H.B. Halicki, Marion Busia

When car nut and aspiring B movie maverick H.B. "Toby" Halicki released his debut film, he gave top billing to his car, a yellow 1973 Ford Mustang named Eleanor. That's a good indication of Halicki's ...( read more  read more... )priorities in the original car-crunching, tire-squealing drive-in classic Gone in 60 Seconds. Halicki wrote, produced, starred, and did all of his own extraordinary stunt driving in the picture, the story of a career car thief who makes a deal to steal 48 cars for an overseas smuggler. OK, it's not Shakespeare. The plot is perfunctory at best, and Halicki's all thumbs when it comes to directing his wooden cast, but he gives a crash course in the mechanics of the car-theft biz and tops it off with one of the greatest car chases of all time: a 40-minute finale that roars through five Los Angeles-basin towns and destroys 93 cars in the process. It's a masterpiece of stunt driving, down-and-dirty photography, and sharp, furious cutting; the unsung hero of the picture is editor Warner Leighton, who paces the film perfectly and never lets it stall. Forget the messy Nicolas Cage in-name-only remake, this is outlaw auto cinema at its purest. --Sean Axmaker

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77% liked it

84,602 ratings

PG, 1 hr. 45 min.

Directed by: H.B. Halicki

Release Date: January 1, 1974

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DVD Release Date: November 28, 2000

Stats: 3,680 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (3,680)


  • December 29, 2008
    The original "Gone In 60 Seconds" will be remembered by many viewers as the best car-chase film of all time. It will also be remembered as the film that featured lots of destroyed cars in a 40 minute chase. As said in the film's IMDb trivia: "93 cars are crashed in this 97 minute...( read more) movie."

    The best part of this whole movie is the 40-minute chase scene. So many cars are crashed and destroyed during the chase, including original city police cars. What's more, the chase scene had absolutely NO special effects, meaning that all the crashes and smashes were real. Furthermore, H.B. Halicki himself wrote, directed, and starred in the movie. He even drove the "star car" (the Mustang) throughout the chase!

    My only negative comment about the film is that the beginning of the movie is very slow; so slow that you may be very eager to get to the 40-minute chase scene. However, if you have the DVD, you can just watch the film starting from the chase scene if you want to.

    Overall, this movie had an awesome chase scene. It is the best chase scene ever filmed in a movie. It has to be seen to be believed.

    P.S: This movie is much much better than the awful remake.
  • July 27, 2008
    more of a very long car chase sequence than a film... but it's entertaining! yus, that's for sure. the action is directed by and acted in by h.b. halicki. vroooom vroooom!!!!
  • January 1, 2008
    A standard original flick.
  • October 19, 2007
    he 40-minute car chase ... is one wild ride. The rest of the film, however, is sorely lacking.
  • September 24, 2007
    not memorable.
  • October 30, 2009
    This the original "Gone in 60 Seconds" is a far better movie than the remake of it.
  • October 29, 2009
    Cool action flick...
  • October 27, 2009
    Another cool car flick...
  • October 22, 2009
    another good Nick Cage movie
  • October 12, 2009
    HAHA that car chase at the end in like an hour long!!

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Comments


  • ImmortalDisciple
    May 7, 2007
    Really. You peeps aught to look at the year in the title. 1974. I saw this in the theatre when it came out. Mostly shot in Long Beach and Torrance CA. Some of the streets have changed since then though.
  • Everyoneneedshelp
    March 27, 2007
    You ppl do know this is the original come on guys im 14 and i know this cages version is fantastic as well though

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Gone in 60 Seconds Trivia


  • In Which Movie Did Nicholas Cage Steal A Car Named Eleanor?   Answer »
  • In which movie about car stealing is Angelina Jolie Blonde?  Answer »
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