Peter Stone adapted John Godey novel, with suitable cynicism and wit. This is a cracking good thriller, with Matthau at his most serious, in which four disguised men hijack a New York subway for a million dollar ransom. I thought Robert Shaw should have looked more gruesome when he fried. Packed with multi-ethnic local New York flavour. Loved the touch of Matthau and police returning to scene of escape, passing the earlier police car which is being turned back on its wheels. The only thing I missed is how they got around the 'Dead man's switch' or whatever it's called that stops the train running if no one's operating it.
Hijackers: Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam, Hector Elizondo, Earl Hindman. With lots of faces that looked familiar: James Broderick, Dick O'Neill, Lee Wallace, Jerry Stiller, Kenneth McMillan, Tony Roberts.
Owen Roizman is your NY cameraman (in Panavision). Well edited by Gerry Greenberg (and Robert Lovett), music by David Shire.
Didn't understand the black guy's comment to Shaw near the beginning: " Ain't you ever seen a sunset before?"
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