Movie review: ‘The Taking of Pelham One Two Three’

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A promotional photo from the 1974 movie “The Taking of Pelham One Two Three.”

It’s nice when you can compare two films released during different generations and it’s even better when both are good films. In the case of 1974’s “The Taking of Pelham One Two Three” (the 2009 remake title was “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3”) the original is better: It’s a little bit tighter and its drama is executed better, as is the ending. Best yet, the original doesn’t have a saturation f-bombing on its audience. Still, the sequel’s good but you should make sure to catch the original (forget about the TV remake in between) if you want to see the better motion picture. After all, too many times today a “reboot” is an abject failure and not worth your time.

‘The Taking of Pelham One Two Three’
(1974; 104 minutes; rated R; directed by Joseph Sargent and starring Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw and Martin Balsam)

HIJACK A SUBWAY TRAIN? YES!

(NOTE: I reorganized and expanded this review with additional opinion and trivia and the updating of links on March 24, 2020. I again updated the review on July 17, 2021, by noting the death of a supporting actor. I again updated it on Aug. 23, 2026,)

If you want to see the difference between a current R-rating to one in the 1970s, check out the original “The Taking of Pelham One Two Three” and compare it to the remake from 2009. Audiences were pelted with f-bombs in the remake and original goes to show how much a lot less cursing can be just as (or even more) effective in drama as well as creating on-screen tension.

In any case, “The Taking of Pelham One Two Three” from 1974 is a tight thriller that slowly builds suspense and where the action is secondary to the drama and acting. It has excellent cinematography (for being in a tunnel) and the director handles its large cast with aplomb. The remake isn’t terrible, mind you, and the casting of Denzel Washington and John Travolta worked as well as the original with Matthau and Shaw.

A promotional photo from the 1974 movie “The Taking of Pelham One Two Three.”

In the movie, a group of men (all using colors for names; Quentin Tarantino would apparently use it as inspiration for names in his cult classic “Reservoir Dogs”) hijack a subway car and demand a $1 million ransom – cue the “Austin Powers” joke. Negotiations with police ratchet up the tension and the whole thing revolves around how they expect to get away with the hijacking.

I like how director Joseph Sargent took his time and allowed the tension to build through the story and not some artificial forcing of scenes just to get to a little better action later, as so many CGI-specials do today. Here’s a film that gives you a chance to get more and more involved as each minute passes.

The movie ends after negotiation, investigation and just pure luck (and a bunch of smarts) brings the whole matter to an electrifying close – especially for one bad guy. The name of the film is taken from the naming of New York subway trains — Pelham 1 2 3 is the station (Pelham) and time (1:23 p.m.) it left that station.

Here’s my look at the good guys and the bad guys …

  • A promotional photo from the 1974 movie “The Taking of Pelham One Two Three.”

    An Oscar winner and two-time nominee (not for this one), Walter Matthau plays “Lt. Zachary Garber,” who’s the cop in charge. He’s initially dealing with a visiting group of dignitaries from Japan (he believes they can’t understand English so he constantly harangues them; of course, they can speak the language) but soon finds himself directing the moves against the hijackers. Matthau shows why he is an Oscar winner (“The Fortune Cookie”) by being very convincing as the cop with a problem and projects the leadership necessary in the crisis. He has also been in “First Monday in October” and very funny in “California Suite” (click here to read my review). He was nominated for “Kotch” and “The Sunshine Boys” with George Burns and you might remember him from the original “The Bad News Bears” or “The Odd Couple” with Jack Lemmon. Walter died at 79 in 2000 of a heart attack.

  • A promotional photo from the 1974 movie “The Taking of Pelham One Two Three.”

    An Oscar nominee (not for this one), Robert Shaw would most famously captain the “Orca” in “Jaws” the year after “Pelham.” Here he plays “Bernard Ryder” (Mr. Blue), who is the leader of the hijackers, and does so with cold efficiency and deliberate, motivated action. Shaw shows his versatility here by not showing emotion such as he would in “Jaws.” I liked him best as the Israeli commando leader in “Black Sunday” (click here to read my review) and he was spot-on as the cold-blooded panzer commander in “The Battle of the Bulge” (click here to read my review). He was a bad guy in both the “007” thriller “From Russia With Love” and the multi-Oscar winner “The Sting” with Paul Newman and Robert Redford. He was nominated for playing Henry VIII in “A Man for All Seasons” and died young(ish) at 51 in 1978, just four years after “Pelham,” of a heart attack.

  • A promotional photo from the 1974 movie “The Taking of Pelham One Two Three.”

    A Golden Globe nominee (not for this one), Hector Elizondo certainly isn’t the same here as in his roles as the really good guy in “Pretty Woman,” “The Princess Diaries” and “Necessary Roughness” (click here to read my review). Elizondo plays “Giuseppe Benvenuto” (Mr. Grey) and is a cold-blooded killer who enjoys the act. Elizondo is smooth in a role where an actor would have destroyed the character unless he did it exactly as Elizondo pulled it off. Elizondo was also in “Runaway Bride” and the execrable “Exit to Eden.” He was nominated for “Pretty Woman” and was the father to Matt Dillon in the coming-of-age minor classic “The Flamingo Kid” (click here to read my review).

The other two members of the gang are:

  • A promotional photo from the 1974 movie “The Taking of Pelham One Two Three.”

    An Oscar winner (not for this one), Martin Balsam plays “Harold Longman” (Mr. Green) and he’s a former subway motorman and it’s his knowledge of how the subway train’s engine works that allows the group to hijack and control one. Balsam does his usual professional job here and it’s his case of the flu that ultimately causes his downfall. Balsam has also been in “12 Angry Men” and was superb in “The Bedford Incident” (click here to read my review). He was nominated for “A Thousand Clowns” from 1965 and he died at 76 in 1996 from complications from a stroke.

  • Earl Hindman as “George Steever” (Mr. Brown). Hindman, best remembered for his role as “Wilson Wilson” on TV’s “Home Improvement,” plays the final member of the gang and his role is small compared to the others. It’s difficult to get a feel for his work once you realize that it’s “Wilson” with the machine gun – and recognizing him isn’t easy since Earl’s face wasn’t shown on the popular TV show. Hindman was also in “The Parallax View” as well as the great Western movie “Silverado” (click here to read my review). He died at 61 in 2003 of lung cancer.

On the good guys’ side is …

  • … Dick O’Neill as subway official “Frank Correll” and he is volatile, blustering and dead-set against dealing with the hijackers. It isn’t easy to bring a character up to the pitch he brings “Correll,” but he does it well and maintains it throughout the film. O’Neill has also been in “Prizzi’s Honor” (click here to read my review) the quirky “Turk 182!” (click here to read my review) and was also a semi-regular on “Home Improvement.” The majority of his resume shows acting credits for dozens of TV shows. He died at 70 in 1998 of heart failure.
  • A promotional photo from the 1974 movie “The Taking of Pelham One Two Three.”

    Unlike his character on TV’s “Seinfeld,” Primetime Emmy nominee Jerry Stiller as “Lt. Rico Patrone” is professional and somewhat restrained in this one. Stiller, who like others in the supporting cast, does a good job maintaining the balance and quality of “The Taking of Pelham One Two Three.” However, it can be difficult not to expect him to yell at “George” during the film. Once you get past that, you’ll see a wonderfully professional effort. Stiller did really nice work in “Hairspray” from 1988 and as the father on TV’s “The King of Queens.” He was nominated for his work on “Seinfeld.”

Just for your information: the updated “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3” does not rank in the top 150 films in which f-bombs are dropped. The top three are “Swearnet: The Movie” (which was released on Sept. 12, 2014); next a documentary about the word; and then Martin Scorsese’s “The Wolf of Wall Street.” From No. 1 to No. 3, here are total f-bomb counts: 935, 857 and 569. The No. 150 film is “Hoffa” with 152.

Also, here’s an interesting historical note: For years after the original film’s release, New York subway officials would not allow the scheduling of a Pelham train at 1:23 so as not to be a reminder of the film, which was, sadly, also remade in 1998 as a TV movie.

“The Taking of Pelham One Two Three” made $16.5 million in 1974 on a budget of $5 million, according to Wiki. So, that total would put it outside the top 25 films of the year. The No. 1 film of the year was “Blazing Saddles” with $119.5 million (click here to read my review), according to Wiki, and the No. 2 film was “The Towering Inferno” with $116 million. My favorite film of the year, “The Godfather: Part II,” was at No. 6 with $47.5 million. Hmmm. Those are all paltry totals when compared to the haul from today’s films. Here are the other movies from 1974 that I’ve reviewed for my blog:

Assorted cast and film notes (via IMDb.com):

  • Matthau’s birth name was spelled Walter Jake Matthow; Shaw’s middle name was Archibald; and Stiller’s middle name was Isaac.
  • Doris Roberts, who was the mother on TV’s “Everybody Loves Raymond,” plays “Jessie,” who is the mayor’s wife. Roberts would go on to a stellar career – and a versatile one (check out the hilarious stoner flick “Grandma’s Boy” – click here for my review), including “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” (click here for my review). Roberts’ birth name was Doris May Green and she died at 90 of a stroke in 2016.
  • Directly from IMDb.com: “David Shire‘s score was chosen as one of the top 10 film scores of all time by NPR film music expert Andy Trudeau.”
  • Steven Spielberg was considered to direct the film, but Joseph Sargent, who has many more TV credits to his directing resume, was chosen and did a good job (at least that’s my opinion).
  • One poster for the original uses the numerals that the reboot would use as its official title. However, the original spelled out the numerals. You can see this poster in the review above.
  • Shaw reportedly passed his downtime on the sets by playing ping pong. He typically beat anyone he played.
  • The film is based on the best-selling novel of the same name by John Godey. The novel was published the year before the film was released.
  • Directly from IMDb.com: “It has been noted that Walter Matthau had won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor of 1966 for The Fortune Cookie (1966) over Robert Shaw for A Man for All Seasons (1966). But in addition, Matthau shares scenes in the movie with the actor who won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor the year before he did – Martin Balsam (A Thousand Clowns (1965).”
  • Reportedly, the film did its best business in big cities with subways.
  • Finally and directly from IMDb.com: “The aliases of the four train hijackers were Mr. Blue, Mr. Green, Mr. Grey, and Mr. Brown. The color of the hats worn by each of the four villains, Grey, Green, Blue, Brown corresponded to their code names. They each boarded the train at different subway station stops, these were Mr Green at 59th Street Station, Mr Grey at 51st Street Station, Mr Brown at Grand Central Station, and lastly Mr Blue at 28th Street Station.”

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