The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)

Director:

Joseph Sargent

Writers:

John Godey (novel)
Peter Stone (screenplay)

Release Date:

14 November 1974 (West Germany)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Before this train reaches the next station it will become the scene of the most spectacular hijack ever attempted

Plot:

In New York, armed men hijack a subway car and demand a ransom for the passengers. Even if it's paid, how could they get away?

Plot Keywords:

Subway | Hostage | Passenger | Train | Demands

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 2 nominations

Cast

Walter Matthau	...	Lt. Zachary Garber
Robert Shaw	...	Blue
Martin Balsam	...	Green
Hector Elizondo	...	Grey
Earl Hindman	...	Brown
James Broderick	...	Denny Doyle
Dick O'Neill	...	Correll
Lee Wallace	...	The Mayor
Tom Pedi	...	Caz Dolowicz
Beatrice Winde	...	Mrs. Jenkins
Jerry Stiller	...	Lt. Rico Patrone
Nathan George	...	Ptl. James
Rudy Bond	...	Police Commissioner
Kenneth McMillan	...	Borough Commander (as Kenneth Mc Millan)
Doris Roberts	...	Mayor's Wife

Also Known As:

El tomar de Pelham uno dos tres (USA: Spanish title) (dubbed version)
Pelham 1-2-3 (Europe: English title) (video box title)
The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (USA) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:16 (f) | UK:AA (original rating) | Germany:16 (DVD rating) | Canada:14+ | Canada:18A (video rating) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 (re-rating) | Norway:16 (original rating) | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Palomar Pictures

Trivia:

Walter Matthau says "gesundheit" three times during the movie.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): The conductor brags that he knows that all cars on the IRT are 72 feet long, when the correct length would have been 51 feet.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Mr. Mattson: Okay, kid, out loud now so's I can hear what you're sayin'.
Bud Carmody: I'm checkin' the passengers gettin' on and off...
Mr. Mattson: Uh-huh.
Bud Carmody: Front and back. Shuttin' the doors. Rear section first and the first section. And the doors are closed. Now I'm checking my indicator lights to make sure all the doors are locked. I remove my switch key and back out the window for a distance of three car lengths to make sure no one's being dragged. 51st Street next stop; next stop, 51st Street. How'd I do?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Awesome; I Fuckin' Shot That! (2006)

"Pelham 1-2-3 is in motion"

One of my favorite films from the seventies is The Taking of Pelham One, Two Three because it's so New York. Of course the film was shot entirely on location in The Big Apple including the interiors which helped greatly. But more than that, the characters have all the New York flavor about them with one exception.

The cat of course is led by Walter Matthau who plays a Transit Police Lieutenant. His character is a kind of combination of Archie Bunker and Detective Lennie Briscoe from Law and Order, in many ways not terribly admirable. He's also a transit cop and at that time the Transit Police were a separate entity. They were merged into the regular NYPD during the Giuliani administration.

There's no real glory in the Transit Police, these guys were mostly charged with dealing with drunks and kids with loud boom boxes. If a homicide ever occurred the NYPD quickly took it over as they would in most situations. But this ongoing crisis on a train on the Lexington Avenue Local occurs on his watch and it's career make or break case that Matthau is very aware of. And he proves fully capable during the crisis.

The crisis is four men, Robert Shaw, Earl Hindman, Hector Elizondo, and Martin Balsam mount a carefully planned assault on a subway train out of Pelham Bay station in the Bronx in mid-Manhattan and hold it and the passengers for ransom for a million dollars. The outsider to New York is Robert Shaw in one of his best roles, a former British army officer and mercenary. During the course of the robbery they kill a station supervisor played by roly poly Tom Pedi, one very quintessential New Yorker and their coldblooded villainy is established.

In fact the whole cast is a microcosm of the ethnic strains of New York City which makes the film so enjoyable, especially to one who lived there, the first 49 years of his life. Even the mayor is portrayed as a weak, fumbling nonentity and back then our mayor was one Abraham D. Beame who was just that, probably one of the worst mayors the city ever had. Tony Roberts has a very good role as the tough as nails Deputy Mayor concerned about both his boss's political career and resolving the crisis.

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three once the hijack is done is suspense filled and doesn't let up for a moment. I can't give the ending away, but the final shot of Walter Matthau's face as the end title music starts and the credits begin to roll is priceless.