Steve McQueen: American Icon

I have always had an interest in the career of Steve McQueen, at least since he starred in the TV series "Wanted Dead Or Alive". Steve was born near my home, at St Francis Hospital in Beech Grove,Indiana..a suburb of Indianapolis. A former U.S. Marine, McQueen used his G.I.Bill to attend acting classes and using his fierce competitive traits (learned in his rough childhood and military service), he refused to take the same "door in the face" experienced by so many new actors..and instead wedged his way into acting jobs..working as an extra against some of the biggest names in the business, till he himself became noticed for his talents, and the crowds he was pulling in at the box office. By the Sixties, he had become the highest paid of the bunch, and was recognized as the world's greatest actor. Steve spent his money as he made it and while he partied, he also took time to give to charities...and supported the Boys Ranch which helped raise him when his family had basically abandoned him. In spite of his financial wealth, and talents...like all of his, he learned the hard way we are all mortal, and each of his has a date with destiny. Steve was diagnosed with a Cancer...and even with his money, the illness could not be beaten. This movie is based on the book (written by ex-wife) Barbra Minty), and it details how Mr McQueen learned to face his own mortality, and the decisions he made as that final curtain started to come down. His priorities were adjusted and even towards the end, we see in this remarkable film how he continued to live unafraid, with the same courage he displayed on that motorcycle in The Great Escape...(even though it was his friend Bud Elkins who made the final jump, due to the studios demands). This is IMHO the absolute best biography of Steve McQueen and shows his life from beginning...to end...and never leaves the viewer on a "downer" feeling as one might expect of a film showing those final days.

I felt the film did his name justice to a certain degree with a Christian lean which is fine by me if the Truth is presented about it. There were times that felt rather forced with insights that could have been looked up on the Web which I find as a minor insult as the host decides to drive Bullitt's Mustang around in the form of Stephen McQueen which rubbed me the wrong way because the story is about Stevie and shouldn't allude to anything else. The King of Cool smirks, drops his head and chuckles at certain parts of this piece but still thanks us for keeping him in mind as a token of faith in the walk.

The movie starts really well and is an interesting coverage of Steve McQueens life. Its a very personal and frank discussion about McQueen as person, and actor. Unfortunately, the movie clearly turns into a Christian propaganda movie. Rather than sticking to the subject with a focus on McQueen is finishes promoting Christianity, and push the religious agenda. Disappointing they are using McQueens reputation as a vehicle to promote Christianity.

This film is not about Steve McQueen's life. It's about his Christian faith. It touches on very little before he was born again in the last year of his life - after he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. I didn't mind the the subject matter, but I left feeling like I didn't learn much about his life leading up to his diagnosis. I felt deceived. These were full-priced feature cinema tickets. I wish they'd been more up front about the subject matter.

Pastor Laurie was taking us on a journey. I too, like him, had heard that Steve McQueen, one of my favorite actors, had become a Christian near the end of his life. But I had always wondered if it was true and how it happened...I love that it DID happen and that it happened before his diagnosis of cancer. This answered all my questions and gave a great overview of Steve's private life and public life...Thank you to all for sharing Steve's story, like he would have wanted. The part about Billy Graham was amazing!