THE TAKING OF PELHAM 123 (1974) ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢ 1/2
D: Joseph Sargent
Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam,
Hector Elizondo, Earl Hindman, Jerry Stiller,
Tony Roberts, Kenneth McMillan, Doris Roberts
Four heavily armed men, all wearing eyeglasses, mustaches, brimmed hats and overcoats, hijack a New York subway car and demand a million dollars for the release of its 17 passengers. When the call first comes in to transit security, it just seems too crazy - what is this, anyway, a movie? - but the hijackers aren't kidding. A tense, white-knuckle thriller, unencumbered by anything resembling a subplot. You're in the story from the opening minute, and that's where you stay for the duration. Walter Matthau plays the plainclothes security officer who takes over the hostage negotiations, Robert Shaw (lethally understated) is the lead hijacker, and Woody Allen's buddy Tony Roberts plays the mayor's troubleshooting deputy. This was filmed during John Lindsay's time as mayor of New York, but see if you don't think the mayor in the movie looks suspiciously like Ed Koch.
