The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

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:

Passenger | Subway | Hostage | Train | Hijacker

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 2 nominations

Cast

Walter Matthau	...	Lt. Zachary Garber
Robert Shaw	...	Bernard Ryder aka Mr. Blue
Martin Balsam	...	Harold Longman aka Mr. Green
Hector Elizondo	...	Guiseppe Benvenuto aka Mr. Grey
Earl Hindman	...	George Steeve aka Mr. Brown
James Broderick	...	Denny Doyle - Subway Conductor
Dick O'Neill	...	Frank Correll
Lee Wallace	...	Al - The Mayor
Tom Pedi	...	Caz Dolowicz aka Fat Caz
Beatrice Winde	...	Mrs. Jenkins
Jerry Stiller	...	Lt. Rico Patrone
Nathan George	...	Ptl. James
Rudy Bond	...	Phil - Police Commissioner
Kenneth McMillan	...	Harry - Borough Commander (as Kenneth Mc Millan)
Doris Roberts	...	Jessie - the 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)
La captura del Pelham 1-2-3 (Uruguay) (Venezuela) [es]
Dlugi postój na Park Avenue (Poland) [pl]
Il colpo della metropolitana - un ostaggio al minuto (Italy) [it]
Les pirates du métro (France) [fr]
O Seqüestro do Metrô (Brazil) [pt]
Pelham 1-2-3 kaapattu (Finland) [fi]
Pelham 1-2-3 kapat (Sweden) [sv]
Pelham 1.2.3. (Spain) [es]
Stoppt die Todesfahrt der U-Bahn 1-2-3 (West Germany) [de]
Stoppt die Todesfahrt der U-Bahn Eins Zwei Drei! (West Germany) [de]
Togkapring (Denmark) [da]

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+ | 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:

In a TVO (Ontario, Canada) interview, the producer said that this film did terrific box office in New York, Toronto, London and Paris -- all cities with subways -- but was considered a flop in the rest of the world.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Departing the 42nd Str. (Express) Station for the 33rd Str. (Local) Sta. those downtown tracks - and only those, receive a switchpoint whereby the 42nd Str."shuttle" joins the Lexinton Avenue line... Those points are shown BUT in the opposite/wrong direction. (Either the scene is using a different set of points somewhere else in the System OR that scene was somehow edited-in to the film BACKWARDS.)

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)

Great NYC flick

I am biased a little with this film to begin with, as I live in NYC and am a big subway fan. So a gritty 70's flick that takes place in a NYC subway sounds good to me! But the truth is, this film is a great film full of extremely talented actors with a dynamite story. Shaw and Matthau are the obvious stars with everyone else putting in a good co-starring role.

The story takes place on the "6" train no less, which happens to be my fave subway line! It was a great surprise when I found the DVD for only ten bucks, I would have paid a normal price. And the quality of the DVD transfer is VERY nice. The film, though a bit brutal sometimes, even has some decent humor, even the ending is kinda funny, but perfect. I recently watched this on TV, just to compare the two versions and see where all the cuts and edits were. You can't go wrong with this film.