The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three DVD cover
Directed by	Joseph Sargent
Produced by	Edgar J. Scherick
Written by	John Godey (novel) Peter Stone
Starring	Walter Matthau Jerry Stiller Martin Balsam Robert Shaw
Music by	David Shire
Distributed by	United Artists
Released	October 2, 1974 (USA)
Running time	104 min.
Language	English Spanish
IMDb profile

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (also known as The Taking of Pelham 123) is a thriller movie released in 1974. It stars Walter Matthau, Jerry Stiller, Martin Balsam and Robert Shaw; it was directed by Joseph Sargent, produced by Edgar J. Scherick, and was based on the novel of the same title by John Godey. Peter Stone wrote the screenplay, which takes its basics from the novel but is highly different in its approach, embracing a kind of NYC cynicism. Edgar J. Scherick (October 24, 1924 – December 2, 2002) was one of the most prolific producers of television miniseries, made-for-television films, and theatrical motion pictures. ... Morton Freedgood was a best-selling author who wrote The Taking of Pelham One Two Three and many other detective and mystery novels under the pen name John Godey. ... Peter Stone (February 27, 1930 -April 26, 2003) was a writer for theater, television and movies. ... Walter Matthau Walter Matthau (October 1, 1920 – July 1, 2000) was a Jewish American comedy actor. ... Jerry Stiller (born June 8, 1927) is an American comedian and actor. ... Martin Balsam. ... Robert Shaw may mean: Robert Shaw (footballer) Robert Shaw (actor) This is a disambiguation page, a list of pages that otherwise might share the same title. ... Born in 1937, David Shire began scoring for television in the 60s and made the leap to scoring feature films in the early 70s. ... The current United Artists logo (a variant was used during the 1980s). ... October 2 is the 275th day (276th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 90 days remaining. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1974 calendar). ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1974 calendar). ... Walter Matthau Walter Matthau (October 1, 1920 – July 1, 2000) was a Jewish American comedy actor. ... Jerry Stiller (born June 8, 1927) is an American comedian and actor. ... Martin Balsam. ... Robert Shaw may mean: Robert Shaw (footballer) Robert Shaw (actor) This is a disambiguation page, a list of pages that otherwise might share the same title. ... Edgar J. Scherick (October 24, 1924 – December 2, 2002) was one of the most prolific producers of television miniseries, made-for-television films, and theatrical motion pictures. ... The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (also known as The Taking of Pelham 123) is a thriller movie released in 1974. ... Morton Freedgood was a best-selling author who wrote The Taking of Pelham One Two Three and many other detective and mystery novels under the pen name John Godey. ... Peter Stone (February 27, 1930 -April 26, 2003) was a writer for theater, television and movies. ...

Plot

Lieutenant Zachary Garber (Walter Matthau) is a cynical and grumpy New York City Transit Authority policeman. His routine is interrupted by an unexpected hijacking of a subway train (on the number 6 line). The police force is confused by the hijacking because: Nickname The Big Apple, The Capital of the World [1], Gotham Government Counties (Boroughs) Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Geographical characteristics Area  - Total  - Land  - Water 1,214. ... The New York City Transit Authority (also known as NYCTA, NYCT for New York City Transit or simply the TA for Transit Authority) is a New York State authority that operates buses and subway trains in New York City. ... Hijacking or highjacking is the forcible robbery from, or seizure of, a vehicle in transit. ... Subways redirects here; for British indie rock band, see The Subways. ... The 6 (Lexington Avenue Local) is a train line in the New York Subway. ...

• the subway is a closed system; there is no place to take the train to escape, and
• all subway trains have a dead-man's switch which requires a live person at the controls to keep the train running, thus preventing a hijacker from escaping away from the running train.

The police frantically pursue the train on the city streets to deliver the ransom of one million dollars as Lieutenant Rico Patrone (Jerry Stiller) attempts to negotiate and distract their attention. Unknown to the police, the four hijackers led by British mercenary Bernard Ryder (Robert Shaw) and a disgruntled former motorman Harold Longman (Martin Balsam) have disabled the dead-man's switch. Once the hijackers receive their ransom money, they send the train off at top speed toward the terminal station where it would crash and thus kill all the passengers. Previously, the hijackers have left the train and attempted to escape out of the subway tunnels with their ransom money. An Isolated system, is a physical system that does not interact with its surroundings. ... A dead mans switch (also known as - mainly in Britain - as a dead mans handle) is a device intended to take some action if the human operator becomes incapacitated in some way, a form of fail-safe practice. ... The term ransom refers to the practice of holding a prisoner to extort money or property extorted to secure their release, or to the sum of money involved. ...

Music

The score was composed and conducted by David Shire. The Taking of Pelham One Two Three remains his most popular score, and is considered a brilliant combination of the popular funk idioms of the era and twentieth century musical composition. Shire composed a tone row and placed it against an R&B beat for his main theme. It perfectly captures the bustle and diversity of New York, and is an unofficial theme for the 6 Train (the local Lexington Avenue Line that is depicted in the film). The soundtrack album was the first-ever CD release by Film Score Monthly. The end titles contain a more expansive arrangement of the theme, courtesy of Shire's wife at the time, Talia Shire, who suggested that he close out the score with a more traditional ode to New York. Born in 1937, David Shire began scoring for television in the 60s and made the leap to scoring feature films in the early 70s. ... In music, a tone row or note row is a permutation, an arrangement or ordering, of the twelve notes of the chromatic scale. ... Official language(s) None, English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  Ranked 27th  - Total 141,205 km²  (54,520 sq. ... The 6 Lexington Avenue Local is a service of the New York City Subway. ... The Lexington Avenue Line (sometimes called the Lex or the IRT East Side Line) is one of the major IRT lines in the New York City Subway. ... Talia Shire (born April 25, 1946) is an American actress of Italian descent. ...

Remake

In 1998, the film was remade as a television movie, with Edward James Olmos in the Matthau role and Vincent D'Onofrio replacing Shaw as the senior hijacker. Although not particularly well received by critics or viewers, this version was reportedly more faithful to the book. It was also devoid of the quirky humor that made the original so memorable. A television movie (also known as a TV film, TV movie, TV-movie, feature-length drama, made-for-TV movie, movie of the week (MOTW or MOW), single drama, telemovie, telefilm, or two-hour-long drama) is a film that is produced for and originally distributed by a television network. ... Edward James Olmos as Commander William Adama on Battlestar Galatica Edward James Olmos (born February 24, 1947) is an American actor. ... Vincent DOnofrio Vincent Phillip DOnofrio (June 30, 1959—) is an American character actor and producer. ...

Since the film was produced much later than the original, there are also additions to the movie that did not exist in the original. For example, one of the characters sets up an IBM ThinkPad laptop computer, connected wirelessly to a motion detector that he places on the track. Later in the film another character views the screen to see an approaching person, whom he confronts in the tunnel. IBM ThinkPad R32 IBM ThinkPad T40 ThinkPad is the brand name for a highly successful range of portable computers (laptop / notebook computers) manufactured and marketed by IBM. Traditionally black in color, they feature innovations such as the TrackPoint pointing device, solidly constructed keyboards (including the fold-out butterfly keyboard on... A Motion Detector is a device connected to a burglar alarm that is used to detect motion. ...

Many fans of the New York City Subway (locally termed railfans) despise the newer verson, often calling it "The Taking of Bloor-Danforth One Two Three" after the Toronto subway line it was filmed on. Railfans practicing their hobby at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. ... The Bloor-Danforth Line is the main east-west subway line in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission. ...

Trivia

• The movie was the inspiration for Carter USM's song The Taking of Peckham One Two Three.
• The terrorists' system of referring to each other as colors, such as "Mr. Pink", was later used by Quentin Tarantino in his film Reservoir Dogs.
• A reference to the movie appears in this lyric from the Beastie Boys' song "Sure Shot": Well, It's The Taking Of Pelham, One, Two, Three
• In real radio communications among the New York City Transit Authority's train crews, a 24 hour clock is used. Technically, this would have made the title train "Pelham 1323"
• Earl Hindman (Wilson on Home Improvement) has a small part as one of the criminals.
• Portions of the scenes in the tunnel were filmed on the old Court Street line in Brooklyn, which now serves as a track which links to the New York City Transit Museum.
• A reconstruction of a TA control center was built on a soundstage. It was rendered down to every exact detail as a real one might have.

Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine (frequently shortened to Carter USM) were formed in 1987 by singer Jim Bob and guitarist Fruitbat. ... Quentin Jerome Tarantino (born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, actor, and Oscar-winning screenwriter. ... Reservoir Dogs is Quentin Tarantinos 1992 debut as a feature film director. ... The Beastie Boys are an American rapcore group from New York City: Brooklyn and Manhattan. ... (Redirected from 24 hour clock) The 24-hour clock, also referred to (only in the US) as military time or (only in the United Kingdom and now very rarely) as continental time is a convention of time-keeping in which the day runs from midnight to midnight and is divided... Earl Hindman (October 20, 1942 – December 29, 2003) played the character Wilson W. Wilson Jr. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

See also

• The French Connection
• The Warriors
• Money Train

For other uses, see The French Connection. ... The Warriors is also an informal English language title of the Korean film Musa The Warriors is a 1979 film directed by Walter Hill about a gang fighting their way back home after being framed for the assassination of a gang leader. ... Money Train is a movie starring Wesley Snipes, Jennifer Lopez (in one of her roles before she became an accomplished singer) and Woody Harrelson. ...

External links

• The Taking of Pelham One Two Three at The Internet Movie Database

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