It’s 1:23 p.m. and a crowded subway train has just left Pelham Station in the Bronx for Manhattan. At 1:45 p.m. four desperate, heavily armed men seize control of the train. The City of New York is given one hour to come up with the $1 million ransom. 1974’s The Taking of Pelham One Two Three stars the ever cynical curmudgeon Walter Matthau as a New York City Transit Authority policeman who must try to save 17 hostages (and the ransom) from the clutches of the clever crooks. Some notable moments: the ever jaded New Yorkers laugh when one of the armed men says they must all stay seated or they will be shot; the line “You’re outta your skull” (in reference to the $1 million ransom demand); and the fact that subway fare was only a measly 35 cents (it’s now $2.25). Quentin Tarantino borrowed the thieves’ use of color names (Mr. Brown, etc.) for his breakout film Reservoir Dogs. A 2009 remake, The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, starred Denzel Washington, who also happens to star in Unstoppable.
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