work to put out the flames, the crowd slowly disperses. Cast Production Development The screenplay for Vanishing Point was written by G. Cabrera Infante, under the pseudonym Guillermo Cain. The story was based on two actual events: the disgraced career of a San Diego police officer and a high-speed pursuit of a man who refused to stop and was killed when he crashed into a police roadblock. Infante modeled the character of Super Soul after legendary rock and roll singer The Big Bopper. His script reflected the popular counterculture lifestyle of the time, containing elements of rebellion, drugs, sexual freedom, and rock and roll. In 1969, director Richard C. Sarafian turned down an offer to make Robert Redford's Downhill Racer in order to direct Vanishing Point. He was drawn to the counterculture themes in Cain's script. Originally, the director wanted Gene Hackman to play Kowalski, but 20th Century Fox studio executive Richard Zanuck insisted on casting relative unknown actor Barry Newman in the lead role. The film marked the first major screen appearances of Cleavon Little and John Amos. Vehicles According to Sarafian, it was Zanuck who came up with the idea of using the new 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T. He wanted to do Chrysler a favor for their longtime practice of renting cars to 20th Century Fox for $1 a day. Many of the other cars featured in the film are also Chrysler products. Stunt Coordinator Carey Loftin said he requested the Dodge Challenger because of the "quality of the torsion bar suspension and for its horsepower" and felt that it was "a real sturdy, good running car." Five Alpine White Dodge Challenger R/Ts were lent to the production by Chrysler for promotional consideration and were returned upon completion of filming. Four cars had 440 engines equipped with four-speed manual transmissions; the fifth car was a 383 with a three-speed automatic. No special equipment was added or modifications made to the cars, except for heavier-duty shock absorbers for the car that jumped over No Name Creek. The Challengers were prepared and maintained for the movie by Max Balchowsky, who also prepared the Mustangs and Chargers for Bullitt (1968). The cars performed to Loftin's satisfaction, although dust came to be a problem. None of the engines were supercharged, but sound effects of a supercharger were added in post-production for some scenes. Loftin remembers that parts were taken out of one