Trivia / The Getaway

Original

• Actor-Inspired Element: It was Steve McQueen (actor)'s idea to have his character shoot and blow up a squad car, in the scene where Doc holds two police officers at gunpoint.
• Billing Displacement: Despite being third-billed and having co-starring billing Ben Johnson only has a handful of scenes.
• The Cast Showoff: In addition to driving, Steve McQueen shows off his weapon handling skills that he acquired through his time in the Marines.
• Cast the Expert: W. Dee Kutach, the Texas prison parole board chairman who denies Doc McCoy his parole in the opening minutes of the film, was actually a prison official at the time the movie was made - he was the Assistant Director for Treatment for the Texas Department of Corrections in Huntsville, TX.
• Creator Backlash: Ali MacGraw said of the film, "I looked at what I had done in it, I hated my own performance. I liked the picture, but I despised my own work".
• Creator's Favorite Episode: Walter Hill named this as his favourite of the films he's written.
• Enforced Method Acting: In the scene where Steve McQueen and Ali MacGraw are standing outside the car and McQueen suddenly slaps her, the slap was unscripted, as can be seen by MacGraw's shocked reaction.
• Romance on the Set: Steve McQueen and Ali McGraw became involved while working on the original film, while Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger were already married before working on the remake.
• Wag the Director: Steve McQueen (actor) had Jerry Fielding's score replaced with Quincy Jones. Sam Peckinpah was not pleased. In addition, McQueen's contract gave him final cut. According to Richard Bright, McQueen chose takes that "made him look good" and Peckinpah felt that the actor played it safe: "He chose all these Playboy shots of himself. He's playing it safe with these pretty-boy shots."
• What Could Have Been:
  • Peter Bogdanovich was originally set to direct with Cybill Shepherd as Carol McCoy.
  • Ernest Borgnine was originally announced as being part of the cast.
  • Paul Newman was considered for Doc McCoy, but his agent didn't approve of the novel.
  • Angie Dickinson and Farrah Fawcett were considered for Carol.
  • Sam Peckinpah wanted Jack Palance for Rudy Butler, but couldn't afford him.
  • The film was initially set in the 1940s, as the novel was.
  • Jim Thompson was originally hired to adapt his own novel for the movie. Thompson worked on the screenplay for four months and produced a prose treatment, a first draft, and alternate scenes and episodes. Thompson's script included the original borderline-surrealistic ending of the novel featuring the kingdom of El Rey. Steve McQueen objected to the depressing ending and had Thompson replaced with rising screenwriter Walter Hill.

Remake

• Box Office Bomb: Budget, $37 million. Box office, $16,096,974 (domestic), $30,057,974 (worldwide).
• Creator Backlash: Richard Farnsworth was personally embarrassed, having to converse with profane cursing spoken to him, by others. He quickly regretted that he agreed to join this film.
• Stillborn Franchise: There were plans to do a sequel, which never materialized.
• What Could Have Been: Walter Hill was originally going to direct, using his original script for the older film, but due to budget disagreements, he eventually dropped out to make Geronimo: An American Legend.

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