BEFORE: I could have waited for the remake to hit pay cable (instead of pay-per-view, where it is now) but I couldn't resist the temptation to watch this as movie number 3-2-1... Ya see what I did there?
THE PLOT: 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?
AFTER: Yes, this is the original film, not the remake with Denzel Washington and John Travolta. Though I will consider watching the remake down the line for comparison purposes. This features less attractive actors like Walter Matthau and Martin Balsam. But in terms of casting, it's spot on. Everyone (except for Robert Shaw) has these great authentic NYC accents, the older Yiddish type.
A subway train is hijacked - this was a practice more commonly seen with airplanes in the 1970's - by 4 gunmen, who refer to themselves as Mr. Blue (Shaw), Mr. Green (Balsam), Mr. Gray (Hector Elizondo) and Mr. Brown (Earl Hindman, who you probably know as Wilson from "Home Improvement") They hold one car of 17 hostages, and threaten to kill them, one by one, if their demands are not met.
They ask for 1 million dollars (remember, this was 1974 money...) and their other demands are no doubt linked to their planned getaway. But where can you go with a subway car, since it's on a fixed track? That's what Lt. Garber (Matthau) and Lt. Patrone (Jerry Stiller) need to figure out before the money gets delivered.
Jeez, we've got terrorism, a cash-strapped city, disgruntled transit workers, a mayor that is reviled by most of the people, and a flu epidemic striking the city. Are you sure this was made in 1974? Seems pretty timely to me...
This movie looks very low-rent, the special effects budget was obviously very low, even by 1970's standards, but it's still a tight, tense little thriller. (Note the influence on Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs", which also featured criminals referring to themselves by colors as aliases...) It's also a nice little glimpse into the NYC transit system in the 70's, and as someone who rides the 6 train several times a week, I enjoyed seeing glimpses of Grand Central Station and Union Square, even though they were filmed over a decade before I started living here.
And I can't help but note some similarities to "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" - about man's greed and his ability to turn on his compatriots when large amounts of cash are involved.
Always good to see Tony Roberts outside of a Woody Allen film - here he plays a deputy mayor. Also, don't blink or you'll miss a young(ish) Doris Roberts as the Mayor's wife.
RATING: 6 out of 10 trenchcoats
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