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Gone in 60 Seconds is a 1974 film written and directed by 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 infamous 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.

Plot summary

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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. Today is Tuesday and a very valued client has just contacted Pace with an exceptional order. A South American drug lord pays Pace to steal 48 cars for him, and all but one - a 1973 Ford Mustang Mach 1 - are successfully stolen by Maindrian and his associates. The buyer wants Pace to deliver 48 specific 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. So Pace begans to code name the cars. Pace also has Eugenes wedding to go to in Dunkirk, New York. Pace asks Eugenes 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. Then they leave the airport.

Then later on 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) has got him to agree with it during a walk in the park in Dunkirk, New York.

Then later on that night Pace goes to Asscott Park and steals J.C. Agajanians 1974Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow.

Then also later on that night Pace goes and steals Harold Blight Smiths (Edward Abrahms) Eleanor right out of his garage. Then Mr. Smith pulls right out in his blue 1972 Plymouth Satellite and chases Pace all the way down the street screaming that's my car.

Pace manages to steal all seven Limousines and The Pantera and finally Eleanor.

Then Atlee steals the 1974 Cadillac Coupe DeVille right in front of The Hungary Tiger Restraunt. Then Pace steals the 1974 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow and the 1971 Chevrolet Corvette.

After a meeting with Eugene that night of the 1973 Dodge Challenger.

Today is Friday and Pace comes early in the morning and tows the 1973 Dodge Challenger away from Prince Chrysler, Dodge, and Plymouth to the junkyard and crushes and destroys it.

Pace also has a security guard chasing him. Pace manages to make it to the junkyard and destroy it.

Then Pace walks over unlocks and steals the Semi Truck.

Then Pace gets a call from Pumpkin to investigate Parnelli Jones Big Ole Bronco. Then Pace has to go and investigate the theft.

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.

Of course, Pace agrees, much to the chagrin of his buddies.

Pace prepares to steal the Mustang, codenamed Eleanor, in Long Beach, 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 car the team stole that turned out to be full of heroin.

Telling his boss he was going to take care of the car, Pace instead torched it in the desert. As a result of the tip-off, two detectives (Butch Stockton and Phil Woods) are waiting for Pace as he steals Eleanor, and they give chase. The ensuing pursuit is the longest car chase (40 minutes) in any movie and takes Pace through five cities as he attempts to escape.

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 seen to be involved in an accident as a result of misjudging the freeway and colliding with a lamp post. This scene was, in fact, a real accident, as Halicki misjudged both the lane and speed of a car travelling behind. Halicki was injured in the crash, but the scene was left in, and Eleanor is seen driving away from the accident and the chase continues.

The jump scene contained 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 to jump over the scene of another accident after debris from a separate car allows it to catch air. The jump manages to achieve 30 feet of 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.

Shortly after this jump, the chase, which occupies most of the screen time, is ended by Pace as he spots another yellow Mustang pulling into a car wash. He asks for his car to be washed and then dupes the owner of the undamaged Mustang into a fictitious meeting with the garage's manager before stealing her car and switching the plates.

Pace subsequently leaves the garage with the stolen car as the owner of the car wash (who matches the description of Pace, who was wearing a grey wig and a grey jacket during the chase) is arrested and Pace drives off into the sunset.

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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 the City of Carson, 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 H.B. 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 H.B. Halicki pointed at it and said, "That's the dust bowl. We went around it twice. There's your script."

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 collectors 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.

Cast and Crew

• H.B 'Toby' Halicki .... Maindrian Pace/Vicinski/Mr. Villis
• Marion Busia .... Pumpkin Chase
• Jerry Daugirda .... Eugene Chase
• James McIntyre .... Stanley Chase
• George Cole .... Atlee Jackson
• Ronald Halicki .... Corlis Pace/The Crane Operator
• Markos Kotsikos .... Uncle Joe Chase
• John Halicki .... Sgt. Hawkins
• Butch Stockton .... 1-Baker-11 detective (driver)
• Phil Woods .... 1-Baker-11 detective (passenger)
• J.C. Agajanian Jr. .... Himself/The Light Blue Unmarked Detective
• Parnelli Jones .... Himself
• Sak Yamamoto .... Himself (City of Carson mayor)
• Edward Abrahms .... Harold Blight Smith
• Christopher J.C. Agajanian .... Himself
• Gary Bettenhausen .... Himself
• Edward Booker .... Lowrider
• Wally Burr .... Male police dispatcher
• Anthony Cole .... Lowrider
• Mark Cole .... Lowrider
• Michael Cole .... Lowrider
• Billy Englehart .... Lowrider
• Jonathan E. Fricke .... Himself (KFOX interviewer)
• Edward Havens .... Kid in park
• Hal McClain .... Himself (KFOX host)
• Don Simmons .... Lowrider
• Ron Simmons .... Lowrider
• Jack Vacek .... WK90 officer (voice)/Cal In The Flying Fox
• Bud Wacen .... Himself
• Christine Wright .... Himself/The Lady At The Rosecrans Car Wash
• Phil Boroff .... Policeman
• Chip Giannettino .... Policeman
• Garland Brown .... Policeman
• Terence H. Winkless .... Lyle Waggoner's Car Cleaner
• Maureen Coddington .... Pantera Girl/Hungary Tiger Girl/Jill/The Car Wash Girl
• Kelly Busia .... Real Estate Interview Girl

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 movie

1. 1971 Cadillac Fleetwood 75 Limousine - Sharon
2. 1972 Cadillac Fleetwood Limousine - Brenda
3. 1973 Cadillac Fleetwood Limousine - Leona
4. 1973 Cadillac Fleetwood Limousine - Harriet
5. 1974 Cadillac Fleetwood Limousine - Rachel
6. 1974 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham Limosine - Johanna
7. 1973 Lincoln Continental Mark IV Limousine - Jeannie
8. 1974 International White Freightliner Semi Truck - Marion
9. 1973 Cadillac Coupe Deville - Nancy
10. 1974 Mercedes-Benz 450 - Kelly
11. 1930 Hudson Motor Car Great Eight - Sara
12. 1974 Cadillac Coupe Deville - Jane
13. 1975 Lincoln Continental Mark IV - Ruth - Joyce
14. 1930 Ford Model A Pick Up - Francis
15. 1974 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow - Wilma - Cathy
16. 1930 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost - June
17. 1974 Rolls-Royce Phantom V - Marge
18. 1974 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II - Maggie
19. 1974 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow - Thelma
20. 1974 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II - Florida
21. 1974 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III - Georgina
22. 1974 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow - Georgette
23. 1974 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow - Gina
24. 1972 Ferrari 365 GTB4 Daytona - Tiffany
25. 1972 Plymouth Barracuda - Audorey
26. 1974 Lamborghini Countach - Violet
27. 1971 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray - Dorothy
28. 1967 Lamborghini Miura - Sheena
29. 1968 Intermeccanica Italia GFX - Sheila
30. 1966 Lotus Europa S1 Type 46 - Suzanne
31. 1974 Manta Mirage - Susan
32. 1974 De Tomaso Mangusta - Loretta
33. 1974 De Tomaso Pantera - Maureen - Tammy
34. 1973 Jensen Interceptor MK.III - Esther
35. 1974 Citroën SM - Raquel
36. 1971 Cadillac Eldorado - Farrah
37. 1971 Cadillac Eldorado - Renée
38. 1972 Maserati Ghibli Coupe - Joan
39. 1971 Chevrolet Vega - Charlotte
40. 1974 Ford Bronco Panelli Jones Big Ole Bronco - Janet
41. 1973 Stutz Blackhawk - Donna
42. 1973 Stutz Blackhawk - Karen
43. 1961 Ferrari F340 America - Charleine
44. 1953 Chrysler Coupe Elegance - Jackie
45. 1973 Cadillac Fleetwood Station Wagon - Midge
46. 1974 Jaguar E-Type - Kitty
47. 1974 Porsche 914 - Angela
48. 1973 Ford Mustang Mach 1 - Eleanor (notable as main car)

External links

• Gone in 60 Seconds at IMDb
• Official site
• Gone in 60 seconds videos

• 1974 films