antoni. The production relied on real streets, real buildings and real procedures rather than studio sets.

The filmmakers used lightweight Arriflex cameras, which gave Yates room to move freely around the city. Real doctors and nurses appeared in the emergency-room scene, which lent the procedure a documentary feel. McQueen drew on the real San Francisco inspector Dave Toschi for his performance, and he even copied the detective's distinctive shoulder holster.

Locations included the Mark Hopkins Hotel, Grace Cathedral and the San Francisco International Airport. The producer argued that filming in the city cost no more than a studio shoot in Los Angeles, because the savings on construction offset the travel and housing costs.

In Robert L. Fish's 1963 novel Mute Witness the lead was an older, heavier police lieutenant, and Alan R. Trustman and Harry Kleiner wrote a version that departs from the book in many ways. The novel was set in New York, while the film is rooted in San Francisco, which became central to its identity.

Spencer Tracy had once been considered for the lead, and McQueen took the project partly as a tribute to him, but Tracy died in 1967 before the role could be settled. The change of lead shifted the story toward a younger, more physical hero who could handle the chase himself.

Which cars were used, and what happened to them?

Two matching 1968 Ford Mustangs in Highland Green, both with 390 FE V8 engines, were bought by Warner Bros. Max Balchowsky modified them for the chase, and the car used for the close-ups later became a collector's piece. The stunt car was badly damaged, and the other car has a more complicated story.

The Mustang produced 325 horsepower in the hands of the stunt crew. Ford lent two Galaxie sedans for the chase, but producers found them too heavy for the jumps over San Francisco's hills. Ford-against-Ford was also less convincing on screen, so the production turned to black Dodge Chargers with 375 horsepower.

Why is the car chase so famous?

The chase lasts about ten minutes and begins beneath Highway 101 in the Mission District, where Bullitt spots the hitmen's car. It starts at the 1:05:00 mark of the film, so the audience has already settled into the detective's story before the cars leave the city. It ends on the outskirts of the city, at the Brisbane exit on San Bruno Mountain, where the Dodge Charger crashes and its occupants die in an explosion. The route looks continuous on screen, but it could never be followed in real time.

The director asked for roughly 130 km/h (81 mph), yet the cars sometimes passed 170 km/h (110 mph). Drivers' point-of-view shots gave the audience a sense of taking part. Point-of-view shots from inside the cars put the audience in the seat, which made the speed feel physical rather than abstract. Filming took three weeks and produced 9 minutes 42 seconds of pursuit, which was then cut into a sequence that looks far longer and more coherent than the shoot.

Local authorities did not allow the chase on the Golden Gate Bridge, so the crew worked in Bernal Heights, the Mission District and the outskirts of Brisbane. The filmmakers also used multiple takes spliced together, which is why the damage to Bullitt's car appears earlier than the impact that causes it.

Bill Hickman, the veteran driver who drove one of the Chargers, also helped choreograph the chase, and Paul Genge played the other hitman. Stunt coordinator Carey Loftin and stuntman Bud Ekins handled the high-speed sections, while McQueen, a racing driver at the time, took the close-up scenes. Ekins also staged a lowsider crash, with a skidding truck close by. The interior rear-view mirror even changes position depending on who is driving. The Dodge Chargers were painted black to set them apart from the Mustangs, and their larger engines were left largely unmodified while the suspensions were mildly upgraded.

How were the editing and score received?

Frank P. Keller's editing is widely praised, and the chase is often cited as one of the best examples of editing in film history. Cinematographer William A. Fraker credited Keller with making San Francisco feel like a character in the film, and Keller took the editing Oscar. Keller also faced a near-catastrophe during the chase: an out-of-control car full of dummies set off a costly set fire early, and his juxtaposition of images made the explosion look as though it had gone off on time.

The original score was later recorded on the Warner Bros. scoring stage and released in 2009, giving collectors the music as heard in the film. Lalo Schifrin wrote the jazz-inspired score, which tracked the film's moods and the action on screen. The soundtrack album used alternate versions re-recorded with leading jazz musicians, including Bud Shank on flute and Carol Kaye on electric bass. In 2000 Schifrin recreated the film's original arrangements with the WDR Big Band of Cologne.

How did Bullitt perform and what did critics say?

Bullitt was a commercial success. Its budget of $5.5 million was recovered several times over, and the film grossed $19 million in 1968 alone, opening at Radio City Music Hall together with a new stage show. The worldwide total reached $42.3 million, placing it among the top earners of its year.

Critics responded warmly. The Library of Congress recognised the film in 2007 by selecting it for the National Film Registry. Rotten Tomatoes records 98% approval, with positive reviews from 45 of 46 critics, and Metacritic gave the film 81 from 20 critics. Quentin Tarantino praised it as among the finest directed films he knew, and Time later ranked its chase among the greatest movie car chases of all time.

The awards record is strong. Beyond the editing Oscar, the film received a Best Sound nomination at the Academy Awards, and five BAFTA nominations, including Best Director for Peter Yates. The writers Fish, Kleiner and Trustman shared the Edgar honour for 1969's best motion picture. Robert Vaughn was nominated as a Best Supporting Actor at BAFTA, and Steve McQueen received a Golden Laurel nomination for his performance.

What is Bullitt's legacy?

D'Antoni later staged two more famous chases, in The French Connection and The Seven-Ups, both filmed in New York. The chase has been referenced in What's Up, Doc? and The Dead Pool, and the Mustang from the film has been recreated in a 2014 film, Need for Speed, where the chase plays on a drive-in screen. Those references show how the sequence became a shared language for action directors, and the film's influence runs through the car films that followed.

Ford has repeatedly drawn on the film's image. It released Bullitt editions of the Mustang in 2001, in 2008 and again in 2018, each tied to the film's legacy. Steven Spielberg was announced in February 2022 to direct a new film centred on the character, and Bradley Cooper was cast as Frank Bullitt in November 2022. The American Cinema Editors also honoured Keller with its Eddie Award for Best Edited Feature Film, and Don Gordon, McQueen's real-life friend, appeared with him in three films.

Frequently asked questions

Who directed Bullitt?

Peter Yates directed the film. It was his first American feature, and he had been hired after Steve McQueen saw his 1967 British film Robbery.

What is the most famous scene in Bullitt?

The car chase is the best-known sequence. It runs about ten minutes through San Francisco and into Brisbane, and it was edited from footage shot over nearly five weeks.

Which cars appear in Bullitt?

Two identical 1968 Ford Mustangs in Highland Green appear, along with two black 1968 Dodge Chargers with 440 Magnum engines. The Mustangs are the film's most famous cars.

Did Bullitt win an Oscar?

Yes. Frank P. Keller won the Academy Award for Best Film Editing, and the film was also nominated for Best Sound.