Review of The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) by John T — 10 Sep 2013

This fast-paced thriller, one of the best of the gritty New York crime drama genre of the 1970s, follows a transit police detective who's forced to match wits with four heavily armed men when they hijack a New York City subway car and demand $1 million within one hour or they will shoot the passengers. It's just a regular day in the New York City Transit Authority.

Walter Matthau headlines a superb cast in this adrenaline charged, roller coaster ride. He was excellent as the cop thrust into the position of negotiating with a former mercenary who along with his cohorts has hijacked a New York City subway train. Robert Shaw is equally good as the villainous mastermind behind the subway train takeover. But, the heart of the film is the interplay between Matthau and Shaw as the ruthless killer demands his money while Matthau attempts to achieve the safe release of the hostages.

Each of the heavies in this picture are identified by colors Mr. Green, Grey, Blue and Brown; a plot point used by director Quentin Tarantino in Reservoir Dogs. Martin Balsam is terrific as one of the hijackers with a head cold, which ultimately leads to his undoing. Hector Elizondo, as an unhinged thug who was thrown out of the Mafia who is eager to execute anyone who crosses him, and Earl Hindman who later played Mr. Wilson on Home Improvement, were good in early roles in their careers. A solid crew of character actors round out this picture, most notably Jerry Stiller as a transit cop who ably matched wisecracks with Matthau.

The film generates tension and suspense without resorting to blood and gore levels of violence. There is some shooting with automatic weapons and sidearms but not much of that. There is no blood, and no homage to the ultimate action film cliche: the final shoot out in an abondoned warehouse, albeit there is one in a subway tunnel; this is a subway story after all. The tension cleverly shifts from whether the hijackers will receive their ransom on time to how they will escape from a subway tunnel beneath Manhattan.

This are also some funny lines, but none of the humor is jammed into the script just to get a laugh, but rather comes across as what people under such stress might say.