“What’s good about Pelham’s example of the form is that the performances are allowed enough leeway so that we care about the people not the plot mechanics. And what could have been formula trash turns out to be fairly classy trash, after all. ”
Lead by a former subway operator (Robert Shaw's teriffying Mr Blue) a gang of criminals hijack a New York City train and hold its passengers hostage for a ransom of $1 million. As the train careens through Manhattan, the authorities (led by Walter Matthau's Lt. Garber and Jerry Stiller's Lt. Patrone) try to negotiate with Mr Blue - and to figure out just how exactly the hijackers plan to escape... With great chemistry between the three leads, the Taking of Pelham One Two Three is both a brilliantly black comedy and a thrilling heist movie.