The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)

Based on the novel by John Godey, this film follows a kidnapping and extortion attempt on the busy New York subway system.

A lieutenant with the New York Transit Authority Police, Zachary Garber (Walter Matthau) thinks today is just going to be another day at work. And for most of the day, it is.

Until word comes to him that one of the trains has stopped moving between two stations, and has been sitting idle for several minutes. Attempts to radio the driver have proved unsuccessful.

Zachary Garber (Walter Matthau).

When all of a sudden, a response comes over the intercom. The train has been hijacked by four heavily-armed men, and the passengers on the one carriage they have taken are being held hostage.

The men, with colour-themed code names, ringleader Mr. Blue (Robert Shaw), former train driver Mr. Green (Martin Balsam), Mr. Grey (Hector Elizondo) and trigger-happy Mr. Brown (Earl Hindman) are demanding the city of New York deliver one million dollars in non-consecutive, unmarked bills within one hour. For every minute the money is late, they will kill one of the hostages.

Now Garber, along with colleague Rico Patrone (Jerry Stiller), and the might of the entire NYPD and Transit Authority, must race against time to keep the madmen placated for long enough to free the hostages and bring the criminals to justice.

Mr. Blue (Robert Shaw).

The screenplay, written by Peter Stone from Godey's novel, masquerades as a thriller but seems to drag more than a train with its brakes left on. The film runs for 104 minutes, but it feels like so much longer. With the exception of one three-minute sequence towards the end, there is little to no movement or suspense. There is plenty of action, but it feels far too slow to be called a thriller, certainly a fast-paced thriller.

David Shire's music, when it is used, is fairly traditional. There is nothing wrong with the score - it works just fine with the action and apparent rising tension - and his instrumentation is quite appropriate throughout.

The cinematography is quite good, however. Owen Roizman has a good understanding of light and dark, and contrasts them well, particularly in the long sequences set on the train carriage. For the majority of the film, the train is stationary in an underground tunnel, with very low light coming in from outside the carriage, and this environment is captured with great skill.

Mr. Grey (Hector Elizondo) surveying the would-be hostages.

The cast performances are a little disappointing. Even seasoned greats like Matthau, Shaw and Stiller seem to merely be delivering the lines for each scene, with very little feeling or emotion behind them. There is little to no sense of dread conveyed by any of the cast, other than periodic screams from the subway passengers, which feels a little forced.

Director Joseph Sargent seems to have bitten off a lot more than he can chew with this film, which doesn't seem to capture the tension or suspense of the novel. (Note: The film was remade in 2009, starring Denzel Washington and John Travolta. This remake - which I will be reviewing in due course - seems to do a much better job of keeping the suspense throughout, and actually keeping the audience interested). This film is in my collection - for the simple reason it is the original from which the remake was born - but I don't think I will be watching it again any time soon.

3 1/2 out of 10.

Sweet Charity (1968)

This film was recently recommended to me by a very close friend, and I had to admit - with great embarrassment, given my love of musical theatre - that I was not previously familiar with it. However, I managed to find a DVD without too much trouble (apart from Currently Playing reviews, I am limiting myself to only reviewing movies that are in my personal collection; given that number is nearly 2100, I won't be running out of movies any time soon). And I have to say, thank you so much to this friend for the recommendation; this is a fantastic film, and a fantastic musical.

It follows the story of Charity Hope Valentine (Shirley MacLaine), who has never been lucky in love. She works as a dance hostess (her title) in a club, which pays good money, but she doesn't tend to get a lot of respect.

At the beginning of the film, she is filled with excitement, having just withdrawn her entire savings - all $427 of it - from the bank, so that she and her current boyfriend Charlie can settle down somewhere. But when he pushes her off the bridge in the middle of Central Park and runs away with all her money, everyone tells her that he isn't coming back.

The eternal optimist, Charity doesn't give up on him that easily. But she soon comes to realise that indeed he is not coming back, and she should just chalk it up to experience.

Charity (Shirley MacLaine), flanked by Nickie (Chita Rivera) and Helene (Paula Kelly).

Meeting Italian film star Vittorio Vitale (Ricardo Montalban) one night, the two of them share the evening together, and Charity thinks maybe he could be the one; all she wants in her life is someone to love and to love her in return. But he is too smitten with gorgeous Ursula (Barbara Bouchet).

Her friends (and co-dancers at the club) Nickie (Chita Rivera) and Helene (Paula Kelly) start to think about what they might be able to do when they retire from dancing. Charity decides she too wants a more respectable job, and goes to an employment agency. The only trouble is, she doesn't have any experience in anything else, and with no education to speak of, her prospects of finding other employment aren't great.

Coming out of this appointment, dejected and down, she meets Oscar (John McMartin). At first, it seems they couldn't be a worse match for each other, but the two become very close, and even become engaged to be married.

I won't say any more about the plot here, I'll leave that for you to discover (if you haven't already seen the film, that is).

The moment Charity (Shirley MacLaine) and Oscar (John
McMartin) meet for the first time.

Based on the smash-hit Broadway musical, with book by Neil Simon, music by Cy Coleman and lyrics by Dorothy Fields, the screenplay for this film - by Peter Stone - is quite good. It follows the musical quite closely, including an intermission at the end of what would be Act I on stage, with the only real exception being the ability to stage large-scale musical numbers outside and indeed at real locations in New York (there are scenes in Central Park, Yankee Stadium, Times Square and the Lincoln Center, to name just a few).

The cinematography by Robert Surtees is wonderful, with the camera often being positioned right in the centre of the action. And when this action is a large-scale musical/dance number, being right in the middle of it is quite an experience.

Of course, when watching this as a stage musical, you are free to look wherever you like during the performance, but when you're watching the film, you can only look at what the camera is showing you. Naturally, this means that the musical's choreography had to be adjusted slightly, to allow for the movement of the camera. But the decisions that have been made with regard to where the audience is looking are all decisions that in my opinion were made well.

Charity (Shirley MacLaine) and Oscar (John McMartin).

The director Bob Fosse, who also acted as choreographer, was in fact the director of the musical's premiere on Broadway. Indeed, by the time this film was made, he was highly regarded on Broadway, having won five Tony Awards. But he had never directed a film, until he directed this one. His expertise as a stage director and choreographer shines through in every scene, and it is magnificent. He himself has said he felt a little out of his depth at times while making the film, but was grateful to the talented cast and crew he was working with, who brought their own collaborative skills to the table, and made a pretty good film out of it.

The cast are all fantastic, all the way down to the background singers and dancers. A highlight for me in the casting was Sammy Davis Jr. as Big Daddy, the leader of an underground church called The Rhythm of Life. His big musical number is absolutely fantastic, and definitely a high point of the film.

Once again, I must thank my friend Austin for recommending the film to me. I can't believe it's taken me this long to get around to watching it, but I am certainly glad I did.

8 1/2 out of 10.