"Bullitt" - The Greatest Chase Quiz

Answer: Richard Crenna

Richard Crenna appeared with Steve McQueen in "The Sand Pebbles" in 1966. Jacqueline Bisset portrayed Frank Bullitt's girlfriend, Cathy. Georg Stanford Brown played the doctor who conspired with Bullitt to cover up the death of a witness. "Bullitt" was early in Robert Duvall's career - he played a small part as a cab driver who chauffeured Inspector Bullitt on his investigation.

Answer: Dave Toschi

McQueen had met Toschi prior to filming "Bullitt" and much of Frank Bullitt's style was based on Toschi's. He also adopted Toschi's unusual "upside down" quick draw shoulder holster for the movie.

Answer: Peter Yates

Yates was not particularly well known in 1968 but his success with "Bullitt" - particularly the car chase sequence - sparked his career. Steve McQueen pushed for Yates to direct the film because he liked an earlier British film Yates directed which included a realistic car chase sequence. Following "Bullitt", Yates directed, among other films, "The Deep", "Murphy's War", "Krull" and the Barbra Streisand comedy "For Pete's Sake".

Answer: False

Popular mythology insists that Steve McQueen did all his own stunt driving, but this wasn't the case. McQueen was an excellent driver and participated in several professional level races over the years. Insurance issues, though, kept him from performing the more dangerous stunts in his movies. According to Loren Janes, who drove Frank Bullitt's green Mustang GT in most of the chase scenes, McQueen was actually the driver in about 10 per cent of the 10 minute chase. "He drove in scenes that required closeups - but not in the ones that could kill him."

Answer: Robert Vaughn

Chalmers, assisted by sycophant police Captain Baker (Norman Fell), was a thoroughly unlikable character. Robert Vaughn was a mainstay on both American and British TV in the '60s and '70s. After four seasons as Napoleon Solo in "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." he appeared in all but a couple of episodes of "The Protectors" on Britain's ATV network. Vaughn has called his performance in "Bullitt" one of his best.

Answer: The scene had no music

Argentine born Schifrin has been a prominent writer and arranger of music for films and television since the 1950s. Probably best known for his "Mission Impossible" theme and score, he has won a Grammy and several Emmy awards. When asked for music to accentuate the "Bullitt" chase sequence, he said it had a strong enough soundtrack that no music was needed. He was right.

Answer: 440 Magnum V8 Dodge Charger

Ford Motor Co. loaned the movie 1968 Galaxies for the bad guys to drive but the stunt drivers felt they were too heavy for the downhill jumps during a sequence shot on Taylor Street. The Dodge Chargers proved more suitable. Both cars were heavily modified both for power and for strength to allow them to survive the tortures the drivers put them through. Driver Loren Janes says that one of the problems the drivers had to deal with was that the Dodge was so much faster than the Mustang that the Dodge driver, Bill Hickman, had to be careful not to leave Bullitt's car behind.

Answer: The first time the scene was shot, McQueen stalled the Mustang's engine.

The drivers had to make 90 degree turns at speeds up to 60 mph while going downhill. The stunt drivers had opportunities to practice and get the "feel" of the stunt. McQueen wasn't able to put much time into practicing his driving scenes.

Answer: False

Another legend. Actually, just the opposite was true. Every car on the street - including the green VW bug that shows up several times, and the cars that are sideswiped by the bad guys - is driven by a stuntman. Even the cable cars were operated by stunt drivers and their appearance timed precisely. Crew members were placed along the streets to make sure no pedestrians inadvertently walked into the traffic and that nobody pulled a car out of a garage or alley.

The whole sequence was meticulously choreographed.

Answer: Best Film Editing

Frank Keller won the Oscar for Best Editing. Keller's editing was almost universally credited with making the chase scene (and, thus, the movie) successful. Director Peter Yates knew a good thing and used Keller to edit his next five films. The film was also nominated in the Best Sound category.