H.B. Halicki Movies
Director/actor/producer H.B. Halicki made action films that were noted for their incredible stunts and excellent car crashes. The chase in his best-known film Gone in 60 Seconds offers 40 minutes of nail-biting thrills. During that single chase, nearly 100 cars were demolished. It was while filming the picture's sequel in 1989 that one of those stunts, involving a collapsing water tower, cost Halicki his life. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
In this action thriller, a master car thief has his skills pushed to the limit. Randall "Memphis" Raines (Nicolas Cage) can steal practically any car that crosses his path. While he has done well in his life of crime, he knows that there's a short future in theft, and he wants to get out of the business. But his retirement plans are interrupted when his younger brother Kip (Giovanni Ribisi) gets in trouble with a dangerous crime boss. To get his brother out of harm's way, Randall agrees to a profitable but risky scheme to steal 50 luxury cars in one night, with the help of several other car thieves, including Sara "Sway" Wayland (Angelina Jolie). A rival group of thieves is trying to pull the same stunt at the same time, and detectives Castlebeck (Delroy Lindo) and Drycoff (Timothy Olyphant) are trying to shut down both operations. Also starring Robert Duvall as Otto Halliwell, and Scott Caan as Tumbler, Gone in Sixty Seconds is a remake of the 1974 low-budget action hit of the same name, best remembered for a 40-minute chase scene in which 90 cars were destroyed. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicolas Cage, Angelina Jolie, (more)
- 1983
Director H. B. Halicki affords himself the lead in Deadline Auto Theft, playing a lover of fast cars and fast women, in that order. In search of new thrills, he gets involved with ring of thieves. There follows the usual film-length chase, with Halicki running from the law and the crooks. Veterans Hoyt Axton and Lang Jeffries (of the 1950s TV series Rescue 8) add a dash of professionalism to Deadline Auto Theft. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
H.B. Halicki, who wrote and directed the car chase classic Gone in 60 Seconds, returned with this action-comedy, in which Halicki claimed to have wrecked no fewer than 150 cars onscreen (a record confirmed by the Guinness Book of World Records). Harlan Hollis (H.B. Halicki) is a former junkyard owner whose knowledge of cars has helped him to move up in the world, becoming a well-known auto stuntman and film director. However, Hollis has made an enemy of one of his partners in the movie game, and as he hits the road to attend a James Dean memorial festival in Indiana, Hollis discovers a number of people are out to kill him, using guns, automobiles, airplanes, and anything else that's handy. Can Hollis find out who's after him and turn the tables before his luck runs out? Along with those 150 cars, The Junkman stars Christopher Stone, Lynda Day George, and Freddy Cannon. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- H.B. Halicki, Christopher Stone, (more)
Maindrian Pace (H.B. Halicki) is a master car thief who heads an elaborate organization of professionals. Using an insurance investigation company as a front, Pace and his associates buy junked cars from accident scenes, steal new autos of the same model and color, then switch the serial numbers for resale. It's a lucrative business, but when some shady characters offer them 400,000 dollars to deliver 50 specific luxury vehicles, the challenge is too much to pass up. The burglars put on disguises and waste no time in lifting limousines, official racecars, and Rolls-Royces (even stopping by a television studio to steal actor Lyle Waggoner's convertible). When Pace discovers that a recently stolen Cadillac has a million dollars worth of heroin in the trunk, he destroys the car and the drugs, which infuriates his adversarial partner, Eugene (Jerry Daugirda). Just as Pace is stealing a bright yellow Mustang (code-named Eleanor), the Los Angeles police department gives chase, tipped off by Eugene's anonymous call. This leads to the meat of the film, a wild 40-minute pursuit which takes Pace and the police through five cities and leads to the destruction of 93 cars. Gone in 60 Seconds was a big hit for first time director/writer/producer/star H.B. Halicki, and inspired a big-budget remake in 2000. ~ Fred Beldin, All Movie Guide
