photo #9400276

In 1979, a crowd of shocked pedestrians gathered along the Dearborn Street bridge in downtown Chicago and let out a collective gasp as a real car suddenly soared right out of a skyscraper. This was not a terrible accident or a mechanical failure. Instead, it was one of the most daring, death-defying practical movie stunts ever captured on film in the entire history of Hollywood. The spectacular scene was cooked up for an action movie called The Hunter, which famously starred legendary actor Steve McQueen in what would tragically turn out to be the final film role of his iconic career before his passing the following year.The stage for this incredible stunt was the world-famous Marina City complex, the twin corn-cob-shaped residential towers sitting directly along the northern bank of the Chicago River. While the unique concrete structures reach a soaring sixty-five stories into the sky, the bottom nineteen floors of each tower are completely dedicated to a continuous, spiraling, open-air parking garage. In the movie's script, a high-stakes chase sequence forces a panicked driver to race a stolen 1980 Pontiac Grand Prix up the dizzying spirals of the west tower's parking ramp. To execute the climax, a highly skilled professional stuntman took the wheel, accelerated through the parking deck, and intentionally smashed straight through a temporary protective wooden barrier on the seventeenth floor.The heavy vehicle launched out into the wide-open air, plunging over two hundred feet down toward the cold waters below while local film crews captured the moment from multiple angles on the ground. The car flipped completely upside down in mid-air before hitting the surface of the Chicago River with a thunderous, explosive splash that sent waves crashing against the concrete river walls. The stunt was done entirely practically without any special green screens, miniature models, or digital tricks. To ensure absolute safety, city officials temporarily blocked off river boat traffic, and teams of scuba divers were stationed right in the water to immediately rescue the brave stunt driver the exact second the car submerged. The wild, spectacular imagery cemented Marina City's status as a legendary Hollywood backdrop, proving that when directors wanted to capture raw, unfiltered action, Chicago was always ready to put on an unforgettable show.