Two-Minute Warning (1976)

A psychotic sniper plans a massive killing spree in a Los Angeles football stadium during a major championship game. The police, led by Captain Peter Holly (Charlton Heston) and SWAT ... See full summary »

Director:

Larry Peerce

Writers:

George LaFountaine (novel), Edward Hume (screenplay)

Stars:

Charlton Heston, John Cassavetes, Martin Balsam

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Charlton Heston	...	Capt. Peter Holly
John Cassavetes	...	Sgt. Button
Martin Balsam	...	Sam McKeever
Beau Bridges	...	Mike Ramsay
Marilyn Hassett	...	Lucy
David Janssen	...	Steve
Jack Klugman	...	Sandman
Gena Rowlands	...	Janet
Walter Pidgeon	...	The Pickpocket
Brock Peters	...	Paul
David Groh	...	Al
Mitch Ryan	...	The Priest (as Mitchell Ryan)
Joe Kapp	...	Charlie Tyler
Pamela Bellwood	...	Peggy Ramsay
Jon Korkes	...	Jeffrey

Storyline

A psychotic sniper plans a massive killing spree in a Los Angeles football stadium during a major championship game. The police, led by Captain Peter Holly (Charlton Heston) and SWAT commander Sergeant Button (John Cassavetes), learn of the plot and rush to the scene. Still, they may be too late, as an all-star cast finds itself lined up in the sights of a gun-toting madman.

---

Plot Keywords:

swat | police | stadium | sniper | sniper rifle | 

---

Taglines:

91,000 people. 33 exit gates. One Sniper...

---

Genres:

Drama | Thriller

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 November 1976 (USA)

Also Known As:

Two Minute Warning

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum - 3911 S. Figueroa Street, Exposition Park, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Filmways Pictures, Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min 180 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Larry Peerce had his name removed from TV version of this movie. The director billed for this was Gene Palmer. Although Peerce's name remains in the credits of the alternate version ("A Larry Peerce-Edward S. Feldman Film"), Palmer is credited as director. Francesca Turner who wrote the teleplay scenes and who obviously had no credit in the cinema version, was added as a co-screenwriter alongside of Edward Hume who now had a shared billing.

---

Goofs

Capt Holly (Charlton Heston) twice refers to the sniper's weapon as an "automatic rifle" (a rifle that continues to fire as long as the trigger is held back). But the weapon is actually a semi-automatic (in which only one shot is fired per trigger pull). A real policeman would not have made such a mistake in basic firearm nomenclature.

---

Quotes

Steve: He's a hell of a charmer. Just make sure his hair doesn't fall in your drink.

---

Connections

Featured in Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003)

User Reviews

Undervalued thriller.

A lone gunman has his sights set on a sell-out crowd at a championship football game. Captain Peter Holly leads the desperate fight to try and stop the maniac from picking people off at will. Perched high on top of of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the gunman has his pick of the targets, the Mayor-the President-or merely the innocent? Either way he has to be stopped before all hell breaks loose.

Much like Roller-coaster a year later, Two-Minute Warning is wrongly lumped in with the disaster movie genre that flooded the 1970s, and just like Roller-coaster, Two-Minute Warning is an excellently taut thriller. The build up is paced to precision, all characters are introduced to us to give us something to associate with should things go very wrong. As this is happening we get little POV snippets of our killer, accompanied by Charles Fox's harshly impacting music, the killer is never seen but we feel the dread, the impending sense of murder is a constant presence.

Once we are at the game and the authorities are aware that a sniper is on the roof, the film shifts up a gear and lays on the suspense thick and heavy. Captain Holly {Charlton Heston} is joined by the SWAT team, led by the cool and serious Sgt. Chris Button {John Cassavetes}, whilst stadium security manager Sam McKeever {Martin Balsam} prays that disaster can be averted. Then the final third of the picture is a ripper-heart pounding stuff, a final third that rewards the viewers patience for having invested in the film and its characters. Filling out the cast is Gena Rowlands, Jack Klugman {brilliant interplay with Mitch Ryan's priest}, Beau Bridges, Walter Pidgeon and David Jansen. Two-Minute Warning is a quality thriller that is sadly undervalued on the IMDb site, go on, give it a go and you might just be pleasantly surprised. 7.5/10

Footnote: I should point out that my thoughts are on the original unedited cut of this film, I have never seen the watered down TV cut and have no plans to ever do so.