The Incident (1967)

Late one night, two young toughs hold hostage the passengers in one car of a New York subway train.

Director:

Larry Peerce

Writers:

Nicholas E. Baehr (story by), Nicholas E. Baehr (screenplay by)

Stars:

Tony Musante, Martin Sheen, Beau Bridges

4 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tony Musante	...	Joe Ferrone
Martin Sheen	...	Artie Connors
Beau Bridges	...	Pfc. Felix Teflinger
Brock Peters	...	Arnold Robinson
Ruby Dee	...	Joan Robinson
Jack Gilford	...	Sam Beckerman
Thelma Ritter	...	Bertha Beckerman
Ed McMahon	...	Bill Wilks
Diana Van der Vlis	...	Helen Wilks (as Diana van de Vlis)
Mike Kellin	...	Harry Purvis
Jan Sterling	...	Muriel Purvis
Gary Merrill	...	Douglas McCann
Robert Fields	...	Kenneth Otis
Robert Bannard	...	Pfc. Phillip Carmatti
Victor Arnold	...	Tony Goya

Storyline

Stark melodrama about two thrill seeking tough guys who terrorize late-night passengers on a New York City train. The random victims are more concerned with their own problems than helping each other and pray that they won't be next. But it's going to take a lot more than prayer to end this nightmare of fear and violence. Film debut of both Martin Sheen and Tony Musante as the hoodlums.

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Plot Keywords:

cult film | train | passenger | one night | new york city | 

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Taglines:

At 1:55 a.m. Joe Ferrone and Artie Connors went looking for kicks. They found it 7 minutes later in "The Incident."

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 April 1968 (France)

Also Known As:

L'incident

Filming Locations:

3rd Avenue, Bronx, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,050,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Moned Associated

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

All scenes in the subway car were filmed in a studio mockup of IRT World's Fair Lo-V #5674. The producers contacted St. Louis Car Co. for original blueprints of the car and painstakingly reproduced it. Lights were mounted along the car exterior and illuminated sequentially to simulate a speed of 30 mph. The NYC Transit Authority refused to grant permission for filming on its property. Subway footage was filmed by concealing the cameras inside bags. Police became suspicious when they heard whirring sounds inside the bags.

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Quotes

[repeated line]
Artie Connors: SPEECH! SPEECH!

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Connections

Remake of Ride with Terror (1963)

User Reviews

The other passengers WERE believable

Poster "Sol1218" wrote that he found it not credible that none of the other passengers on the train tried to interfere with the thugs or help their fellow passengers. But the reality of 1967 was that it was a rare New Yorker who would stick his neck out for a stranger.

Just three years earlier, in 1964, a terrible crime occurred in Forest Hills, Queens that made headlines world-wide. A barmaid named Kitty Genovese was attacked and killed on the street while dozens of neighbors in surrounding apartment buildings listened to her screams. During the attack, apparently one person yelled from a window and the attacker backed off for a few moments. But when no further interference took place, the attacker returned and stabbed Miss Genovese to death.

None of the neighbors even called the police. They all later said, when interviewed, "I didn't want to get involved." That sentiment reflected the majority of New Yorkers in that era of rampant street crime: mind your own business, don't get involved.

The passivity of the passengers in The Incident was perfectly in line with the sensibilities of the time, and the fact that it took a visitor from Oklahoma (Beau Bridges) to step up to the plate, was also very apt.

All that being said, this movie is extremely powerful. The first time I ever saw it, on television, I was shaking for hours.