‘Finding Steve McQueen’ – Movie Review

Category: Movies


We all know about the Watergate break in and the resignation of President Richard Nixon. But there is another part to this story that has been hidden for years. Finding Steve McQueen is that story and this movie will intrigue viewers as it unravels this outrageous tale.

In 1972 a group of workers in Youngstown, Ohio got a tip through a representative of Jimmy Hoffa. Yes – that Jimmy Hoffa. They learned that Nixon was hiding $30 million in a bank vault in Laguna Niguel, a city not far from San Clemente, which was the Western White House for Nixon. The money was dirty campaign funds, so they figure if they stole it there would be no repercussions because the Nixon staff would not be able to report it due to the status of the money. It was dirty – illegal campaign funds.

Not being fans of the president, the group went to California to do the deed. They planned an ingenious heist and managed to get away with a lot of money, but they didn’t find Nixon’s stash. Or did they?

Everything went perfectly. Well, almost perfectly.

The story unfolds from the beginning with Harry Barber (Travis Fimmel) telling his story to his girlfriend Molly Murphy (Rachael Taylor) whose father happens to be the sheriff in the Pennsylvania town where he settled after the heist. She is dumfounded by the story he tells her. How could she not have known that he is a criminal? And as he reveals more, she realizes she still loves this guy who idolizes Steve McQueen.

Due to his fascination with the movie star, Harry signs the lease on the house in California “Steve McQueen” and he rents the car in the same name. Thus the name of the film!

While the heist was going on, two soon-to-be famous journalists (Woodward and Bernstein) were reporting on the break in at the Watergate and they uncovered more about the Nixon administration. This one incident slipped by them, however had they discovered it and put the bank heist together with the Watergate, it would have been an interesting addition to their story.

However, this story in itself is interesting. What happened in the seven years after the incident was that Harry rebuilt his life. But having taken part in one of the biggest bank robberies in America, let’s face it, he couldn’t get away with it forever.

William Fichtner and Forest Whitaker costar in this intriguing and historic tale. Finding Steve McQueen opens in theaters March 15, 2019.

About the Reviewer

Francine Brokaw writes about books, products, travel, and entertainment. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books, is the entertainment correspondent for Good Day Orange County, and has her own TV show, Beyond the Red Carpet, on Village Television in Orange County.

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