| JULY 2005 STEVE MCQUEEN |
| NEW REVIEWS FOR THIS FEATURE The Magnificent Seven - 1960 Hell is for Heroes - 1962 Nevada Smith - 1966 The Sand Pebbles - 1966 The Reivers - 1969 The Getaway - 1972 Papillon - 1973 and The Hunter - 1980 REVIEWS COMING THIS MONTH!! THREE EACH WEEK IN JULY!! |
| EXISTING REVIEWS The Blob - 1958 Never So Few - 1959 The War Lover - 1962 The Great Escape - 1963 The Cincinnati Kid - 1965 Bullitt - 1968 The Towering Inferno - 1974 and Tom Horn - 1980 CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FILMS MCQUEEN TURNED DOWN. YOU'LL BE SURPRISED. |
Steve McQueen came to Earth in 1930. His childhood was fraught with tragedy
and dysfunction. He grew up without a father and his mother left him to live with an
uncle until he was around 12 years of age. After getting into trouble with gangs in
California, McQueen was sent to a reform school, the Boys Republic. He was
nomadic in his younger years. He enlisted in the U.S. Marines for a time, worked
as a carnival barker, a lumberjack, labored in oil fields and other small jobs. Soon,
he was in New York City and learning to be an actor.
McQueen's world was always one of living on a tedious edge. He was known to
drive cars too fast, motorcycles too fast, try anything once and more than once if
he liked it enough. He used to shoot cans off of his pet dog's head with a rifle.
The dog was trained for this trick, but eventually one stray bullet killed McQueen's
canine friend. There would be many such incidents in McQueen's life.
But one thing is certain. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Steve McQueen was
"The King of Cool," and for good reason.
and dysfunction. He grew up without a father and his mother left him to live with an
uncle until he was around 12 years of age. After getting into trouble with gangs in
California, McQueen was sent to a reform school, the Boys Republic. He was
nomadic in his younger years. He enlisted in the U.S. Marines for a time, worked
as a carnival barker, a lumberjack, labored in oil fields and other small jobs. Soon,
he was in New York City and learning to be an actor.
McQueen's world was always one of living on a tedious edge. He was known to
drive cars too fast, motorcycles too fast, try anything once and more than once if
he liked it enough. He used to shoot cans off of his pet dog's head with a rifle.
The dog was trained for this trick, but eventually one stray bullet killed McQueen's
canine friend. There would be many such incidents in McQueen's life.
But one thing is certain. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Steve McQueen was
"The King of Cool," and for good reason.
| Steve McQueen in his first major role as "Steve" in the cult horror classic, "The Blob." |
McQueen's first major role came in an unlikely genre. While almost thirty years
old, his first big screen opportunity came playing a small town teenager in the cult
classic horror film, "The Blob." Many of the actors around him are B grade
performers, but despite that McQueen's stardom is evident in his easy going acting
style with a compelling edge always behind his eyes. "The Blob" incidentally was a
major success.
His big break would come a year later in the Frank Sinatra film, "Never So Few."
Although McQueen played not even second, but really third fiddle to Ol' Blue Eyes,
Sinatra allegedly saw something in the young man and took a liking to him. He told
the producers and filmmakers to go easy on McQueen and get some good stuff
with him. It worked and McQueen indirectly stole most of his scenes from Sinatra
in the process. Now a hot commodity, McQueen was soon starring in his own
Western television show, "Wanted: Dead or Alive," in which he played a bounty
hunter.
old, his first big screen opportunity came playing a small town teenager in the cult
classic horror film, "The Blob." Many of the actors around him are B grade
performers, but despite that McQueen's stardom is evident in his easy going acting
style with a compelling edge always behind his eyes. "The Blob" incidentally was a
major success.
His big break would come a year later in the Frank Sinatra film, "Never So Few."
Although McQueen played not even second, but really third fiddle to Ol' Blue Eyes,
Sinatra allegedly saw something in the young man and took a liking to him. He told
the producers and filmmakers to go easy on McQueen and get some good stuff
with him. It worked and McQueen indirectly stole most of his scenes from Sinatra
in the process. Now a hot commodity, McQueen was soon starring in his own
Western television show, "Wanted: Dead or Alive," in which he played a bounty
hunter.
| McQueen loads his shotgun beside Yul Brynner in John Sturges' Western classic, "The Magnificent Seven." |
All the experience on "Wanted: Dead or Alive" would pay off for McQueen.
Director John Sturges, who had worked with McQueen on "Never So Few,"
hired him again to play the cool veteran gunfighter, Vin, in the Western
classic, "The Magnificent Seven," a remake of Akira Kurosawa's "Seven
Samurai." Although Yul Brynner was the star, McQueen was stealing every
scene from him by merely acting silently in the background. Unlike Sinatra,
Brynner wasn't about to be upstaged and tensions on the set ran high.
Still, "The Magnificent Seven" lit up the box office.
McQueen was now well on his way to becoming an A-list movie star. He
went on to star in two small but great World War II action dramas, "Hell is for
Heroes" and "The War Lover." In both, he plays edgy risk-taking Allied
soldiers defying authority and putting other men's lives at risk. These roles
were oddly in line with McQueen's real persona.
The next year, Sturges came calling again and McQueen took on the role
that made him a star. Sturges' next film was "The Great Escape," based on
the true story of the Allied soldiers who planned an elaborate escape from
the confines of Stalag Luft III in Germany during World War II. McQueen
played Hilts, the American loner with a cocky, irreverent attitude.
Director John Sturges, who had worked with McQueen on "Never So Few,"
hired him again to play the cool veteran gunfighter, Vin, in the Western
classic, "The Magnificent Seven," a remake of Akira Kurosawa's "Seven
Samurai." Although Yul Brynner was the star, McQueen was stealing every
scene from him by merely acting silently in the background. Unlike Sinatra,
Brynner wasn't about to be upstaged and tensions on the set ran high.
Still, "The Magnificent Seven" lit up the box office.
McQueen was now well on his way to becoming an A-list movie star. He
went on to star in two small but great World War II action dramas, "Hell is for
Heroes" and "The War Lover." In both, he plays edgy risk-taking Allied
soldiers defying authority and putting other men's lives at risk. These roles
were oddly in line with McQueen's real persona.
The next year, Sturges came calling again and McQueen took on the role
that made him a star. Sturges' next film was "The Great Escape," based on
the true story of the Allied soldiers who planned an elaborate escape from
the confines of Stalag Luft III in Germany during World War II. McQueen
played Hilts, the American loner with a cocky, irreverent attitude.
| McQueen, as Captain Hilts, attempts a daring escape from Nazi troops on a German motorcycle in the legendary climax of "The Great Escape." |
Unfortunately, McQueen had this attitude behind the scenes as well and was
difficult to work with at times, often leaving the set when things didn't go his way.
However, the film's massive scale, ensemble cast and McQueen's daring escape
on a motorcycle at the climax of the film, in which McQueen did 90 percent of his
own stunts and driving, ensured the movie's great success. McQueen was now a
certified movie star.
One of his next pictures was a departure from the action dramas he had been
known for. In "The Cincinnati Kid," McQueen plays a stud poker prodigy in New
Orleans who takes on the best stud poker player in the world, played by acting
veteran Edward G. Robinson. Here, McQueen was able to show off a lot of his
more subtle skills as an actor and fortunately, this movie focused on the intensity
of his eyes. McQueen was a serious actor and his range in "Cincinnati Kid" is
striking. Much of the time, he says nothing yet his face says everything.
By this time, McQueen was working with top tier directors, including Robert
Mulligan ("To Kill A Mockingbird") and Henry Hathaway. Mulligan directed
McQueen in two character dramas. "Baby the Rain Must Fall" and "Love With the
Proper Stranger" were both creative successes for McQueen. Hathaway would
direct McQueen in the Western vengeance film, "Nevada Smith." McQueen also
starred opposite Faye Dunaway in the heist classic, "The Thomas Crown Affair,"
effectively playing against type as a sophisticated playboy and art collector.
When Robert Wise, the director of "Sound of Music," came calling, McQueen was
placed in the role that would win him an Academy Award nomination. In "The
Sand Pebbles," McQueen plays Holman, an engineer with the Navy in 1920s
China. He finds himself at odds with an egocentric captain and does not
understand the social boundaries between the Chinese workers and the American
sailors. McQueen delivers a brilliant performance as a man torn between his
conscience and the rules and regulations of the Navy.
It was now the late 1960s and McQueen was a superstar determined to do things
his own way in movies. McQueen wanted realism in films. Not just realism within
the acting, but within the action and the sound as well. This would all be achieved
in a police drama he made in 1968 called "Bullitt." Ironically, while it would
become his most famous film, it was a role he didn't want.
difficult to work with at times, often leaving the set when things didn't go his way.
However, the film's massive scale, ensemble cast and McQueen's daring escape
on a motorcycle at the climax of the film, in which McQueen did 90 percent of his
own stunts and driving, ensured the movie's great success. McQueen was now a
certified movie star.
One of his next pictures was a departure from the action dramas he had been
known for. In "The Cincinnati Kid," McQueen plays a stud poker prodigy in New
Orleans who takes on the best stud poker player in the world, played by acting
veteran Edward G. Robinson. Here, McQueen was able to show off a lot of his
more subtle skills as an actor and fortunately, this movie focused on the intensity
of his eyes. McQueen was a serious actor and his range in "Cincinnati Kid" is
striking. Much of the time, he says nothing yet his face says everything.
By this time, McQueen was working with top tier directors, including Robert
Mulligan ("To Kill A Mockingbird") and Henry Hathaway. Mulligan directed
McQueen in two character dramas. "Baby the Rain Must Fall" and "Love With the
Proper Stranger" were both creative successes for McQueen. Hathaway would
direct McQueen in the Western vengeance film, "Nevada Smith." McQueen also
starred opposite Faye Dunaway in the heist classic, "The Thomas Crown Affair,"
effectively playing against type as a sophisticated playboy and art collector.
When Robert Wise, the director of "Sound of Music," came calling, McQueen was
placed in the role that would win him an Academy Award nomination. In "The
Sand Pebbles," McQueen plays Holman, an engineer with the Navy in 1920s
China. He finds himself at odds with an egocentric captain and does not
understand the social boundaries between the Chinese workers and the American
sailors. McQueen delivers a brilliant performance as a man torn between his
conscience and the rules and regulations of the Navy.
It was now the late 1960s and McQueen was a superstar determined to do things
his own way in movies. McQueen wanted realism in films. Not just realism within
the acting, but within the action and the sound as well. This would all be achieved
in a police drama he made in 1968 called "Bullitt." Ironically, while it would
become his most famous film, it was a role he didn't want.
| ABOVE: Ann-Margret attempts to seduce McQueen in "The Cincinnati Kid." BELOW: McQueen tries to teach Mako how the ship's engine works in "The Sand Pebbles." |
See, McQueen didn't like cops. Ever since he was a kid, he resented
authority, so playing a cop didn't appeal to him very much. However, the part
of the script that called for a high speed car chase on the hilly streets of San
Francisco more than enticed him into taking the role. "Bullitt," the story of a
cop who's witness is murdered and he goes to hunt down the hit men, was a
radical film in 1968. Very little music was in the soundtrack aside from a jazz
score every now and then and most of the sound was done on location.
To top it all off, the craziest car chase and most dangerous car chase in film
history was made. At speeds between 80 and 110 miles per hour, McQueen
and his stunt team dragged a 1968 Mustang 390GT and a 1968 Charger
R/T over Russian Hill and through the busy streets of the city by the bay.
What resulted was the most nail-biting yet realistic car chase ever filmed, with
all of the driving mistakes in tact. Oil pans explode as shocks collapse and
hubcaps fly off while McQueen misses a turn here and there and burns
rubber in reverse. Simply amazing.
By this point in McQueen's life, he was living hard. The 1970s were in full
swing and sex, drugs and rock and roll was the mantra of the day. McQueen
was in the thick of it all.
After starring in "The Reivers," based on the book by William Faulkner,
McQueen took a creative risk which turned into a disaster. Still obsessed
with speed, McQueen wanted to do a docudrama about the Le Mans car
races. Initially, his longtime friend and director Sturges was at the helm, but
McQueen's now erratic and unprofessional behavior combined with creative
differences forced the two to part ways and Sturges left "Le Mans."
McQueen, more interested in the racing than the movie and constantly
distracted by women and drugs, found another director but the end result
was a confused mess of a movie and it was not well received at the box office.
authority, so playing a cop didn't appeal to him very much. However, the part
of the script that called for a high speed car chase on the hilly streets of San
Francisco more than enticed him into taking the role. "Bullitt," the story of a
cop who's witness is murdered and he goes to hunt down the hit men, was a
radical film in 1968. Very little music was in the soundtrack aside from a jazz
score every now and then and most of the sound was done on location.
To top it all off, the craziest car chase and most dangerous car chase in film
history was made. At speeds between 80 and 110 miles per hour, McQueen
and his stunt team dragged a 1968 Mustang 390GT and a 1968 Charger
R/T over Russian Hill and through the busy streets of the city by the bay.
What resulted was the most nail-biting yet realistic car chase ever filmed, with
all of the driving mistakes in tact. Oil pans explode as shocks collapse and
hubcaps fly off while McQueen misses a turn here and there and burns
rubber in reverse. Simply amazing.
By this point in McQueen's life, he was living hard. The 1970s were in full
swing and sex, drugs and rock and roll was the mantra of the day. McQueen
was in the thick of it all.
After starring in "The Reivers," based on the book by William Faulkner,
McQueen took a creative risk which turned into a disaster. Still obsessed
with speed, McQueen wanted to do a docudrama about the Le Mans car
races. Initially, his longtime friend and director Sturges was at the helm, but
McQueen's now erratic and unprofessional behavior combined with creative
differences forced the two to part ways and Sturges left "Le Mans."
McQueen, more interested in the racing than the movie and constantly
distracted by women and drugs, found another director but the end result
was a confused mess of a movie and it was not well received at the box office.
| Detective Frank Bullitt, played by McQueen, chases down hit men in the streets of San Francisco in his fastback Mustang in the most famous car chase in movie history. |
Soon after, McQueen worked with director Sam Peckinpah ("The Wild Bunch")
on the rodeo film "Junior Bonner." In the film, McQueen plays the title role as a
rodeo rider from a dysfunctional family who just wants to win the tournaments,
earn the love of his sweetheart and get to know his nomadic father.
"Junior Bonner" was just a warm up for Peckinpah and McQueen. Right after
that, they filmed the action classic, "The Getaway." McQueen plays Doc, a bank
robber on parole ordered by the local sheriff to rob another bank. McQueen is
at his most ruthless yet human in this film. He plays a man with a lot of anger
and nothing to lose. Ali MacGraw plays his wife, Carol, and she soon became
McQueen's real wife...Well, his second wife anyway.
Another great role came the following year in "Papillon," directed by Franklin J.
Schaffner ("Patton"). In it, McQueen plays the title character based on the true
story of a man falsely accused of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment in
a South American French penal colony. The film is a brutal look at the
mistreatment of men and the suffering of an innocent man, who literally spends
years in solitary confinement while attempting escape after escape. Dustin
Hoffman costars in this now classic drama.
After playing a firefighter in the disaster classic, "The Towering Inferno,"
McQueen stuck his neck out as Stockmann in the adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's
"An Enemy of the People" and delivered an amazing off-type performance.
By this time, McQueen's hard living had caught up with him and he was
diagnosed with lung cancer. Before heading to Mexico for experimental
treatment, McQueen filmed his two final movies. In "Tom Horn," McQueen
portrayed a historic Western gunfighter falsely accused of murder. In his final
film, "The Hunter," he played real-life bounty hunter Papa Thorson hired to
bring back the criminal son of an ethnic family in Los Angeles.
After demanding experimental surgery to remove a massive tumor in his
stomach, McQueen died of internal bleeding on November 7, 1980. In his life,
McQueen had three wives and a collection of exotic cars, cycles and planes. He
died a born-again Christian and has left behind a legacy of films that are both
timeless and yet revolutionary. McQueen changed the face of cinema forever,
setting a new standard for action and realism in storytelling and performing.
on the rodeo film "Junior Bonner." In the film, McQueen plays the title role as a
rodeo rider from a dysfunctional family who just wants to win the tournaments,
earn the love of his sweetheart and get to know his nomadic father.
"Junior Bonner" was just a warm up for Peckinpah and McQueen. Right after
that, they filmed the action classic, "The Getaway." McQueen plays Doc, a bank
robber on parole ordered by the local sheriff to rob another bank. McQueen is
at his most ruthless yet human in this film. He plays a man with a lot of anger
and nothing to lose. Ali MacGraw plays his wife, Carol, and she soon became
McQueen's real wife...Well, his second wife anyway.
Another great role came the following year in "Papillon," directed by Franklin J.
Schaffner ("Patton"). In it, McQueen plays the title character based on the true
story of a man falsely accused of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment in
a South American French penal colony. The film is a brutal look at the
mistreatment of men and the suffering of an innocent man, who literally spends
years in solitary confinement while attempting escape after escape. Dustin
Hoffman costars in this now classic drama.
After playing a firefighter in the disaster classic, "The Towering Inferno,"
McQueen stuck his neck out as Stockmann in the adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's
"An Enemy of the People" and delivered an amazing off-type performance.
By this time, McQueen's hard living had caught up with him and he was
diagnosed with lung cancer. Before heading to Mexico for experimental
treatment, McQueen filmed his two final movies. In "Tom Horn," McQueen
portrayed a historic Western gunfighter falsely accused of murder. In his final
film, "The Hunter," he played real-life bounty hunter Papa Thorson hired to
bring back the criminal son of an ethnic family in Los Angeles.
After demanding experimental surgery to remove a massive tumor in his
stomach, McQueen died of internal bleeding on November 7, 1980. In his life,
McQueen had three wives and a collection of exotic cars, cycles and planes. He
died a born-again Christian and has left behind a legacy of films that are both
timeless and yet revolutionary. McQueen changed the face of cinema forever,
setting a new standard for action and realism in storytelling and performing.
| ABOVE: Doc slaps Carol in a brutal, gut-wrenching scene from "The Getaway." |
| ABOVE: McQueen, as Tom Horn, kneels beside his murdered horse. BELOW: In his final role, McQueen apprehends LeVar Burton in "The Hunter." |
| Visit www.stevemcqueen.com for more information on Steve McQueen |