The Terrorists (1974)

In a Scandinavian country, national security chief Colonel Tahlvik is tasked to rescue the passengers of a hijacked British airliner while the British Ambassador is being held hostage at his residence by another terrorist team.

Director:

Casper Wrede

Writer:

Paul Wheeler

Stars:

Sean Connery, Ian McShane, Jeffry Wickham

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sean Connery	...	Tahlvik
Ian McShane	...	Petrie
Jeffry Wickham	...	Barnes
Isabel Dean	...	Mrs. Palmer
John Quentin	...	Shepherd
Robert Harris	...	Palmer
James Maxwell	...	Bernhard
William Fox	...	Ferris
Harry Landis	...	Lookout Pilot
Norman Bristow	...	Denver
John Cording	...	Bert
Christopher Ellison	...	Pete
Richard Hampton	...	Joe
Preston Lockwood	...	Hislop
Karen Maxwell	...	Eva

Storyline

A gang of hijackers led by Ray Petrie (Ian McShane) seize a British plane as it is landing in Scandinavia. Ruthless Military Police Chief Colonel Tahlvik (Sir Sean Connery) is assigned to rescue the plane and its passengers. But he must also deal with the problem of the British Ambassador, whose residence has been seized by a second group of terrorists.

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Plot Keywords:

hijacking | british | british ambassador | terrorist | ambassador | 

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Taglines:

SKYJACK. KIDNAP. A time-bomb of suspense has started ticking. Two nations are being held for ransom and... Sean Connery is the agent who takes on The Terrorists

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Italian censorship visa # 65581 delivered on 26 November 1974.

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Quotes

Nils Tahlvik: National security becomes a farce if we throw away the rule of law.

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: SCANDINAVIA DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

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Connections

Referenced in Casper och den förbjudna filmen (2009)

User Reviews

Cool, calm and exciting

This film is also called The ransom, not to be confused with the mild action film with Mel Gibson.

The film set in the Scandinavian country (called Scandinavia in the movie, while it is shot in Norway), the snow atmosphere and the heavily dressed characters somehow dictated the slowness of the pace in the movie. Nevertheless, it's exciting. The whole look is not your conventional Hollywood actioner, while at the same time deserves the same class as that of the late sixties/early seventies crime/caper movies like Bullit, French Connection, Taking Pelham One, Two and Three and Dirty Harry.

Connery is fun to watch. He really adds to the atmosphere of the movie and the relatively tame climax looks good with his presence. Good movie. 7/10

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 February 1975 (UK)

Also Known As:

The Terrorists

Filming Locations:

Norway

Box Office

Budget:

$1,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lion International, Twentieth Century Fox, Rawley Film & Theatre

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1