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The Taking of Pelham One Two Three

  • 19741974
  • RR
  • 1h 44m
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
30K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
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?
Play trailer2:27
1 Video
78 Photos
  • Action
  • Crime
  • Thriller

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?

IMDb RATING
7.6/10
30K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Joseph Sargent
  • Writers
    • John Godey(novel)
    • Peter Stone(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Walter Matthau
    • Robert Shaw
    • Martin Balsam
Top credits
  • Director
    • Joseph Sargent
  • Writers
    • John Godey(novel)
    • Peter Stone(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Walter Matthau
    • Robert Shaw
    • Martin Balsam
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 220User reviews
    • 111Critic reviews
    • 68Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 2 BAFTA Awards
      • 3 nominations total

    Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:27
    Official Trailer

    Photos78

    Walter Matthau in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
    Anna Berger, Thomas La Fleur, Eric O'Hanian, and Lucy Saroyan in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
    Robert Shaw and James Broderick in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
    Walter Matthau and Dick O'Neill in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
    Walter Matthau in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
    Robert Shaw in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
    Martin Balsam, Hector Elizondo, Robert Shaw, and Earl Hindman in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
    Hector Elizondo in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
    Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
    Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
    Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
    Walter Matthau in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Walter Matthau
    Walter Matthau
    • Lt. Garberas Lt. Garber
    Robert Shaw
    Robert Shaw
    • Blueas Blue
    Martin Balsam
    Martin Balsam
    • Greenas Green
    Hector Elizondo
    Hector Elizondo
    • Greyas Grey
    Earl Hindman
    Earl Hindman
    • Brownas Brown
    James Broderick
    James Broderick
    • Denny Doyleas Denny Doyle
    Dick O'Neill
    Dick O'Neill
    • Correllas Correll
    Lee Wallace
    Lee Wallace
    • The Mayoras The Mayor
    Tom Pedi
    Tom Pedi
    • Caz Dolowiczas Caz Dolowicz
    Beatrice Winde
    • Mrs. Jenkinsas Mrs. Jenkins
    Jerry Stiller
    Jerry Stiller
    • Lt. Rico Patroneas Lt. Rico Patrone
    Nathan George
    Nathan George
    • Ptl. Jamesas Ptl. James
    Rudy Bond
    Rudy Bond
    • Police Commissioneras Police Commissioner
    Kenneth McMillan
    Kenneth McMillan
    • Borough Commanderas Borough Commander
    • (as Kenneth Mc Millan)
    Doris Roberts
    Doris Roberts
    • Mayor's Wifeas Mayor's Wife
    Julius Harris
    Julius Harris
    • Inspector Danielsas Inspector Daniels
    Cynthia Belgrave
    • The Maidas The Maid
    Anna Berger
    Anna Berger
    • The Motheras The Mother
    • Director
      • Joseph Sargent
    • Writers
      • John Godey(novel)
      • Peter Stone(screenplay)
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit
    Four seemingly-unrelated men board subway train Pelham 1:23 at successive stations. Mr. Blue, Mr. Green, Mr. Grey and Mr. Brown are heavily armed and overpower the motorman and novice conductor to take control of the train. Between stations they separate the front car from the remainder of the train, setting passengers in the back cars and the motorman free. The four demand $1 million ransom within exactly one hour for the remaining eighteen hostages, including the conductor. If their demands are not met in time or their directions are not followed precisely, they will begin to shoot hostages dead, one every minute the money is late. Wisecracking Lt. Zach Garber of the transit police ends up being the primary communicator between the hijackers and the authorities, which includes transit operations, his own police force, the NYPD, and the unpopular and currently flu ridden mayor who will make the ultimate decision of whether to pay the ransom. Unknown to Garber, what may be working on their side is the disparate nature of the four hijackers, including methodical and unbending Blue, trigger happy Grey, and also under the weather Green, who may pass out before the caper has concluded. What Garber does know is that there is a plain clothes NYPD officer among the eighteen hostages. What Garber has to try and figure out is how the four hijackers can possibly get away, as they are in a tunnel and have to remain with the train since it has a dead-man mechanism which requires a motorman at the controls at all times. —Huggo
    • african american
    • new york city
    • reference to fiorello la guardia
    • male police officer
    • undercover police officer
    • 75 more
    • Plot summary
    • Plot synopsis
    • Taglines
      • Before this train reaches the next station it will become the scene of the most spectacular hijack ever attempted
    • Genres
      • Action
      • Crime
      • Thriller
    • Certificate
      • R
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • 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
      When 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 credits
      Although 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.
    • Connections
      Edited into Superman III (1983)

    User reviews220

    Review
    Top review
    9/10
    "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.
    helpful•73
    4
    • bkoganbing
    • May 28, 2007

    FAQ7

    • Why are the passengers specifically designated in the credits but not in the movie itself?
    • What is 'The Taking of Pelham One Two Three' about?
    • Is "The Taking of Pelham" based on a book?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 14, 1974 (West Germany)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • Spanish
    • Also known as
      • El tomar de Pelham uno dos tres
    • Filming locations
      • Gracie Mansion, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
    • Production companies
      • Palomar Pictures International
      • Palladium Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $5,000,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 44 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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