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Favorite McQueen flic?

Rafter

Suspended
Messages
436
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CT
Getaway.jpg
Just saw The Getaway
This film has it all.

It's a great bank robbery film. It's a great prison film. It's a great chase film. It's a great love story. It fires on all cylinders. The depth and complexity of the story and the performances are peerless. It's a sprawling tale over several days, with many important and complex characters, all of whom you feel you know with some depth. Even the small roles are standouts, including Ben Johnson as the crooked sherriff, and Dub Taylor in what should have been a throwaway piece playing a hotel clerk. The only weak spot for me over the years is Ali McGraw who, although beautiful and believable, seems to be playing it so minimalist that she becomes nearly transparent. But that's a small nit to pick - her by-play with McQueen is spot on. When I saw it for the first time the first thought that came into my mind was "these kids really look and act MARRIED..." which is a tough bit of business to play. Their violent love for one another is the undercurrent here, their desire to simply be left alone, to make it in life, to get away from their problems.

The artistry is in the details, in the small brush strokes - the way McQueen holds and uses his .45 automatic are perfect. He is definitely more than just another actor handed a pistol and said "Here, hold this..." Slim Pickens has a tiny gem of a role at the end and in a few brief sentences we learn volumes about his sweet, sad life, and cheer his good fortune for running into our heroes. The Sherriff's flunky sidekicks provide some honest humor, all big cowboy hats and beer guts crammed into a Cadillac convertible.

McQueen was such an artist, and this is a real masterpiece of his almost haiku way of acting. He's the master of the small gesture, the subtle glance, the deadpan line that just turns you cold inside. What a shame he left us so soon. The Getaway stands as a real testament to his genius.
 

K.D. Lightner

Call Me a Cab
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2,354
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Des Moines, IA
It would be hard to say, depends on my mood on a given day. Liked him in The Great Escape, The Sand Pebbles, The Magnificent Seven. Heck, I even liked him in The Blob.

karol
 

Jack Scorpion

One Too Many
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1,097
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Hollywoodland
The Getaway is my favorite McQueen movie. And it is in my top 3 all-time favorite list, for sure. My second favorite McQueen movie is Junior Bonner. There is just something about Pekinpah and McQueen coming together that just made magic.

McQueen, probably the greatest prop actor of all time. Not so great with words, but when did he ever need to be?
 

Hondo

One Too Many
Messages
1,655
Location
Northern California
Yes sir! you all noted many good films, for me, I'll go for "The Sand Pebbles", Only because its an Oscar winning performance by McQueen, even if he didn’t win, this is McQueen at his best :eusa_clap
 

green papaya

One Too Many
Messages
1,261
Location
California, usa
The SAND PEBBLES

and

PAPILLON

I liked the Way McQueen handled his 1903 Springfield rifle and the Browning BAR automatic

I heard he also served in the US MARINE CORPS before he was an actor
 

Tommy Fedora

One of the Regulars
Messages
248
Location
NJ/NYC
All good

Papillon and The Magnificent Seven do it for me more than the others.
I recall watching the Mike Douglas show years ago and they had a barrel chested guy on who was about 5' 7", and he only spoke french so he had to have a young french girl there to interpret. He was hawking his book about how he escaped from Devils Island and he showed the butterfly tatoo on his chest because he was known as Papillon. A cool story I thought at the time and I was thrilled to see him played by Steve McQueen in the movie.
One of my all time favorites.
 

Naphtali

Practically Family
Messages
767
Location
Seeley Lake, Montana
I heard an interview where Robert Mitchum said of McQueen: "Steve doesn't bring much to the party."

"Soldier in the Rain" (1963) and "The Reivers" (1969) enable me to accurately quote Dr. Johnson: "I refute it thus!"

"Soldier in the Rain" has McQueen portraying a marginally functional, hero-worshipping soldier in a comedy-drama starring Jackie Gleason.

"The Reivers" is one of the finest slice-of-life" comedies ever.
**
What other "tough guy" action stars have displayed this acting range? Stone face Clint Eastwood? Lee Marvin? John Wayne? Robert Mitchum? Burt Lancaster?
***
Note: I loathe "The Getaway." But it does have one of my favorite bits of dialogue.

Q: What happened to XXX?
A: He didn't make it, and neither did you.
 

Hondo

One Too Many
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1,655
Location
Northern California
Yeah I agree "Soldier in the Rain" is a good one, well acted by everyone, how long must we wait, cause I still don't understand why its NOT out on DVD :rage:

On "The Getaway" I don't know about 'loathe' it could have been better filmed. McQueen was a bit rough, I wasn't all happy with it, give me the Sand Pebbles, The Magnificent Seven, Nevada Smith, The Great Escape or even The Thomas Crown Affair, Photography was much better.

Side note: McQueen had one one regret, and thats taking $3,000 cash for "The Blob" when he could have take a percentage, over all gross.


Naphtali said:
I heard an interview where Robert Mitchum said of McQueen: "Steve doesn't bring much to the party."

"Soldier in the Rain" (1963) and "The Reivers" (1969) enable me to accurately quote Dr. Johnson: "I refute it thus!"

"Soldier in the Rain" has McQueen portraying a marginally functional, hero-worshipping soldier in a comedy-drama starring Jackie Gleason.

"The Reivers" is one of the finest slice-of-life" comedies ever.
**
What other "tough guy" action stars have displayed this acting range? Stone face Clint Eastwood? Lee Marvin? John Wayne? Robert Mitchum? Burt Lancaster?
***
Note: I loathe "The Getaway." But it does have one of my favorite bits of dialogue.

Q: What happened to XXX?
A: He didn't make it, and neither did you.
 

dhermann1

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,154
Location
Da Bronx, NY, USA
Sand Pebbles. I always imagine/fantasize that the Richard Crenna character, the morally corrupted ship's captain, is Lt Pinkerton from Puccini's Madame Butterfly, 25 years on. Any opera fans out there see what I mean?
 

cooncatbob

Practically Family
Messages
612
Location
Carmichael, CA.
Bullitt, greatest car chase scene ever filmed. I was at a New Years Eve concert at the Cow Palace and they were showing Bullitt before the show began and when the guy in the Black Charger fastened his seat belt a cheer went up from the crowd because that was the sign that it was on.
Bob.
 

Naphtali

Practically Family
Messages
767
Location
Seeley Lake, Montana
I loathe "The Getaway" because it is a pointless exercise in violence with zero redeeming humor.

"The Professionals" (1966) is an equally pointless exercise -- albeit with substantial humor, whimsy, superb dialogue, and dynamite (pun intended) theme tune. This is wonderful entertainment where you do not notice there is really nothing there until days later. "Maybe there’s only one revolution . . . since the beginning — the good guys against the bad guys. The question is: Who are the good guys?"
 

dhermann1

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,154
Location
Da Bronx, NY, USA
Bullitt

I saw something on TV where they said that it would have been impossible for McQueen's Mustang to outrace the bad guy's Dodge. The Dodge was far more powerful than the Mustang. Still, a great chase!
 

Jack Scorpion

One Too Many
Messages
1,097
Location
Hollywoodland
I think a couple folks here need to watch The Getaway again. McQueen is fun as the fake hero of Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape, Nevada Smith and even Bullitt, but those are all fantasy films. The Getaway is a slice of McQueen playing a real life person, as a more matured actor and I think he shined brighter because very few of the tough guy actors could pull that off.

It is also difficult to find a better shot film than Peckinpah's work.

The Sand Pebbles is just spectacular all around. I got no complaints there!
 

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