The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)

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Ratings: 7.7/10 from 18,702 users   Metascore: 68/100
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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?

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Title: The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)

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Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 2 nominations. See more awards »

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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Lee Wallace ...
Al - the Mayor of New York City
Tom Pedi ...
Beatrice Winde ...
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Nathan George ...
Police Ptl. James
Rudy Bond ...
Phil - Police Commissioner
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Harry - Borough Commander (as Kenneth Mc Millan)
...
Jessie - the Mayor's Wife
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Storyline

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 ... Written by Huggo

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

Everyone read it. Now you can live it. See more »

Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

Certificate:

R | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Country:

Language:

|

Release Date:

14 November 1974 (West Germany)  »

Also Known As:

El tomar de Pelham uno dos tres  »

Box Office

Gross:

SEK 1,003,937 (Sweden)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

The Transit Authority (TA) of New York at first refused to allow the film to be shot on the actual New York subway. They feared it would lead to imitative crime (it didn't, but their position was shown to be reasonable when the later film Money Train (1995) apparently did). Associate producer Stephen F. Kesten was equally adamant that no other city's subway could be credibly used (and he was apparently right: see the goofs entry for the remake The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1998)). The TA finally did cooperate after Mayor John V. Lindsay intervened, but they required United Artists to buy anti-hijacking insurance at a cost of $75,000 in addition to paying $275,000 for the use of the subway. The film's closing credits have a disclaimer that states that the New York Transit Authority neither gave advice nor information for any use in the movie. It reads: "Although many of the scenes in this film were taken on transit property, the New York City Transit Authority is not responsible for the plot, story and characters portrayed. The Authority did not render technical advice and assistance". See more »

Goofs

When Mr. Green first enters 59th street station, an R16 NYC Subway car is seen leaving with the designations of a 6 train (2:16). Seconds later, Green then goes downstairs to catch an R22 train that is also a 6 train (2:45). See more »

Quotes

[first lines]
Mr. Mattson: Okay, kid, out loud now so's I can hear what you're sayin'.
Bud Carmody: I'm checkin' the passengers gettin' on and off...
Mr. Mattson: Uh-huh.
Bud Carmody: Front and back. Shuttin' the doors. Rear section first and the first section. And the doors are closed. Now I'm checking my indicator lights to make sure all the doors are locked. I remove my switch key and back out the window for a distance of three car lengths to make sure no one's being dragged. 51st Street next stop; next stop, 51st Street. How'd I do?
See more »

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. See more »

Connections

Referenced in Texas Chain Saw Massacre: The Shocking Truth (2000) See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

Great NYC flick
28 February 2002 | by (NYC) – See all my reviews

I am biased a little with this film to begin with, as I live in NYC and am a big subway fan. So a gritty 70's flick that takes place in a NYC subway sounds good to me! But the truth is, this film is a great film full of extremely talented actors with a dynamite story. 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! It was a great surprise when I found the DVD for only ten bucks, I would have paid a normal price. And the quality of the DVD transfer is VERY nice. The film, though a bit brutal sometimes, even has some decent humor, even the ending is kinda funny, but perfect. I recently watched this on TV, just to compare the two versions and see where all the cuts and edits were. You can't go wrong with this film.


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