The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)

Long before the current version of the movie with the same title, there was the original version of The Taking of Pelham One Two Three.

The greatness of these old films is the simplicity. Take some good actors to play some interesting characters and keep the story moving without getting too deep and you end up with a fun movie.

The lead is Walter Matthau as Lt. Garber of the MTA Police. His main adversary is "Blue" played by Robert Shaw. The other three villains (Green, Grey, Brown) all play their roles very well. Assisting Garber is Lt. Rico Patrone played by Jerry Stiller. Even in a serious movie like this, Jerry Stiller is STILL pretty funny.

The movie runs 104 minutes and it's really a load of fun. Since it takes place in NYC during the mid-1970's, it's almost a study of society and culture of the time. Garber is a stuffy old racist, but great cop. The City hates the good-for-nothing-mayor, which is likely a reflection of the Mayor John Lindsay years.

A fun thriller. Definitely worth watching instead of the current version.

More on IMDB:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072251/