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The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)

Director: Joseph Sargent

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From Time Out Film Guide

Four hijackers, got up like Groucho Marx and led by Robert Shaw with the voice of a Dalek, kidnap a New York subway train and hold the city to ransom. Saviour of the system is Transit Authority Inspector Matthau, harking back to his early acting days as a grim heavy, and with a Bronx accent as thick and fancy as a piece of angel cake. It's a slice of Urban Crisis life, you see, and to prove it the occupants of the train 'represent a cross-section of New York: a pimp, a Puerto Rican pregnant girl, a hippie, a hooker, a WASP, a wino and a homosexual'. This movie's so up-to-date even the mayor's a laughing-stock. Yet, despite the caricature, the facile screenplay by Peter Stone, and the desperate direction from Sargent ('who has directed some of television's finest hours'), the film retains a fascination - the way Juggernaut did; and needless to say, it's been a monster hit in cities with an underground system.

Author: AN 0000-00-00 00:00:00

Time Out Film Guide

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The Taking of Pelham One Two Three

Cast & crew

Director: Joseph Sargent

Producer: Gabriel Katzka, Edgar J Scherick

Cast: Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam, Hector Elizondo, Earl Hindman, James Broderick, Dick O'Neill, Lee Wallace, Tom Pedi, Kenneth McMillan full cast

Genre(s): Thrillers

Duration: 104 mins


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