Every woman loved him and every man wanted to be him - at least that's what the legend that surrounds Steve McQueen would have us believe. For many of us, Hollywood's King of Cool will always be the guy who jumped the barbed wire fence on a motorcycle in "The Great Escape".
Now a new generation of movie fans will get a taste of the McQueen magic with a remake of one of his biggest hits, "Bullitt". The movie, which helped establish the "The Blob" star as a box office hit, sees McQueen playing a hardnosed cop chasing down corrupt officials and mafia hoods.
The new movie, which according to press reports this week will be directed by Wolfgang Peterson, keeps faith with the no nonsense character - Frank Bullitt - but looks set to have a completely original script.
"Bullitt" has already inspired a television advert for Ford, which saw the film's famous San Francisco car chase digitally altered to make it look as though McQueen was driving a Puma.
There's no news yet on casting but it's likely that many modern day movie stars will think twice before attempting to fill the McQueen's shoes.
McQueen career highlights...
The Great Escape - Bank holiday favourite
Towering Inferno - Title says it all really
The Magnificent Seven - Spaghetti western based on the "The Seven Samurai"
Papillon - Prison drama with Dustin Hoffman
Le Mans - Epic racing romp that became his personal project
Tom Horn - Thoughtful western of his twilight years
The Blob - Gets a mention for comedy value
And two that have already had the honour of a remake...
Thomas Crown Affair - Current Bond star Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo did their best to recreate the on screen chemistry between McQueen and his co-star Fay Dunaway 31 years after the original.
The Getaway - In the original, McQueen stared alongside Ally McGraw - who he married shortly afterwards - as a bank robber on the run from the law and his fellow gang members. Again the 1994 remake stuck pretty close to the original plot with real life couple Kim Bassinger and Alec Baldwin.
Steve McQueen died of cancer in 1980 at the age of 50. |
