Car chases on screen, from 1903's Runaway Match to Bullitt
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The gist
Film historians credit 1903's Runaway Match with cinema's first car chase scene.
The stunt-driven genre still shapes how Hollywood films action today.
Background
The car chase is one of cinema's oldest action devices: Runaway Match (1903), directed by Alf Collins, is described as the first film to feature one and as pioneering point-of-view camera movement. Steve McQueen, the American actor who played Lieutenant Frank Bullitt, had his company Solar Productions release Bullitt in 1968; its chase, filmed without special effects on San Francisco streets, is often called the best ever. The topic is drawing renewed attention through retrospectives like Hagerty's Movies and Cars Celebration, which explores the bond between cars and the screen.
How it unfolded
- 1903Runaway Match, directed by Alf Collins, is described as the first film to feature a car chase scene and as pioneering POV camera movement.
- 1968Solar Productions released Bullitt, starring Steve McQueen; it opened at New York's Radio City Music Hall with a chase that helped redefine Hollywood.
- 1974The original Gone in 60 Seconds, directed by and starring H.B. Halicki, was released with one of film's longest car chases over Los Angeles streets.
- 1975Race with the Devil, directed by Jack Starrett, paired Satanism with car chases as a drive-in double feature.
- 1977Smokey and the Bandit, directed by stuntman-turned-filmmaker Hal Needham and starring Burt Reynolds, was released, described as a 1.5-hour car chase.
Who’s saying what
- Analysts
- A Hagerty writer argued Bullitt is no car movie, though the chase is a corker, noting gaffes such as flying hubcaps and reappearing vehicles.
- Public
- A BCB After Dark writer said the final highway chase in Race with the Devil was the one thing liked about the film, while the rest was 'very meh'.