- In the first of the film's chase scenes, Thornhill is forced to drive drunk—really drunk. This is more terrifying to us than to him, since he's too out of it to notice the danger he's in.
- It's clear that Leonard and the men at the mansion have forced Thornhill to drink lots and lots of bourbon.
- Thornhill sings, slurring his words, and barely manages to keep from driving off cliffs. The car seems to keep speeding up.
- Eventually Thornhill passes a police car, which follows him.
- He narrowly avoids collisions with other cars.
- After Thornhill comes to a sudden stop, the police car rear-ends the car he's been driving. Then another car rear-ends the police car, making this a pile-up and a real mess.
- Thornhill still seems out of it.