The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
Tags: comedy, realism, murder, humor, claustrophobic, suspenseful

Plot synopsis:
In New York City, four heavily armed men with code names (Mr. Blue, Mr. Green, Mr. Grey, and Mr. Brown), wearing disguises of eyeglasses, fedora hats, and fake moustashes, board at different station stops (the Green Line at 59th Street, Grey Line at 51st Street, Brown Line at Grand Central, and finally Blue Line at 28th Street) on the Pelham 123 subway train run of the 6 Lexington Avenue Local service. The men take the train, securing a group of hostages, whom they isolate in one car of the train, then disconnect this car from the rest of the train.Meanwhile, Lieutenant Zachary Garber (Walter Matthau), a cynical and curmudgeonly yet light-hearted New York City Transit Authority police lieutenant, begins his day by leading four visiting Tokyo Metro directors on a tour of New York's subway command-center. This is interrupted by Blue's radio announcement to the command center that "your train has been taken." Blue (Robert Shaw), the British-accented leader of the hijackers, tells Garber they are demanding a ransom of one million dollars, to be delivered to them within one hour; otherwise they will kill one passenger per minute, starting when the hour has passed.Garber, the sarcastic Lieutenant Rico Patrone (Jerry Stiller), and other transit workers cooperate while trying to guess how the criminals intend to escape the subway tunnel and get away. Various clues soon surface for Garber to figure out, first with his hearing Blue's very distinctive English accent over the radio. It later turns out that Blue was a ruthless British mercenary, and Green (Martin Balsam) is a former transit worker who from time to time sneezes over the radio and is heard by Garber, who responds by saying "Gesundheit." Garber also learns that one of the hostages is an undercover police officer.The mayor finally agrees to pay the ransom at the urging of his deputy mayor. The police dispatch a squad car carrying the ransom money. When the car is wrecked in a collision, Garber daringly bluffs to buy some time, telling the takers that the money already has been delivered to the 28th Street Station and only the walk down the tunnel is delaying it. A reluctant Blue agrees to the delay.A police motorcycle completes the trip from the scene of the collision to the subway station and two unarmed officers are sent down the track on foot to deliver the money to the hijackers. With the money finally in hand, the hijackers demand that electric power be restored to the subway line, and that all signals in the path of the train be turned green from 28th Street to the South Ferry station, both of these being necessary for the car to move. Having overridden the subway car's dead-man's switch, which would otherwise ensure its stopping unless someone remained at the throttle, the hijackers get off the train and set it in motion. As the train starts to move, the undercover officer also jumps off the train and hides between the rails. The car begins to travel faster and faster, since no one is controlling its speed.Outside the tunnel, Garber and Inspector Daniels are convinced that the runaway train is a diversion and that the hijackers must have left the train.The hijackers divide the ransom money, discard their disguises, and start their escape into the tunnel's emergency exit; however, Grey refuses to leave his gun behind as agreed and is shot dead by Blue. The undercover officer, still hiding in the tracks, manages to kill Brown with one shot. Green escapes onto the street.Garber arrives after Green has gotten away and, drawing on Blue, orders him to surrender just as Blue is about to shoot the undercover officer. Blue asks Garber if the death penalty is available in the state of New York anymore. Told that it is not, Blue responds, "Pity", then promptly electrocutes himself by stepping onto the third rail while a horrified Garber watches.Entering the South Ferry Loop, the runaway car finally encounters a red signal. The car's emergency brakes are tripped and it grinds to a halt; the remaining hostages are all safe.Green, the only hijacker to escape, has left as a clue only Garber's surmise that one of the hijackers must be an ex-motorman of the New York Transit Authority (owing to the hijackers' knowledge of the car's operation). With the dead three all identified, Garber realizes that the hijacker still at large must be the former transit employee. Garber and Patrone, working their way through a list of former motormen "discharged for cause" (and, by implication, disgruntled), pay a visit to Harold Longman. Longman, known to the audience as Mr. Green, is shown rolling in the packs of ransom money on the bed in his seedy efficiency apartment when Garber and Patrone knock on his door. He hides the money quickly, then opens to the officers and bluffs his way through their questioning. The officers find Longman's alibi weak, but start out the door, until Longman sneezes and Garber says "Gesundheit." Garber then re-opens the door, the expression on his face in the door opening (the film's final frame) telling the audience that he knows he has just found the final hijacker.

Review: Its truly a shame most people aren't familiar with this movie and it doesn't have the allure or big star power to draw in new fans seeking out a great film to watchIf you happen to run across The Taking Of Pelham One Two Three though, do not pass it up!
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.
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.
One of the reasons why the films were great was that the directors were ostensibly in control of the films, rather than by a committee of the usual Hollywood "insiders" who think they know what people want to see, but rarely make the correct decisions.I know that this film was re-made( for TV)--God knows why--but I'm sure if they attempted another film version Matt Damon would be playing the grizzled transit police cop (Matthau's role) and Jude Law would be playing the Robert Shaw role.
Not knowing the name of this film (the Carry On listing was clearly not being shown, perhaps the Producer-dude had a revelation of taste!) I began to watch it half-heartedly, whilst prostrate on the sofa.By the end of the movie, and that glorious last look from Matthau, I was sitting blot-upright with the biggest grin I've had on my face at 2am for a long time!What a flick!
Sharp and fast-paced thriller that follows an easy-going N.Y.C. transit cop (Walter Matthau) who's forced to out-match the wits of four well-armed gunmen and their resilient leader (Robert Shaw) who are holding eighteen passengers on a subway train and demand one million dollars within the hour.Made in the era of smart, stylish, and ingenius thrillers ('70s), this film didn't fail to loose my attention at all.
Walter Matthau is a hoot as the savvy NY transit cop who's smarter than he looks, well-matched by Robert Shaw as the icy mercenary whose gang has hijacked a subway car for a one-million-dollar ransom.
Owen Roizman (THE FRENCH CONNECTION) handled the gritty location photography; scripter Peter Stone contributed terse, funny dialogue; scene-stealers like Martin Balsam, Jerry Stiller, Dick O'Neill and others made their roles indelible; and David Shire's percussive score set a standard for the genre.The ending is classic.
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!
Robert Shaw leads a group of stooges in the violent hijacking of a New York subway train; Walter Matthau is the acerbic transit police officer who assigns himself to the case.
Crafty and tense thriller about a nasty team led by a tough attacker (Robert Shaw) and his underlings (Martin Balsam , Hector Elizondo , Earl Hindman) hijack a subway car holding 17 passengers for 1 million ransom .
Matthau is excellent as an everyman thrust into the pivotal position of negotiating with a lunatic who along with his cohorts has hijacked a New York City subway train.Robert Shaw is truly magnificent as the villainous mastermind behind the subway train takeover.
But, the magic truly starts to simmer in the high tension interplay between Matthau and Shaw as the ruthless killer demands his money while Matthau attempts to achieve the safe release of the victims.Each of the heavies in this picture are identified by colors Mr. Green, Grey and so on; a plot point which inspired director Quentin Tarantino in his debut film Reservoir DOGS.
"Someone might come out here and hit you in your damn nose."An angry trainmaster (Dick O'Neill), when reminded about the 18 hostages, replies: "What do they expect for their lousy 35 cents, to live forever?"When a senior transit cop named Lt. Garber (Walter Matthau) asks a colleague played by Jerry Stiller to tell some Japanese visitors about the kind of crime they have to deal with, Stiller's character replies: "We had a bomb scare in the Bronx yesterday, but it turned out to be a cantaloupe."Matthau's role isn't the most challenging of his career, mostly he pushes a lot of buttons and talks into a microphone, but he throws up an array of great reaction shots, from his first moment of being woken from a catnap to his last, one of the most memorable of any 1970s film.
I love his reaction when Stiller's Lt. Patrone character offers his theory of how the hijackers plan to get away with the loot by flying the subway to Cuba: "You're a sick man, Rico."The real sick man in this movie is the great Robert Shaw as the lead hijacker, who goes by the alias Mr. Blue.
Walter Matthau was brilliant, the comedy was a compliment to the movie, especially as a serious situation was getting even more critical as the time ran-out.Robert Shaw was great as the criminal mastermind...now we know the United States fascination with english speaking criminal masterminds (Alan Rickman & Jeremy Irons of Die Hard).
The movie deserves its own book, and ranks right up there with Citizen Kane (1941) as a movie so good, there's no way to say how good it is.The use of comedy inter-cut with tension and true tragedy was never done better in any movie, and highlights how important the unlikely marriage of comedy and horror is when it's done well.The James Whale 1930's horror movies (two Frankenstein movies and the Invisible Man movie) do this well, and so did better class sci-fi space travel movies (Destination Moon in 1950 had a comic passenger very important to the film).I was born in New York City, and lived there several times in my life, and I'm partial to the unique wise-guy, one-oneupmanship humor found nowhere else, and brilliant when it's done well.In The Taking Of Pelham One Two Three (1974), New York City wise-guy humor is done well....the timing, the straight face delivery of outrageous blandness, the irony, the put-down humor.....only New Yorkers could and have come up with comedy like this.They did it when New York City was truly a city which included people of all backgrounds and income levels, all part of the city's life, all players.
He plays an outrageous, outraged long time supervisor worker on the New York subway system named "Cas Dolowitz," and his performance is incredible.Tom Pedi as "Cas Dolowitz" plays a proletarian character of dignity, importance, interest, and charisma....not just a piece of background actor scenery decorating scenes dominated by "beautiful people" main actors.The is a proletarian movie in very important and unusual ways few other films ever are.In a sense, every one of the actors in The Taking Of Pelham One Two Three (1974) are character actors, and this defines the movie importantly, and makes it one of the greatest movies about common people in one of the world's biggest cities ever made.---------------------------Written by Tex Allen, SAG Actor.
In this modest 70's action blockbuster, based on the novel by John Godey, a quartet of well- prepared and heavily armed men that address to each other with colors instead of names (I suppose Quentin Tarantino holds a copy in his private film collection as well) hijack a busy New York subway train and demand $1 million ransom from the city council.
Witty dialogue contains plenty of laughs (uniform to dispatcher "they just shot him with a machine gun", dispatcher "is he dead?", uniform "wouldn't you be lieutenant?") but the tone is never compromised - both Elizondo and in particular Shaw, create chilling characters promising to execute one hostage for every minute the ransom is late; e.g. Shaw's execution of one of the hostages as retribution for a sniper strike is performed with merciless efficiency.I initially responded to the idea of remaking this film with contempt - akin to turning this train thriller into a train wreck.
Basically in New York City, 4 men wearing trench coats and rimmed glasses hijack a Pelham 123 subway train and for the hostage to go free, they want a million dollars.
At its roots this film is a story of two men - Mr. Blue(all the gunmen have color-coded names that Quentin Tarrantino borrowed in Reservoir Dogs)played with his usual aplomb by Robert Shaw as the leader of the gang and Walter Matthau as the Transit detective out to do what he can to remedy the situation.
It isn't really an actor's film but Walter Matthau does as good as can be expected and Robert Shaw is excellent as the cold-blooded head villain.
A ruthless gang of men dressed as old fellas takes over a single New York City subway, separates it from the rest of the train, and issues a demand to authorities: deliver one million dollars in one hour, or passengers will be killed every minute over the deadline!Walter Matthau plays the crafty transit cop on the case in this psychological crime drama pitting him against the manipulative and single-minded Robert Shaw, the leader of the baddies.
The characterizations are vivid and intelligent, and the audience is treated to some real crackerjack performances.You see, the best part of this movie isn't guessing whether the authorities are going to submit to Shaw's demands and give the gunmen their money, it's in wondering how he plans on getting away with the crime.
The latter contributes mightily to the film's unforgettable final scene.The plot, music, photography, background, dialog, and the rest of the supporting cast -- most especially Dick O'Neill as a vengeful city worker, Lee Wallace as the whiny mayor, and Tony Roberts as Wallace's image consultant -- are all equally up to the task.I love many 1970's movies.
Taking of Pelham One Two Three, The (1974)*** 1/2 (out of 4) Four armed men (Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam, Hector Elizondo, Earl Hindman) hijack a subway car in New York City and demand one-million dollars or they will start shooting the hostages.
Lots of great performances but the stand outs are Matthau as Lt. Garber struggling to deal with the equally good Robert Shaw as Mr Blue, leader of the hijackers.
The extraordinary situation here, mind you, is up with the best of them, namely the hi-jacking of a New York City underground train, no less, its passengers held for ransom by Robert Shaw and his "rainbow" gang, (Messrs Green, Gray, Brown and Blue), prefiguring a minor plot device Tarantino would re-use in "Reservoir Dogs".
The film was adapted from a novel by Morton Freedgood {writing under the pseudonym John Godey}, and features an excellent cast in Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw and Martin Balsam, as well as  in an unexpected treat for fans of TV comedy  Jerry Stiller ("Seinfeld") and Earl Hindman ("Home Improvement").
The New York City "Style" seems to have Captured Most Viewers and Viewed Today some of the Un-PC Stuff can be "Refreshing".The Film has a Cult Following, among those Director Quentin Tarantino (a 1970's Fetishist), and Objectively it is Typical of its Era and there are quite a Number of Films from the Time that are just as Good and some that are Much Better.But Given its Due as a Good Combination of Suspense and Humor it all Works quite Magnificently and Grips from the Get-Go.Never Letting Up, and if You can Forgive the Hyperbolic, Unlikable Characters (Mayor, Cops, and Transit Authorities) who all seem to be Straining to Stand Out among the many Stereotypical New Yorkers Populating the Frame, it can be an Exciting and Entertaining Movie..
Best of all, the movie does have a good sense of humor, paying itself off in a couple of ways.Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam, Hector Elizondo, and Earl Hindman play a quartet of ruthless men who hijack an NYC subway train and hold almost 20 passengers hostage.
"We are going to kill one passenger a minute until New York City pays us $1 Million.""The Taking of Pelham One Two Three" is a perfect example of a tension filled, wonderfully constructed, and extremely entertaining thriller.
You can count among its biggest admirers Quentin Tarantino, who borrowed the color-coded nicknames of the villains in the film for his band of thieves in "Reservoir Dogs."Four armed men hijack a New York City subway train and demand $1 million dollars which must be delivered in 1 hour for the release of the passengers held hostage.
Maybe not as well known and remembered, recently reborn through the remake, the 1974 Taking of the Pelham One Two Three is a top notch heist flick.Transit policeman at the NY subway command centre becomes a hostage negotiator, when four armed men take over the Pelham One Two Three and threaten to kill the hostages is the sum of 1 million dollars isn't delivered to them within 60 minutes.Garber, played by Walter Matthaw, is an ordinary man who is doing his job without expecting anything unusual, but still manages to stay calm during tense situations, Matthaw clearly plays his role well.
Based on the book by John Godey, TAKING OF PELHAM focuses on four criminals who hijack a subway car and demand one million dollars from the mayor of New York, threatening to kill one hostage per minute if their demands aren't met.
New York City transit lieutenant Zachary Garber goes above and beyond his call of duty to play negotiator with the hijackers.With the remake coming out this weekend (June 12, 2009), what's a better time than to watch the original film?
This has got to be one of the best movies of all time - The story is riveting - a bunch of crooks and a disgruntled sacked train driver hijack a subway train (pelham 123) with about a dozen people on board and they're not afraid to turn their guns on their hostages if their demands of $1,000,000 in an hour isn't met.
The scenary is great, with a gripping script and fantastic acting - I can't believe I never heard of this movie before!!Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw are fantastic, and the ending is absolutely brilliant!A must watch 9/10Stewart.
THE TAKING OF PELHAM ONE TWO THREE (1974) ***1/2 Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam, Hector Elizondo, Jerry Stiller, Dick O' Neill.
When four disguised men with automatic weapons take a NYC subway train and its passengers hostage it's up to weary transit cop Matthau (great fun) to match odds with lead criminal mastermind Shaw (in subdued Eurotrash mode) calling the shots.
One of the best thrillers of the 1970s, this gritty urban thriller concerns itself with four extremely dangerous men, led by an incredibly ruthless Robert Shaw, holding seventeen passengers and a conductor hostage on a New York subway train.
From a day before computer generated FX and MTV produced attention span cripples Pelham creates excitement and almost unbearable suspense via memorable characters, crackling dialogue and a wonderfully sly sense of humor.Walter Matthau delivers one of his best performances as a sardonic cynical police detective matching wits with a band of ruthless terrorists who have hijacked a subway car demanding a million dollar ransom for the release of its passengers.
It is the tension between these two characters that keep you on the edge of your seat - not the action of which there is very little.Add to this a great ensemble cast that includes Martin Balsam, Hector Elizondo, and the city of New York, and a very clever plot with a wonderful little twist at the end, and you have one of the best crime films of the 70s.
A team of hijackers takes hold of a NYC subway car and says that will kill a passenger every minute unless the city pays them $1 million..With a plot like that its easy to see why this movie grabs your attention...but what holds it together is excellent pacing that keeps you involved and wondering what is going happen next.
With a terrific screenplay by Peter Stone and brilliant direction from Joseph Sargent, (it's easily the best thing he's ever done), "The Taking of Pelham One, Two, Three" is still one of the most enjoyable heist movies ever made, (in this case, heist as in the hijacking of a subway train).
Robert Shaw and Martin Balsam are two of the hi-jackers and Walter Matthau, the New York cop doing the negotiations but the whole cast are first-rate.
There isn't a lot of blood and at least the hostages react to killings like real people would.Being a railfan and car nut, I enjoy watching the subway footage and also the cars above ground.There are plenty of reviews here for Pelham, so I will simply say that it is a very good film, well acted, well shot, and the humor scattered throughout is great.And whatever you do, make sure you watch it to the very last second!PS: I have NO clue why anyone bothered to remake this movie...
Ex-mercenary Robert Shaw and his colour-coded crew take over the titular subway train full of New York City stereotypes and demand one million dollars in exchange for the release of the hostages.
It is just a good hostage movie with excellent acting by Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw.You can also choose for the modern remake of this movie with Denzel Washington and John Travolta.
It is Shaw's performance that elevates Pelham to a classic as he remains calm as everyone else panics and worries and that plays beautifully off his fellow hijackers Balsam and Elizondo, and even off Matthau through the radio.While the remake is a fine movie, it is nowhere near the caliber of the original.
The movie was directed by Joseph Sargent and it tells the story of a man (Shaw) who, with some other gunmen, hijack a subway train in New York City.