The absurdity of the subway chase...

Grosso came up with that story long after the film became famous. The book tells it quite differently, with no speeding cars involved. Detective Egan lost the Frenchman at the Grand Central Shuttle and followed him by train to the Times Square Shuttle Station where he lost him again. There was no race to get there first (at least according to the book).

- For more background on the real case, check out my post "Frank Waters - the real Mulderig."

You're right about the plot holes of Nicoli trying to assassinate Doyle. 1. As a foreign national, how did he manage to get hold of a rifle on such short notice? Not to mention, he barely spoke any English 2. How did he find out so quickly who Doyle was, where he lived and what time he returned home from work? 3. Even if he managed to accomplish all of the above, why didn't he plot a better escape than taking the subway back to his hotel in Manhattan?

Where I would disagree with you is a car could easily catch a moving el train if, as we see in the film, the driver is prepared to blow through red lights and travel in the wrong lane. Contrary to what director Billy Friedkin says, neither the car nor the train are traveling at 70, 80 or 90 mph. 45 or 50mph is more like it (and is plenty fast on city streets).

What I think sells the scene is that it has the look of reality. Real traffic, real subway cars (with real motorman and conductor), and Hackman's performance (Marcel Bozzufi, too). It's the main reason viewers love the scene and think it was a feature in the real investigation.

Ironically, I would say that the chase scene in Bullitt does not advance the plot and it's removal from the film wouldn't change a thing plot-wise.

You are absolutely right. It is a definite flaw in the storytelling. The set-up is fine. Nicoli kills a prying French detective at the beginning of the film with the idea is that he will repeat the act against Doyle later on, but as you point out, it wouldn't help them at all and would indeed create even more suspicion and police pursuit. There is a way to make a scene like this work, but it would have taken more imagination and effort of the filmmakers.

I think the fact that the Frenchmen killed the French cop and suffered no repercussions is what convinced them to try to hit Doyle. It isn't like they were NYC people and knew the way NYPD would react (even though this is a fictional part of the story). To those guys, it was just business as usual with persistent policemen.

Now, as I have previously stated in another thread, the whole rooftop rifle scenario was ludicrous, especially with a foreign national only in the country a few days. There is no way he would have ascertained where Popeye lived and what time he would be arriving home, especially with the lifestyle Doyle led. Furthermore, thet fact he was going to wait on a rooftop for God knows how long, with a rifle, in an unfamiliar neigborhood is pretty far fetched.

But the chase, while fictional, was definitely believeable. Subway trains like the one depicted rarely exceeded 40mph, and while the sounds made it seem like Popeye was driving in excess of 100mph, he was most likely doing around 50mph or so, which is still scary in an urban setting. A good driver could easily catch up with a train under those circumstances, although the risks to the public would be extremely high.

Excellent analysis. Better than mine.