The desperate Dancer uses Cindy as a human shield to hold off the police ...
Then ... He pushes her away and tries to jump the gap across the barriers to the adjacent roadway but is felled by a police bullet and drops to the street far below. Insp. Quine and Lt.Guthrie witness his demise as justice is harshly served.
... and Now, the same view (below) is mostly blocked by new buildings such as the Infinity condominiums on the right.
Then ... As the police wrap up, director Siegel's panning camera ends the movie with a fine sweeping vista (below) from the I-480 freeway. At far right Folsom Street runs east towards the Bay with the Bay Bridge beyond. The Ferry Building is at dead center and to its left the skyline is punctuated by the Southern Pacific Building, the conjoined PG&E and Matson Buildings, Angel Island, Coit Tower and at far left, the majestic Shell Building.
... and Now, it's not possible to duplicate the exact view now that the freeway is no longer there but below is the best CitySleuth could do - taken from above First Street on the Bay Bridge's westbound Fremont Street exit ramp, just a half-block away from the movie's location (map). The multiplicity of new buildings obstruct the distant views but you can still see the Shell Building, at 100 Bush Street across Market at the top of First Street (at far left, marked with the arrow), and the Bay Bridge at far right.
... and Now, the recent photo below taken from the newly constructed 60 story One Rincon Hill residential tower vividly illustrates the proliferation of highrise buildings in the Financial District since the movie was made. The I-480 freeway used to run along the dotted line at bottom alongside Folsom Street and the lower arrow points to where the final scene was filmed (CitySleuth's 'Now' photo above was taken from the elevated ramp just above this arrow). Two of the landmarks pointed out in the movie's panorama can be seen in this view - the upper arrow points to the Shell Building and Coit Tower is in the upper right quadrant.
Parry arranges to meet Irene in Paita, a coastal resort in Peru. Set in a natural bay secluded by high cliffs, Paita is a beautiful town with a rich swashbuckling history. Over the centuries conquistadors, pirates and buccaneers have all left their mark there.
But this final scene, pure Hollywood schmaltz with crashing waves and festive music, was most likely filmed in the Warner Brothers studios in Burbank, California. No dialog, just a 'happily ever after' reunion to give everybody the warm and fuzzies as they make their way home from the theater.
Parry anxiously waits at his table alongside a crowded dance floor ...
... He spots Irene (the waves behind him are clearly a rear projection) ...
... and Irene spots Parry ...
... and presumably they live happily ever after!
The thirteen minute car chase is the famous centerpiece of the movie. It starts off in slow cat-and-mouse style, accompanied by a nerve-tingling Lalo Schifrin score, as Bullitt is tailed by two hit men. It then explodes into an all-out high speed frenzy, accompanied only by the snarl of overworked engines, after Bullitt deftly gives them the slip - the hunted becomes the hunter! The route traverses many neighborhoods, jumping from place to place and often doubling back. It begins in Bernal Heights, moves to Potrero Hill then tours North Beach and Russian Hill. It then progresses through the Marina, continues into McLaren Park and concludes south of San Francisco from Daly City through San Bruno Mountain State Park, dramatically culminating in Guadalupe Valley, Brisbane. Professional drivers Bill Hickman (in the Charger) and Loren Janes, Bud Ekins and occasionally Steve McQueen himself (in the Mustang), delivered the audacious stunts.
Go here for an interview with stuntman Loren Janes for an insider’s take on the filming of the chase.
To spare the soles on CitySleuth’s gumshoes these 59 location shots are identified but not presented Then and Now. Go here to see 16 highlights from the chase in Then and Now format.
Nick calls his fiancé Polly (Barbara Lawrence) and asks her to join him in San Francisco. When she arrives by ferry she is somewhat taken aback to find that Nick, who is still groggy from his mugging, has sent Rica to meet her.
Then ... Polly arrives at the Ferry Building whose clock tower was inspired by the 12th century Giralda bell tower in Seville, Spain. The view below must have been filmed from the rooftop of the Wellman Peck Coffee building on the corner of Jackson and Embarcadero (see it here). It's interesting to see the north entrance to the underpass that ran below the the Ferry Building plaza - it opened in 1925 but has long since been filled in.
... and Now, the exterior hasn't changed (below) but the interior recently underwent an ambitious four year renovation which has reinvigorated the building into a bustle of upscale food stores, restaurants and offices as well as a still operational ferry terminal.
... from 1965 ... in between 'Then' and 'Now' as shown above, the Ferry Building went through a dark period when a double-decker freeway was built, isolating it from the city (below) - what were the city planners thinking? (Providentially the 1989 earthquake damaged and doomed the freeway and it was pulled down. Nature rules!).
Then ... Polly descends the central main stairway of the building and anxiously looks outside for Nick ...
... and Now, the same spot viewed from the street.
Then ... She is still looking for him as Rica approaches. Behind them, across the plaza, is the start of Market Street.
... and Now, the plaza used to be a turnaround for Market Street streetcars. Today the Muni E-Embarcadero, F-Market, N-Judah and T-Third trams run along the Embarcadero.
... from 1956 ... this archival photo, taken from the Ferry Building seven years after the movie was released, shows a wider view across the plaza, including the streetcar turnaround. The arrow-straight Market Street disappears into the distance and at far left you can just see part of the south entrance to the plaza underpass.
... on location ... Here's a fun photo of Barbara Lawrence and Valentina Cortese acting out this scene in front of a gawk of onlookers.
Rica takes Polly to see Nick but when she learns that he has been robbed of all of his money she storms out of his life.
