Sunday, June 21, 2009

Pedals to the Metal

Since I just got through showcasing a memorable car chase scene from the John Wayne crime thriller McQ (1974), which was a follow-up to my previous post about Steve McQueen’s more famous chase sequence in Bullitt (1968), it’s only right that I now revisit another on-screen pursuit, this one ... well, not quite so renowned. It comes from the 1971 tailored-for-TV film Once Upon a Dead Man, which was the pilot for the Rock Hudson-Susan Saint James mystery series, McMillan & Wife. I can only assume director-writer Leonard B. Stern had McQueen’s automotive acrobatics in mind when he conceived of this two-wheeled race, also through the streets of San Francisco.

5 comments:

Kieran Shea said...

Certainly not as groovy, but let's not forget "Barnnigan"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1N5AHUzy1Lg

Dig those horns on the soundtrack.

J. Kingston Pierce said...

You're right, Kieran. I did forget about Brannigan. The Duke certainly loved his chase sequences, didn't he.

Cheers,
Jeff

Kieran Shea said...

Jeeze...did I just type Barnnigan? Must be some stable hay left in the brain from all those Duke westerns.

pattinase (abbott) said...

I miss SSJ. Why did she disappear?

J. Kingston Pierce said...

Hey, Patti:

You should check out my posts about Susan Saint James, which tell something of what's happened to her since McMillan & Wife:

http://therapsheet.blogspot.com/search/label/
Susan%20Saint%20James

She was finally given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame just about a year ago. But her last on-screen appearance, according to the IMDb, was in a 2006 episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Cheers,
Jeff