Four armed men hijack a New York City subway car and demand a ransom for the passengers. The city's police are faced with a conundrum: Even if it's paid, how could they get away?Four armed men hijack a New York City subway car and demand a ransom for the passengers. The city's police are faced with a conundrum: Even if it's paid, how could they get away?Four armed men hijack a New York City subway car and demand a ransom for the passengers. The city's police are faced with a conundrum: Even if it's paid, how could they get away?
- Director
- Writers
- John Godey(novel)
- Peter Stone(screenplay)
- Stars
- Director
- Writers
- John Godey(novel)
- Peter Stone(screenplay)
- Stars
- Nominated for 2 BAFTA Awards
- 3 nominations total
Videos1
- Borough Commanderas Borough Commander
- (as Kenneth Mc Millan)
- Director
- Writers
- John Godey(novel)
- Peter Stone(screenplay)
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
- All cast & crew
Storyline
- african american
- new york city
- reference to fiorello la guardia
- male police officer
- undercover police officer
- 75 more
- Taglines
- Before this train reaches the next station it will become the scene of the most spectacular hijack ever attempted
- Genres
- Certificate
- R
- Parents guide
Did you know
- TriviaIn 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.
- GoofsWhen the gang separates the train and backs it up to separate it from the train, the young conductor says in amazement, "I didn't know these things went backwards." Cute, but this is a very unlikely line from an apprentice conductor "studying to take the motorman's exam." Besides the usual running back and forth while making up trains in the yards, every subway car runs in both directions, because they usually do not turn the train around at the end of the line. Instead, the operator stops at the last station, walks from the former front to the former back, switches controls to the new "front end" and goes back the way he came. So all subway cars spend half of their life "going backwards," as any conductor would know.
- Quotes
Lt. Garber: [looking for the inspector] Inspector Daniels?
Inspector Daniels: [identifying himself] Daniels.
Lt. Garber: [realizing inspector Daniels is black] Oh, I, uh, thought you were, uh, like a shorter guy or... I don't know what I thought.
- Crazy creditsAlthough many of the scenes in this film were taken on transit property, the New York City Transit Authority is not responsible for plot, story and characters portrayed. The Authority did not render technical advice and assistance.
- ConnectionsEdited into Superman III (1983)
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.
- bkoganbing
- May 28, 2007
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- El tomar de Pelham uno dos tres
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $5,000,000 (estimated)
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