Gone in 60 Seconds (The Original)

Gone in 60 Seconds (1974)

Runtime: 97 minutes

Directed by: H.B. Halicki

Starring: Halicki and other amateur actors, none of whom you'd have heard of before

From: H.B. Halicki Mercantile Company

The movie featured plenty of CARnage.

Would people believe it was only last night that I finally saw the original Gone in 60 Seconds? Even more shocking is that the remake has never been tackled by me either. For years there's been the idea that one day I'd give the independent hit a shot; inspiration finally came Wednesday night. Someone did a 4K upscale to the movie & uploaded it to YouTube; it did sure look purdy. Note that it's the 2000 restored version where because of the infamous “rights issues” the soundtrack was changed. As I imagine it's otherwise the best version available anywhere...

For the first 55 or so minutes, the movie's status as an independent product was a detriment. The “acting” from amateurs, the “dialogue” where I understand much of it was ad-libbed and that's not hard to believe, the story, plot progression, etc. was a struggle to get through at times. At least there was hysterical period clothing and hair, the latter usually blatantly fake. Car thieves are tasked w/ stealing 48 fancy cars (all given female leads by star/writer/director/producer/etc. H.B. Halicki) for a South American drug lord. What becomes the most difficult prize is a yellow 1973 Mustang called Eleanor. Hilariously, it's the only credited member of the cast-more on that at the end.

What made this movie worthwhile: an epic car chase where law enforcement is after Eleanor; while there are frequent cut-aways to the general public and the cops coordinating their efforts, it is still lengthy at over a half hour. Yes it becomes exhausting by the conclusion although it is still impressive due to length and all the vehicles that get destroyed. This is by far the main reason why this oddity is even remembered today. I do have to give it respect for being a small-time motion picture which became a hit and is still remembered today... and Halicki was able to make a few films while maintaining his job as—owning his own towing business.

He also got seriously hurt a few times in the movie world, unfortunately culminating in his death in 1989. He has a widow who many people don't like; she proclaims that Eleanor is a character so it should be copyrighted. If you even think of building a tribute to that car, expect a lawsuit. At least one prominent YouTube channel got into trouble for this. Talk about making yourself a villain and creating a stain on your late husband's legacy. Don't let that turn you off from tackling the 1974 film if the premise intrigued or (probably) you've only checked out the vastly different and vastly more watched remake.