The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)

Starring: Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam, Héctor Elizondo, James Broderick, Jerry Stiller, Earl Hindman, Tony Roberts, and Doris Roberts with a cameo from Bill Cobbs
Grade: A

You’ll see this a lot in the review portion, but the sense of humor of The Taking of Pelham One Two Three in the heat of the moment is what puts it in such a higher tier.

At one point, Pelham is already moving before they clear the tracks and as it’s noted, one of the workers are aloof enough to ask, “Who’s moving?”. Of course, Walter Matthau’s deadpan Garber responds with his comic delivery of, “What’s a matter with everyone? How many hijacked trains we got over here?”.

Summary

In New York City, an older man with allergy problems, who will later have the codename “Mr. Green” (Martin Balsam) enters the 6 train in the subway, Pelham 1-2-3. There, the conductor (Jerry Holland) is being trained by his superior Mr. Mattson on day-to-day operations when pulling out of the station. Mattson offers advice, saying to serve six months first and then put in for the motorman position. They pull up to the 51st Street stop and another suspicious and sleazy man, who will later have the codename “Mr. Grey” (Elizondo), enters the train. The next stop is Grand Central. With his shift coming to a close, Mattson gets off there, as yet another suspicious and similarly looking man, who will later have the codename “Mr. Brown” (Hindman), enters the train. He shoulders Mattson aggressively as he gets on. At the 28th Street stop, the last member of the crew waits. He is the leader of the bunch and will later have the codename “Mr. Blue” (Shaw). From the platform, he points a gun at motorman Denny Doyle (Broderick) and tells him he’s taking over the train. At the same time, Mr. Brown puts a gun on the conductor. With Mr. Blue, he forces Doyle to open his door, allowing for Mr. Green to enter from the inside. In the train, some guy tries to walk past Mr. Grey, but he doesn’t allow him to and points his concealed gun into him to force him away. Mr. Brown has the conductor close the doors as soon as Mr. Blue enters the train car with Doyle and Mr. Green. Green takes over as driver and starts the train. Unbeknownst to everyone else, the plan is now in full effect, and the hijackers have taken over.

At the police station, Lt. Zachary Garber (Matthau) of the New York Transit Authority Police is sitting there asleep but wakes up just in time to give something to receptionist Shelley to bring upstairs. Just then, another woman brings in four Japanese guests who are directors of the Tokyo Metropolitan Subway System consisting of Yashimura (Toru Nagai), Matsumoto (Sho Onodera), Tomashita (Conrad Yama), and Nakabashi (Tura Nakamura). Garber has to give them a tour and send them to the chairman once he’s done because the chairman wants to say goodbye to them personally. Immediately, Garber tries to walk around and spew a few facts about New York’s subway system, but the Tokyo directors don’t understand the cue to follow him as he speaks until Garber stops and politely calls them over.

It’s going to be a long day for Garber.

Back on the 6 train, there’s a few issues as they’re driving, but Mr. Green and Doyle assure Mr. Blue it’s the train and not the driver. Meanwhile, Garber takes the directors into the headquarters of the Transit Police. It occupies the entire second floor of the building. They call it the “Nerve Center”. He shows them around the room some more and talks of the daily activities and jobs of the employees under him while trying to engage in conversation with the directors, but they don’t really bite on anything. Trucking along, he introduces them to operations lieutenant Rico Patrone (Stiller). He tries to get Rico to talk about some stories involving his job, but he brushes him off after a joke about a bomb scare that ended up being a cantaloupe. On the train, Doyle and Green talk for a bit about being written up. When Green talks about the two times he was written up when he worked as a motorman, Blue cuts him off and points out how he’s sharing too much information about himself, so Green stops. They stop the train for a moment, and Green tells Doyle he’s taking the brake handle, the reverse key, and the cutting key. As he exits the motorman’s room, Blue says they will be hearing from the Command Center in a minute or two, and Doyle is to ignore the call. Green meets up with Brown, and they demand the cab key from the conductor. He tries to refuse at first because it would cost him his job, but Brown’s threat of killing him ultimately supersedes this. Command Center calls in and Doyle picks it up instinctively, though he puts it down before he says anything after Blue holds the gun on him.

Grand Central Tower is already starting to flip out, as they can see the train is backed up all along the line. Supervisor Caz Dolowicz (Tom Pedi) shows up late with a plumber because co-worker Mrs. Jenkins’ (Beatrice Winde) wedding ring fell in the toilet. The two men enter through one of the gates to get into the tower and the plumber asks why it isn’t locked, with Caz hilariously retorting, “Who’s gonna steal a subway train?”. Once they get in, Caz’s superior Marino (Robert Weil) yells at him, and they argue like typical New Yorkers do. Then, Caz notices the map on the board detailing the backup problem and wonders if there’s a radio issue with Doyle’s train or if he’s just being lazy, threatening to write him up if it’s the latter. As the group of hijackers separate the cars of the train, with the larger section moving backwards and the front car staying behind, Caz and everyone continue to speculate what’s going on as they see it on their map. Next, the train stops. Brown and Green take the conductor to the front car, joining Grey, Blue, and Doyle. Green gets back into the room with Blue and Doyle, and Blue says they’re two minutes late. He hands Green his gun and takes Doyle away. On the map in the tower, they see the front car is moving forwards again. Standing with Doyle, Blue sees some kids messing around and he tells them to rejoin their mother, so they listen. Then, Blue and the other pull out their machine guns and make their presence known to the others on the train and how they mean business. Then, the front car stops again. Frank (Dick O’Neill) from the Grand Central Terminal calls the tower, and Mrs. Jenkins gives the phone to Caz to explain this mess. Frank demands things be supervised because the 6 train is causing everything else to be backed up, so Caz leaves to see what’s going on.

In the train, they turn off the power, and all the people on it are moved to the back. Blue tells Doyle he is to collect all the passengers from the nine cars they cut loose and walk them to the 28th Street Station. Once Doyle leaves, a few passengers try to plead their case as to why they should leave and another just wants to know what’s going on, but Blue isn’t in the mood for any of this and refuses to hear anyone out. The lights dim, but Blue insists nothing will happen as long as they obey his command. One guy jokingly says that’s what they told him in Vietnam and he still got shot full of lead, prompting Grey to hit him with his gun. Seeing this, Blue motions Grey to walk away. Green rejoins them in their car and tells them that the power is off from 14th Street to 33rd Street on all four tracks, local and express, the north and the southbound. The only reason they’re still seeing lights in the tunnel is because they are emergency lights that run on AC like the signals. Green sneezes again after he says this, and Blue tells him to stop. Frank calls in again, demanding a response from the train because it’s screwing up the entire New York Subway System. As this goes on, Garber brings the directors into the TA Command Center with Frank. Everyone is freaking out, but Garber is continuing with his tour, promising to his fellow co-worker that the directors don’t understand a word of English. Garber tries to make a joke about Frank as he walks by, but Frank is in no mood. Asking what’s the matter, Frank gives him the lowdown.

“Oh nothing. A train is down, it’s radio dead, the power is off, and it’s dumped its load.”

As Green tells Blue it’s 2:10PM, Blue decides it’s time to talk to the Command Center. He calls in, and Frank tries to get tough with him because he assumes it’s the motorman. However, Blue is clear. Pelham 1-2-3 has been taken. Realizing something is up, Frank tells everyone in the room to shut up. Blue gives him the details, telling him that four heavily armed hijackers have taken 17 passengers and the conductor hostage in the first car. He will kill any or all of them if they do not obey his command to the letter. Garber and everyone else are now listening in. As Blue asks Frank to pull out a pen and paper to write down his list of demands, Frank puts him on hold. Garber has him call in the TA police. Frank is still confused by the presence of the Tokyo directors, which only reminds Garber to send them to the chairman. This is where they reveal they can speak and understand English fluently, and Garber just stares like an idiot after messing with them throughout the entirety of his little tour. Following their awkward exit from the room, Garber patches in to Patrone and asks for him to plug in everything he has to the IRT train master’s circuit, for all units to stand by on the double, and to call in the city cops. Patrone is confused and asks what’s happening, with Garber explaining that a train has been hijacked. Caz shows up to the 28th Street stop and asks the conductor when the power went out, learning it was only a couple of minutes ago. He goes further into the tunnel and sees Doyle marching the other passengers towards safety. After he chastises Doyle for not “going down with the ship”, he tells him to tell Command Center that he’s on the way to investigate.

Blue calls in to Command Center. Before he lists his demands, he wants them all to know three things: Pelham 1-2-3 is completely within their control, they’re all armed with automatic weapons, and they have no scruples whatsoever about killing. Now, he wants them to inform the mayor they want $1 million in cash for the release of the car and the hostages. The time is 2:13PM. The money must be in their hands by no later than 3:13PM. For every minute they are late, one hostage will die. If anyone attempts to interfere in any way, they will begin killing the hostages immediately. Seeing Frank trying to still act tough with the guy, Garber takes control of the radio and starts talking to Blue after identifying himself as a member of the Transit Police. He tries to tell him he has no chance of getting away with it, but Blue brushes him off because his concern should be about the potential killing of hostages in an hour. Hanging up while Frank tells everyone to go back to work, Garber patches in to Patrone to see if he got everything. Though Patrone only heard Garber’s part of the conversation, he got the gist of it. Garber points out the man has an English accent and says whoever is at 28th Street needs to stay there and hold down the fort because it may be a while before the city cops can get there. Patrone patches in to Patrolman James (Nathan George) and tells him what’s going on but not to alert the other citizens near him. Next, Patrone sends James after Caz, once James says he went down the tunnel.

In upper Manhattan at the Grace Mansion, Mayor Al (Lee Wallace) has the flu and is complaining to his maid about having to stay in bed. Deputy Mayor Warren (Roberts) calls in to deliver the news of the hijacking to Al, so he’s let up to his room. On the train, Green tries to go into the conductor’s room to ask Blue how things are going, but Blue insists Green go back and watch over the passengers. This is mostly because he doesn’t trust Grey, as he’s a pain in the ass who was thrown out of the mafia. Walking through the tunnel, Caz finds their car and Grey threatens him immediately when he tries to ask questions while on foot. James is in the distance, but he doesn’t reveal his position. Grey warns Caz to not come any closer, but Caz wants on board and continues on, prompting Grey to shoot and kill Caz in front of everyone. James witnesses it all. Blue runs over to see the commotion. Though Grey explains himself, he seems agitated at Grey’s willingness to shoot so quickly, so Blue has Brown take over Grey’s spot. As Blue walks back over to his spot, Green reminds him about his promise of no one getting hurt. James patches in to Patrone to reveal what happened to Caz, but he can only whisper it over his radio because he’s twenty yards away from the train. The news is relayed to Garber who tells Frank. They both knew Caz and the reality of the situation is starting to settle in. Captain Costello (Dolph Sweet) calls in to Frank. He’s going down to headquarters and is putting Garber in charge of this situation. Also, there’s apparently a cop on the train being hijacked. Initially, there were two of them but one got off at 33rd Street and called in later when the news got out. This means the other is still on the train. He’s a plainclothes officer in Tactical Force.

At the Gracie Mansion, Al’s grand plan is to let the hijackers have the train because they don’t have a million dollars as a city, but Warren obviously turns this down because this is definitely not an option. Several city officials are heading their way now, and an annoyed Warren has to remind Al that he’s the one who has to make the decision. At the Command Center, Garber tries to patch in to Pelham 1-2-3, but the circuits are being hogged by Frank and his conversations from motormen all over the place. After Garber tells him to clear it and how they need to save the lives of the hostages, a pissed off Frank says, “Screw the passengers” because his job is more important. As they go back and forth, Garber finally gets through to Pelham, and Blue asks right away if there is any news to report. After being interrupted by a sneeze from Green in which Garber hears, he asks Blue for more time. Refusing to negotiate, Blue says it’s 2:24PM.

Despite the red tape they’ll have to get through to even come close to pulling this off, there’s no walking around the situation. Garber only has 49 minutes left to save the lives of these passengers, but the trouble has just begun.

My Thoughts:

A suspenseful thriller done right, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three is as advertised. Without a doubt, it’s one of the best movies of the absolutely loaded class of 1974. Gripping, very funny, well-written on every front from story beats to the smallest of characters, and beautifully directed, this ode to New York and the citizens that encompass it is a fast-moving and highly entertaining production that trumps a majority of your regular, run-of-the-mill, soaked in blood and violence, gratuitous action movie. When in comparison with its remake, the difference in success is the perfect example of how star power doesn’t always equate to making a better movie. Though Tony Scott’s 2009 remake has everyone’s favorite Denzel Washington taking on John Travolta in a very memorable and layered story, the original wins out handily because of how carefully crafted each aspect of the film is.

Sporting the most “1970s” suit you will ever see, the confident and consistently amusing Walter Matthau leads an ensemble to great heights where every single member of the cast, whether they have a small or large role, seems absolutely crucial to the story being told. If one person dies early, you remember them because of an important action or memorable line, and every character who is brought in is brought in for a reason. From top to bottom, everyone plays an important role, leading to something that has to happen to get to the next action. There’s not a single wasted space or line in telling this story, and everyone makes their moment count. Though this may seem like an obvious thing to do, we don’t see it as often as you would think, which is why there are so many bad screenplays out there or movies that have moments or characters who flat-out waste time. Think about the countless mainstream films you’ve watched where you take notice of the amount of redundant or unnecessary characters or moments that don’t lead anywhere worthwhile. Some characters can be combined, some are only there for exposition, and some are only there for comedic relief. Certain moments or supporting characters could be omitted entirely, and the movie would be the exact same. Thankfully, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three could never be accused of such problems, which is why it was such a breath of fresh air. The plot unfolds and is told so well, every beat and character are crucial to molding the story at the brisk pace it moves. A lot of times in ensemble films, audiences may tend to get lost with who is who and what their job is, but this is yet another thing this thriller succeeds at. Not only is each person a very different type of New Yorker, whether it be as a worker or citizen, but they all have distinct personalities.

You have indecisive Mayor Al who wants nothing to do with what could be a career-defining decision, Deputy Mayor Warren LaSalle who’s under him but has more of a handle on things than anyone in the city, Patrolman James who becomes their eyes inside the tunnel and has to be as quiet as possible because of his positioning, classic New Yorker archetype in Supervisor Caz Dolowicz who has a problem with everyone and everything as soon as something goes wrong, and the unserious Lt. Rico Patrone who has to turn it on once he realizes how bad the situation is. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Guaranteed, you can go down the line like this with every character, and you can remember at least one thing they did, or remember at least one thing they said that enhanced the action in some way. They all make their mark in trying to create this sense of anticipation, as they race against time to try and stop these hijackers. From a story perspective (beating the bad guys) and from a behind-the-scenes perspective, this whole production is grounded in the idea that it takes an army to put this whole thing together. Because of this, the setting of New York couldn’t be more perfect. Though the classic stereotype of New Yorkers being argumentative, uncooperative from stranger to worker, everyone having a problem with someone, and virtually every citizen being in a hurry, this optimistic portrayal of America’s most polarizing state coming together when the time is needed to stop bad guys is exactly what is needed.

With movies like Taxi Driver and Death Wish being popular for bringing to life America’s growing disillusionment with a decaying society and borderline nihilism regarding the underbelly of city life in the 1970s, and in some cases glorifying the violence to solving certain issues, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three succeeds in shining a light on the positives of New York City like the colorful personalities, the helpfulness of its citizens when their back is against the wall, the noted tough skin of the people who call the place home, and the fearlessness in the face of evil and danger. At the same time, they still make a great action movie without having to drown the audience with dread and despair that could have easily taken over the picture once Caz was shot and killed. Instead, the heroes of the movie, Garber and all of the city workers behind him, pushed even further to try and stop the evil without turning into vigilante maniacs themselves. When you’ve seen so many dark action pictures all about revenge, aggression consuming an antihero protagonist, and society ruining lives, an action movie like this is a beacon of hope on the other end of the action spectrum not engulfed in dark cynicism. It reminds me a lot of 2016’s Patriots Day in terms of optimism regarding a tragic event and overcoming adversity through citywide help and teamwork. Obviously, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three isn’t nearly as patriotic, but the groundwork and themes are very similar. When you have an exchange like Blue telling Rico over the radio to send Garber his regards and Rico, the most uncaring person there, is inspired enough by the day’s actions to say, “You can tell him yourself, at the arraignment”, the comparison is evident. Though we all maybe assholes, we’ll still fight for the good of the people when lives are threatened. You have to love a message like that.

Despite the serious hostage situation at hand, there’s a lot of humor to go around to break up the tension and well-developed suspense. It’s sprinkled carefully into certain crevices of the script to where you’re still deeply involved in the action, but it allows for the viewer to take a step back for a moment and crack a smile because of how well it’s set up. Matthau is a master of the deadpan and it continues here, with the cherry on top being the final shot of the film that may very well be in the discussion for one of the greatest ending shots of all time. Sarcastic comments from New Yorkers abound to Mayor Al worrying about getting voters for the next election, with his wife arguing that if he saves the people in the train that it will net him 18 sure votes, the humor placed in the movie happens at the perfect moment every single time, only heightening the entertainment factor of the film instead of ruining the moment, which it very well could of had it been handled differently. The exchanges between Al and Warren were great too. You can’t help but laugh when Warren tells Al to come down to make a dignified plea for mercy from the hijackers, prompting Al to ask about the possibility of them shooting at him. When LaSalle assures him that they have no reason to, he sarcastically quips, “Why? Do you think they’re from out of town?”. Without missing a beat, Warren gives an even better response by telling him he is the one doing the jokes. Warren is right too, as his response to handling the phone call to get the $1 million in a timely manner instead of one of the other guys saying, “You’ll spend an hour trying to knock down the interest rate” was arguably the best line of the movie. Honestly, throwing in some funny bureaucracy in the midst of the anarchy was pure hilarity, though still totally grounded in realism because one can’t help but feel that this is how city officials would react to such a crisis in private.

Seriously, this screenplay hits from top to bottom, and it follows the three-act structure to a “T”. They make you pay attention to every single detail, including something as subtle as a sneeze. Even when the action slows down after the big climax, the ending is just as tension-filled as the hostage situation and is done immaculately. It’s one of those rare examples of an action movie where sometimes the final arrest can be just as exhilarating as someone getting gunned down.

I really enjoyed Walter Matthau as Lt. Garber. He’s a very unassuming hero and is someone you’d never peg to be at the center of an action movie, but Matthau is fantastic. Not only does he have a look paralleling an actual person who may have a job like this in real life, but he’s professional, charismatic, makes every expression count, each step he takes in trying to solve the problem is grounded in logic and you’re never confused as to why he’s going about things the way he is, and he’s reasonably intelligent with his decision-making. It comes through by thinking things out and not just being some unbelievable “movie genius” character who’s able to thwart the bad guys at every turn. Again, it’s the realism in which you will appreciate. Too often, we’ll see a protagonist too smart for his own good, and he’s coming up with solutions at a rate in which no human being could think of that quickly. Within the story, his character trait is just passed off as “ultra-intelligent” or something, even though we know he “thinks” at this rate to keep the story moving. However, with Garber, he is of normal intelligence. His expertise in the job helps, but there is nothing he does that is out of the realm of possibility. When he gets the ingenious idea of telling Blue that the money has arrived because he wouldn’t know otherwise, it’s because the discussion with the room sparks the idea. Garber is just a normal man who is good at his job because of years of doing it. Now, he’s dealing trying to handle this crisis situation to the best of his abilities as he was given the job to lead the mission. It’s one of the most realistic protagonists you could ever see in an action movie, and I genuinely mean that. He’s not your typical cop in the heat of action either. Garber is an everyman protagonist in every sense of the word and has to act because he was working that day, making him that much more likable because of circumstances forcing the issue and him acting like any man in his position would.

Additionally, he’s funny without pushing the parameters of the film or the buttons of the villain (“I know how you’re gonna escape… Your gonna make every man, woman, and child close their eyes and count to one hundred”), and he’s tough when he needs to be. Besides the intense shootout in the tunnel, the most satisfying beat down was when Garber finally has enough and throws Frank’s bitch ass to the ground. Up until that point, he was trying his best to be professional while negotiating a hostage situation, but Frank is interrupting him because he thinks his job running the railroad is more important than Garber’s, despite lives being at stake. When he finally grabs Frank and throws him down in front of the entire office, you want to stand up and cheer. Again, Garber is an unassuming hero whose laidback tendencies seem to be mistaken for weakness by others in the plot. However, he’s just an experienced member of the Transit Police and is trying to go about things the right way with a clear mind. He’s a likable, well-written protagonist, and the modest Matthau is brilliant in making such a mundane main character a legitimate hero.

“You’d be surprised what’s physically possible”.

Spoken by Mr. Blue, this is a line that really sets the tone for the action. From the beginning, they are only given an hour to deliver the money to the hijackers until hostages start dying. When Garber tries to stall, especially after getting Blue’s complicated instructions ($500,000 in fifties, $500,000 in hundreds, which will then be put in stacks of 200 bills, each bound with two thick elastic bands, all old bills, serial numbers to be random, etc.), Robert Shaw’s earnestness in speaking this line is one that sends the film deeper into a frenzy because you know he’s not messing around. His refusal to compromise makes our team of sarcastic New Yorkers understand the seriousness of the situation. They cannot fuck around. When it’s said that they are running out of time, the story exudes this feeling from its pores, and your eyes are glued to the screen because it truly feels like they only have twenty minutes left or whatever it may be. The movie is already moving at a fast pace, but with the way this team of hijackers operate, you truly feel like time is running out. It heightens the sense of terror tenfold, which is why a scene like when the shaky camera follows the bank workers counting the money is so important to the second act. The viewer gets goosebumps watching it, despite this being considered a “regular” action of sorts. Then, the subsequent drive of the two bumbling cops who go as fast as they can through the city to try and make it there in twenty-six minutes, in the busiest city in America, you can’t help but be at the edge of your seat. Even with the devasting crash where you almost lose all hope, Blue is right in saying that we’d be surprised at what’s physically possible. When our backs are against the wall and there’s no way out and no room for error, you’d be surprised at what human beings are physically capable of pulling off. Joseph Sargent’s film is a very awesome reminder of this fact.

When compared to the 2009 remake, the original does the group of unknown villains so much better. Led by the always menacing Robert Shaw playing a highly-intelligent former British Army officer and mercenary who led a battalion in Africa, Héctor Elizondo was also very memorable as a guy so unpredictable, he got kicked out of the mafia! Just this one line from Blue to Green about him is enough to explain every subsequent action, and it makes you keep your eye on Mr. Grey throughout the entirety of the film because of it. When the leader of the group foreshadows him being a problem, you know he’s going to be the one to strike first at the worst time. Though he didn’t do as much, having Earl Hindman be the guy with the stutter was just enough to set himself apart from the others. Additionally, Martin Balsam’s Mr. Green was a thousand times better than Luis Guzmán as Phil Ramos too. His character being the one who felt justified but still not as cool with the violence, added a much more interesting dynamic to the group compared to the nefarious, just-out-of-prison version of the character Guzman played. Also with the remake, you didn’t know or care about the other villains outside of John Travolta and Guzmán. Even then, you’re not necessarily invested in the character as much as you are in the actor behind it. In this original, it’s the exact opposite, which shows you how well the acting actually is. You want to find out the real names of the villains, and you want to know why they are so calculated and smart about their plan. If you needed to know the difference between being an actor and a “movie star”, you can see it exemplified when comparing this film and it’s 2009 remake. Here, it’s, “How is Garber going to pull this off? I’m freaking out! This plan these killers cooked up seems damn near foolproof!”.

In Tony Scott’s film, it’s, “Man, I hope Denzel stops Travolta!”. You see what I’m saying? The remake focusing on their star power isn’t a bad thing by any means either. You have to go about things in this manner when the cast has such big names to begin with. However, it just shows us that the original was that much better and with less.

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three stands the test of time. As rousing as it is amusing, Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw excel in leading this fast-paced action thriller that feels like it moves at the pace of the countdown clock the villain makes everyone run on.