the Taking Of Pelham One Two Three (1974)

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the Taking Of Pelham One Two Three (1974); Joseph Sargent
Topic Started: Jun 27 2009, 07:15 PM (102 Views)
Stony Brooke da Mesquiteer	Jun 27 2009, 07:15 PM Post #1
Balconeer Creeper Posts: 14,166 Group: Members Member #244 Joined: July 6, 2007	I was 16 when this film came out, and I always turned to the movie page of the newspaper to see when new movies opened, and I wanted to see this. I finally got my chance about 2 weeks ago when it played on cable. 4 gentlemen with fake glasses, fake moustaches, hats and overcoats hijack a New York City subway, actually, it's the Pelham 123. They all use colors for aliases. Robert Shaw is Mr. Blue, and he's the leader of the bunch. Martin Balsam is Mr. Green, and he is a former subway conductor who was fired, so he has a grudge againt the Transit Authority. Hector Elizondo is Mr. Gray, the usual live wire in a film like this. He's constantly giving grief to the passengers, and to Mr. Blue. Some guy I've never heard of (Earl Hindman according to IMDb) is Mr. Brown, and I don't recall him doing much except standing around with a gun. The 4 men uncouple the lead car and move it down the tracks away from the rest of the train, and away from any platforms. The train contains about 20 passengers as hostages. Brown calls Lt. Garber (Walter Matthau doin' a great job here) at the central station and demands $1,000,000, and Brown wants the cash in an hour, or he'll start shooting hostages. Garber's right hand man is Rico Patrone (Jerry Stiller sans Mearra), and he's a wise cracking lieutenant who adds a little humor to the film. The film is a little over an hour and a half, and is mainly carried by the dialog, which I think was well written. I was expecting more of an action film, but since it wasn't that, I was surprised to find out how much I enjoyed it. The late 60s and early 70s are my favorite period for American automobiles, so that's always a plus for me. I would say that the aliases in this film were the inspiration for the character names in Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs, but homage would probably be a better word. There's a black actor playing a cop, but I don't know his name. He plays the henchman in Live And Let Die, he's the dude with the metal-pincher hand. All of his lines seem to be dubbed in Pelham, and they're a riot. It would be the only knock I'd have against this film if I wasn't so amused by the dubbing. Special Stony Surprise: 2 of my favorite actors from 90s sitcoms are here. I already mentioned Stiller, whom I love as George Costanza's father on Seinfeld The mayor's wife is played by Doris Roberts, who also plays Ray's momma on Everybody Loves Raymond, and she's as cracky here in her few scenes as she was in Ray's sitcom. Stony's ranking: 4 bong hits outta 5.
	"She's got style, she's got grace She's got long, long legs, she's got... Savoir Faire"


Black Tiger	Jun 28 2009, 09:53 AM Post #2
Charter Member Posts: 1,812 Group: Members Member #50 Joined: September 15, 2005	Stony, please post your comments on the new Taking of Pelham 123 if you see it. I'm curious how it holds up. I really enjoyed the original as well.



Stony Brooke da Mesquiteer	Jun 28 2009, 10:10 AM Post #3
Balconeer Creeper Posts: 14,166 Group: Members Member #244 Joined: July 6, 2007	Black Tiger Jun 28 2009, 09:53 AM Stony, please post your comments on the new Taking of Pelham 123 if you see it. I'm curious how it holds up. I really enjoyed the original as well. I don't plan on seeing it at the theater BT. It might be entertaining though, with Tony Scott directing.
	"She's got style, she's got grace She's got long, long legs, she's got... Savoir Faire"


Chandu	Jun 28 2009, 12:07 PM Post #4
Knowledge Seeker and rascal at large Posts: 10,256 Group: Members Member #297 Joined: October 19, 2007	I saw this on cable, back in the '80's. It was one of those evenings where there was just nothing else to watch, so I was kind of forced into it. Lemme tell ya I was very pleasantly surprised, so much so, that while Stony was watching it, I was DVRing it to revisit.
	Not plane, nor bird, nor even frog. It's just little ol' me...


shelbyvinje	Jun 29 2009, 03:33 PM Post #5
Balcony Gang, Foist Class Posts: 415 Group: Members Member #470 Joined: June 3, 2008	Mystery Channel has been running it often recently. Saw the remake. Original is a tad bit better. They didn't do anything to improve it, just modernized the movie and added more of the "dark cinema" such as John Travalta doing nothing more than a standard Travalta you've seen in violent movies. Watch the original -- try to catch it on TV since it's on "Very Long Wait" on Netflix which is not the status the original was on Netflix six months ago.



panzer the great & terrible	Jun 29 2009, 05:28 PM Post #6
Mouth Breather Posts: 10,323 Group: Members Member #13 Joined: September 3, 2005	"Very long wait" doesn't always turn out to be such a long wait at all. It's always worth trying.
	We Wear Short Shorts Flying Purple People Eater


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