It a good movie. Keep an eye out for the actor who played the transit police lieutenant. It’s Jerry Stiller, who later played George’s dad on Seinfeld.
Posted on 06/20/2026 2:14:30 PM PDT by Twotone
"There is no other city one can know as completely from the movies and television as New York," wrote film location scout Nick Carr in 2015. "Even if you've never set foot in Manhattan, there's a good chance you can instantly picture a multitude of its neighbourhoods: Carrie Bradshaw's favourite cupcake spot (the Village); the Ghostbusters' firehouse (TriBeCa); the deli where Harry met Sally (Lower East Side)."
Or, if you're a movie fan with a particular taste in New York cinema, your mind's eye can easily recall the setting of the conclave of New York gangs in TheWarriors (Riverside Park in Manhattan standing in for Van Cortland Park in the Bronx), Needle Park (the block just south of Verdi Park on the Upper West Side) or the bloody climactic shootout in Taxi Driver (East 13th Street in the East Village). That New York is a permanent backlot in many peoples' imaginations, but it hasn't existed for decades.
"From the movies," Carr writes, "you'd think Manhattan to be riddled with dank, dangerous, trash-strewn back-alleys, complete with rusting fire escapes and crumbling, graffiti-covered brick walls. So it often comes as a total shock to most directors when we tell them that Manhattan actually has only three or four of these types of alleys (Cortlandt Alley, Great Jones Alley, Broadway Alley, Staple Street), and none are dangerous in the slightest."
When The Taking of Pelham One Two Three came out in the fall of 1974, New York City was building up to a fiscal crisis and a year away from president Gerald Ford's statement that he would refuse to give the city a bailout, which led to the famous New York Daily News headline "FORD TO CITY: DROP DEAD".
(Excerpt) Read more at steynonline.com ...
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I still have not seen that movie though I worked across the street from it when they were filming.
Guess someday I should watch it. ‘74 version of course.
How could he leave New York City out of the list of gritty NYC films?
Also, a little later, but the Bill Murray comedy “Quick Change” focuses on some of the difficulties of maneuvering around NYC in a hurry, if your goal is to just get out.
It was good. I’m going to Youtube to watch scenes now.
Great flick. Young folks would probably wet their pants over the lack of political correctness. The Eiger Sanction is also in that category.
It’s an excellent movie. You can find it on Rumble and BitChute and probably even YouTube.
That movie has an awesome soundtrack, too.
It a good movie. Keep an eye out for the actor who played the transit police lieutenant. It’s Jerry Stiller, who later played George’s dad on Seinfeld.
I will! Watching it right now :)
Gig Young was under appreciated. Like George Lazenby.
He mentions the film’s mayor looked like Moch. Actually could have been a twin, but in 1974 9 out of 10 New Yorkers couldnt have picked Koch out of a lineup. He was a congressman from the lower Manhattan district and made rare appearences on the local.news. I almost believe he saw the film and its mayor and said, “ Yes, I can be mayor too!”
One of the things I liked about Bond movies and other movies was the settings were from around the world. I get tired of always NYC or LA settings for movies.
One of the hijackers Mr. Green played by Martin Balsam reminded me of a character he played in the Anderson Tapes, The Fence Tommy Haskins
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