INTERVIEW: Jacqueline Bisset on ‘Bullitt’ and the legacy of Steve McQueen
Photo: Bullitt stars Steve McQueen and Jacqueline Bisset. Photo courtesy of TCM / Provided with permission.
A highlight of this year’s TCM Classic Film Festival, airing May 6-9 on TCM and HBO Max, will surely be the conversation the network has with Jacqueline Bisset, star of many movies and TV shows, including Bullitt from 1968. In that film, Steve McQueen plays a dedicated police officer who investigates the murder of a key witness in a mobster trial. Bissett is his co-star, portraying the pivotal role of Cathy. Robert Vaughn, Dan Gordon, Robert Duvall and Simon Oakland also star.
The movie and Bisset’s conversation are set for Saturday, May 8 at 5:45 p.m. on the network.
Recently Hollywood Soapbox spoke with Bisset, plus TCM hosts Alicia Malone and Eddie Muller. They opened up about the continued impact of Bullitt and their thoughts on McQueen’s cultural influence in 2021. Here’s what they had to say …
On audience members seeing Bullitt for the first time …
BISSET: Well, they might discover Steve McQueen, first of all. He’s been gone a long time. I don’t know … whether the kids know who he is much. I don’t know what kind of fan following he has.
MULLER: I think there are some younger film fans that understand Steve McQueen.
MALONE: You see images of him on Instagram just kind of shared as the ‘King of Cool’ as he became known. Those images of him they still look cool, and they transcend time. I don’t know how many people these days have seen the films.
BISSET: It’s amazing how the generations move on to the next generations.
On Steve McQueen being an archetype …
MULLER: It’s also interesting there are sort of archetypes that the culture gravitates toward. Let’s face it, Steve McQueen was sort of an extension, and I don’t mean this as a slight on anybody, an extension of what James Dean had done with live fast, die young, the whole thing. He had a very similar style. Steve McQueen, it was quiet, it was withdrawn, he was a little bit introverted. James Dean died so young, and so did Steve McQueen. I think sadly it’s weird when that enhances an actor’s legend, so to speak. To be really unkind, they didn’t live long enough to embarrass themselves, so I do think that’s part of his legend.
On Bullitt and whether it holds up …
MALONE: I also think watching Bullitt today is still quite exciting, especially that car chase sequence, and the airport sequence as well, because these days we’ve become almost desensitized to these big car chases. We see them so full of special effects, and here you have no score. You’ve got the sound of the cars, and it feels so dangerous. So even though I watch it, and I’ve seen it a million times, and I know what’s going to happen, I’m still on the edge of my seat thinking that at any moment they’re going to crash because this is just insane what they’re doing with these cars.
On the legacy of Steve McQueen …
BISSET: I thought that when Steve died, I felt that he didn’t have the attention that I felt he should have. I remember thinking there aren’t lots of articles about him, or lots of things, because it seemed to me that he was a very big star. He was a very solid star, but I felt like it took a long time for people to come round to him. Then there was a period when they seemed to be using his image for various things, and I thought, oh great, he’s getting some attention. He’s not being forgotten, but for a minute there I thought compared to some people, he wasn’t getting his due as a movie star after he died.
MULLER: I think that’s a very interesting observation, and I think I may be entirely off-base about this, but I think part of it was that he was ill. I think the public doesn’t really stick with movie stars when they have a prolonged illness. They like a spectacular flameout more than they like a star kind of wither. There’s nothing legendary about getting a terminal illness. It’s really sad, but I think that was part of why people distanced themselves a little bit. … I do think that’s what movies do for you. Now he is Steve McQueen forever, and he is the ‘King of Cool.’
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
The TCM Classic Film Festival will air Bullitt, starring Steve McQueen and Jacqueline Bisset, Saturday, May 8 at 5:45 p.m. EST. Click here for more information.
