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| Title: THE HUNTER Year: 1979 Rating: ***1/2 |
Steve McQueen began his career as a bounty hunter on TV's WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE and ended as one on the big screen, twice: TOM HORN was also a rebounder tale, and actually resembled a theatrical motion picture while THE HUNTER looks and plays-out like a made-for-television movie...
But a pretty good one as McQueen's real life Ralph 'Papa' Thorson seeks various bond-skippers, each more difficult than the next: In one case the violent powerhouse nephew of McQueen's GETAWAY foe Ben Johnson; and later a literally explosive tractor vs Trans Am cornfield chase...
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| Steve McQueen, LaVar Burton and Karl Schueneman in THE HUNTER |
Leaving the best for last... That finally suits the big screen involving a desperate, hostage-taking young "shooter" on a subway train, obviously influenced by THE FRENCH CONNECTION as opposed to McQueen's classic BULLITT that THE HUNTER deliberately contradicts...
Particularly since real life car-fanatic McQueen plays a terrible driver, effectively humorous compared to more contrived setups: like Papa's crowded house of poker buddies, an endearing black kid, a finagling Jewish boss, a crooked cop friend, and a much too perfect pregnant girlfriend, stalked by a vengeful speed-freak adding furious camp value...
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| Steve McQueen in THE HUNTER |
And yet, overall, THE HUNTER (not so surprisingly helmed by a television director) provided for Steve McQueen's fans what they (and even he) didn't realize was a swan song finale...
Plus it's the first and last time he'd utter the cliché line, "I'm too old for this" in a vehicle that's both the end of phase one and the beginning of a comfortably-aging phase two — that tragically never happened.
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Steve McQueen doing an actual stunt in THE HUNTER
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Margaret O'Hara and Thomas Rosales Jr. (Dean Ween lookalike) THE HUNTER
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Steve McQueen in THE HUNTER with his real antiques
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The skimpy bond boss Eli Wallach & McQueen in THE HUNTER
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Steve McQueen ages in his final turn as THE HUNTER
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Much too young/pretty Kathryn Harrold & McQueen in THE HUNTER
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McQueen with the real life Ralph Papa Thorson in THE HUNTER
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Tracey Walter goes bonkers in THE HUNTER
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An explosive stunt in THE HUNTER
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Steve McQueen hides from the bombs in THE HUNTER
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Steve McQueen as Papa Thorson in THE HUNTER
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| Steve McQueen as Papa Thorson in THE HUNTER |
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The Trans Am v the Tractor in THE HUNTER
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| Gorgeous rental car girl DEBBIE MILLER in THE HUNTER |
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| Gorgeous rental car girl DEBBIE MILLER in THE HUNTER |
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Steve McQueen with his own personal train set for THE HUNTER
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Expecting father Steve McQueen passes out in THE HUNTER
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| Steve McQueen as THE HUNTER |
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