Speeding Bullitt: The Life and Films of Steve McQueen

Caroline Delbert, freelance writer and reporter, and contributing editor at Popular Mechanics, discusses her recent article, Forced Exile: The World's Dubious History of Prison Islands, as we explore the history of life on various prison islands, like Devil's Island from the Steve McQueen film, Papillon.

Writer and Steve McQueen expert Marshall Terrill joins me to discuss McQueen's life after The Getaway, a conversation that includes some never before shared information about Steve's relationship with Ali MacGraw and a cast member of The Reivers. We explore McQueen and Dustin Hoffman's relationship on the set of Papillon, the film's connection to The Beatles, and we compare the 1973 epic to the 2017 remake.

Author, actor, and co-host of the Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers podcast Dion Baia joins me to discuss the 1994 remake of 1972's The Getaway. We talk about the performances of several actors in the 1994 version of the film and compare them to their counterparts in the original version. We take a look at where the cast of the 90s film are now, and we speculate on what sequels and remakes of other McQueen projects would or could look like.

Daniel Epler from The Cobwebs Podcast joins me to compare Antoine Fuqua's version of The Magnificent Seven to John Sturges' 1960 classic remake of Akira Kurosawa's 1954 Japanese film, Seven Samurai. We discuss the film's diverse cast of characters, talk about what we like better about the 2016 iteration of the movie, and we speculate on future versions of the Western classic.

In the first episode of a series that explores remade and reimagined Steve McQueen projects, Will from the Exploding Helicopter podcast and website joins me to discuss 1987's reimagined Wanted: Dead or Alive, a film that attempts to connect to Steve McQueen's Western TV show of the same name.

Drummer and Jazz historian Steven Cerra joins me to explore Steve McQueen's record collection, as seen in LIFE photographer John Dominis' 1963 photograph of the "King of Cool" listening to Jazz records in his Palm Springs bungalow.

James Curtis, author of Spencer Tracy: A Biography, joins me to discuss the life and films of one of Steve McQueen's favourite actors, Spencer Tracy.

Georgetown University professor Dr. Susanna Lee, author of Hard-Boiled Crime Fiction and the Decline of Moral Authority and Detectives In the Shadows: A Hard-Boiled History, joins me to discuss the hardboiled crime fiction of Jim Thompson, including his 1958 novel turned Steve McQueen movie, The Getaway.

As we say goodbye to 2022, and welcome in 2023, I share with you the most listened to/downloaded episode of Speeding Bullitt of the past year, with a new intro providing insightful background information about the podcast. Bruce Buffer, the official octagon announcer for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), shares stories about surfing, martial arts, and hanging out with Steve and Chad McQueen in Malibu, California. During the second half of the show, I share my thoughts on the Steven Spielberg Bullitt project.

Steve McQueen robbed banks in The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery, The Thomas Crown Affair, and The Getaway; Clay Tumey robbed banks in real life. Clay joins me to discuss what led to him robbing banks, to talk about how prison changed him, and he shares his thoughts on Hollywood depictions of heists and bank robberies.