Bullitt

"The word 'cop' isn't written all over him—something more puzzling is."

1968 1h 53m EN

👍

7.2

SOLID

★7.2TMDB · 1,342

ActionCrimeThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Senator Walter Chalmers is aiming to take down mob boss Pete Ross with the help of testimony from the criminal's hothead brother Johnny, who is in protective custody in San Francisco under the watch of police lieutenant Frank Bullitt. When a pair of mob hitmen enter the scene, Bullitt follows their trail through a maze of complications and double-crosses. This thriller includes one of the most famous car chases ever filmed.

“The word 'cop' isn't written all over him—something more puzzling is.”

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Cast

Steve McQueen
Lt. Frank Bullitt
Robert Vaughn
Walter Chalmers
Jacqueline Bisset
Cathy
Don Gordon
Lt. Delgetti
Robert Duvall
Cabbie Weissberg
Simon Oakland
Captain Sam Bennett
Norman Fell
Captain Baker
Georg Stanford Brown
Dr. Willard

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Peter Yates
Writers: Harry Kleiner, Alan Trustman
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 7.7× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

58 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Peter Yates, shot by William A. Fraker. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Lalo Schifrin. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Frank P. Keller shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Steve McQueen and Robert Vaughn and Jacqueline Bisset carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The word 'cop' isn't written all over him—something more puzzling is.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0062765 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Peter Yates directs. William A. Fraker behind the camera. Lalo Schifrin scores. Frank P. Keller cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 7.7× over at the box office.
258 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Peter Yates, shot by William A. Fraker. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Lalo Schifrin. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Frank P. Keller shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Steve McQueen and Robert Vaughn and Jacqueline Bisset carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "The word 'cop' isn't written all over him—something more puzzling is.".
8IMDB entry: tt0062765 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 26 themes, including "hotel", "airport", "based on novel or book", "police".

The technical file

Cinematography: William A. Fraker
Original score: Lalo Schifrin
Editing: Frank P. Keller
Costume design: Theadora Van Runkle
Makeup / hair: Emile LaVigne
Sound: Dan Wallin
Stunt coordinator: Carey Loftin
Runtime: 113 min · 1h 53m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $5,500,000
Box office: $42,300,000
Return: 769% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Bullitt (1968)

Awards

Academy Award for Best Film Editing

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Peter Yates

Stills · wallpapers

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2025-01-24
★ 7/10
Steve McQueen is at his most grumpily enigmatic as he portrays this unorthodox San Francisco police lieutenant. He's none too pleased when the greasy-pole merchant "Sen. Chambers" (Robert Vaughn) has him detailed to guard a shady character who's a potential witness in a case against some hitherto Teflon gangsters. When two gunmen break into his room and gun him down, it becomes imperative that "Bullitt" gets to the bottom of things before his new found pal nails his slats to the mast. With the active support of "Capt. Bennet" (Simon Oakland) who increasingly has to run point for the man, he begins an investigation that manages to irritate just about everyone as he realises the case is complex and downright dangerous. It's this left field style of work that this cop excels at, and McQueen is on confident form delivering a persona that's conflicted and determined to get to the truth without selling his soul to Satan. To that latter end, he must rely more and more on girlfriend "Cathy" (Jacqueline Bisset) who seems to be his only link with sanity as the maelstrom of events begins to get on top of him. It's famous for the car chase, and some of the scenes at the airport towards the end are directed really quite tensely but I can't pretend I liked the conclusion. After all the interweaving and duplicity, it all rather ran out of steam. The style of the production isn't exactly electric either, and in many ways it reminded me of a great many other similar style vehicles about rogue police officers created for A-list actors whose careers might be considered "between genres". That said it's still a good, solid, thriller with a few twists and a Vaughn who always managed to portray the sleazy characters naturally.

Production companies