Steve McQueen... gone, but not forgotten.

[Zombie_61]

The next time you watch the Magnificent Seven, pay attention to Steve. He doesn't have a lot of lines at all, but he's stealing every scene he's in, playing with his hat and so on.

Which is one of the reasons Yul Brynner disliked him so, at least on a professional level. Brynner had quite the ego, and felt (quite correctly) this young "nobody" was drawing attention away from him.

"Charismatic" is a terrific way to describe McQueen. I sincerely believe that quality and the realism he brought to every role are a large part of why he was (and still is) so popular. In addition to his more well-known films, I like films like The Hunter in which he's almost parodying his "tough guy" persona. IMO roles like that show he was a no-nonsense kind of guy, but didn't take himself too seriously.

 

[Contec]

I like his movies but after reading this about his work on THE BLOB i think he was reckless.

One problem was McQueen’s insistence that his German Shepherd Thor be allowed to roam the set freely. “The inquisitive and crafty dog found an endless number of ways to sneak onto the stage: behind a workman, though a window, over fences — much to his master’s delight, even though it often resulted in a ruined take, costing precious film stock,” said Yeaworth.

“One problem was McQueen’s insistence that his German Shepherd Thor be allowed to roam the set freely. “The inquisitive and crafty dog found an endless number of ways to sneak onto the stage: behind a workman, though a window, over fences — much to his master’s delight, even though it often resulted in a ruined take, costing precious film stock,” said Yeaworth.

“He [McQueen] also liked to practice target shooting at tin cans from our commissary,” said Yeaworth, “and we had to express concern because children played in that area. But Steve insisted he was careful. One day he put a tin can on Thor’s head and shot it off cleanly. But several months later, he tried it again and missed, killing Thor and bringing Steve deep remorse.”

http://cinefantastiqueonline.com/1989/01/retrospective-the-blob-1958/

 

[T2SF]

Some parts of Bullit were filmed about 5 minutes away from me on San Bruno mountain, my uncle also said he saw Steve McQueen doing some motorcross on the mountain. It's the mountain that is the border of south San Francisco.

 

[CTF]

That certainly sounds like Mr. Mushman!

And that's motocross (sorry, but it's a pet peeve of mine).

I wore that same shirt today before even looking at this thread. Didn't realize it was the anniversary of his death.

The Force, I tell ya.