The Chase & More

The famous chase scene in The French Connection (1970) is, I’m sure, special to folks who grew up in the area where it was shot. I remember sitting in a theater in Kalamazoo, where I attended Western Michigan U., and triumphantly pumping a fist into the air when I spotted my alma mater, Lafayette H.S., in the background. Popeye Doyle actually passes it twice during the pursuit, but so what? Only people who lived there would notice the error. Anyway, I’ve come across an article by Joshua Meyer at slashfilm.com that states “director William Friedkin used highly unorthodox and even downright dangerous methods to capture it… filmed mostly in one take and in real traffic, on streets not blocked off.” And without a permit. He “did have crew members and off-duty cops working to help him contain the situation.” The woman with the baby stroller was scripted, the collision was not. Friedkin was a notorious taskmaster. According to his profile at tcm.com, during filming of The Exorcist (1973) his “antics for ‘improving’ performances ranged from slapping a non-actor — a real Catholic priest, no less! — to get an appropriately shaken line reading; to firing off a blank pistol behind star Jason Miller to catch the perfect startled reaction.” Renowned stunt driver Bill Hickman, who played the cop Doyle mistakenly shoots at the end of The French Connection — and the driver of the Charger in Bullitt (1968) and the criminal’s Pontiac Gran Ville in The Seven-Ups (1973) — was at the wheel, Friedkin filming from the back seat. Photo from Google Images:

Born in L.A., Hickman has 117 titles under his name at IMDb in the category of Actor, most of them listed as “Uncredited,” and 28 in Stunts. He slices Frank Sinatra’s vocal chords in The Joker Is Wild (1957) and whips Elvis Presley in Jailhouse Rock (1957). He was first on the scene when his friend and employer James Dean had his fatal accident. Here’s a quote attributed to him: “In those final days, racing was what he cared about most. I had been teaching him things like how to put a car in a four-wheel drift, but he had plenty of skill of his own. If he had lived he might have become a champion driver. We had a running joke, I’d call him Little Bastard and he’d call me Big Bastard. I never stop thinking of those memories.” Married five times, Hickman was a father of two. He succumbed to cancer at 65 in 1986. Photo from GI:

Each night I spend a half-hour at youtube before logging off for the day. Every pop up ad about the election has been by Democrats. Are Republicans ignoring the platform or is it bias on the part of YT’s bigshots?

Headline from foxnews.com: “Family of Blackfeet chief, face of NFL’s Redskins for 48 years, wants his image back in NFL.” Wouldn’t it be nice? Photo from GI:

Gorgeous day. My thanks to the woman who bought Dirty Blonde by Lisa Scottoline, and to the one who purchased Stendahl’s classic Scarlet and Black — in Russian. My book giveaway continues to go well. I just wish folks would keep the titles facing forward. I’ll add to the boxes in the AM. If the weather chart is correct, no rain until Wednesday.

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