The Incident

Two psychos (Martin Sheen and Tony Musante) terrorize the passengers of a NYC subway car. The first half introduces the characters...the second half is the attack. The "victims" are an unhappily married couple (Ed McMahon and Diana van de Vlis); a young couple (Edward Arnold and Donna Mills); an elderly couple (Jack Gilford and Thelma Ritter); two Army guys (Beau Bridges and Robert Bannard); ANOTHER unhappy couple (Mike Kellin and Jan Sterling); a gay man full of self-loathing (Robert Fields); a recovering alcoholic (Gary Merrill) and a black couple (Brock Peters and Ruby Dee).

This is a great movie and STILL unknown to this day. It is very unpleasant to watch and the realism may be too much for some people. Also the film is, sadly, still topical (although NY subways are nowhere near this bad nowadays). Each character is attacked (verbally and physically) during the course of the film--the attacks on the black couple and the gay man are so extreme and violent they're virtually unwatchable. All the acting is excellent which makes this film very hard to shake off. Also it's very interesting to see Ed McMahon doing drama and this is the film debut of Sheen and Mills. Shot in b&w which actually helps. A must see...just brace yourself.

I loved the way this film captured the essence of the 60s. Some people today think the 60s was the decade of long hair and flower power, but for the masses, that was really the 70s. The 60s, and most passengers on the ill-fated train car, were represented by tight clothes, businessmen who still wore hats and nondescript overcoats, and young women with straight, glossy hair. The two thugs who take over the train look like they might have come from a Beatles concert. I liked the realistic gritty look of the interior of the streetcar, with litter on the floor, and a design that seemed to come from about World War I. The outdoor scenes of the train passing by are very grainy, and in their black and white simplicity create an appropriate feel.

The movie is a bit heavy handed, though, in its morality lesson. It's as if the screenwriter had a framed copy of the German missive on the Nazi takeover above his desk: "First they came for the Jews, but I didn't speak out because I was not a Jew, then they came for the communists, but I didn't speak out because....." I simply can't believe that so many people could be so cowardly. The mod guy who freezes up while a bully strokes his girlfriend's hair is too much. And the fact that the bullies essentially insult everyone on the car in turn while everyone looks away doesn't wash either. You know you're next, so why not try to put a stop to it now? The black guy who was so eager to punch a white could have pummeled them both as soon as they let his wife/hostage go. Where did all his anger go? And the gay guy who tried to get off meekly returned when the weaker of the two bullies merely said, "go to your room". He was inches from freedom, and was much larger than Martin Sheen's character.

This movie is worth seeing for its cast alone. It's fun to see such a young Beau Bridges, and to see TV's Ed McMahon in a serious role. Virtually every cast member was known to me, if only as a familiar face from countless other movies from the 50s, 60s, and 70s.

Oh, and I burst out laughing at a scene which probably was originally intended to be very poignant and thought provoking. Blame my recent addiction to Dave Chapelle's comedy. When the police finally come and see the carnage, they immediately try to cuff the black guy, without asking any questions.

With its flaws noted, I recommend this movie as a great time capsule of the 60s, and a study of how cowardice can lead to worse and worse situations.

As I watched this movie this evening, it affected me like a good movie should. In this one, Martin Sheen and Tony Musante are 2 hoodlums who board a subway car and proceed to terrorize/harass the various occupants riding this car. Psychologically, it accomplishes what the director sets out to: Provoke/Stir up Emotions in the viewer. In particular, the atrocities committed against the gay man and Black couple are disturbing, especially given the era in which this film was produced. I was driven to anger watching the responses of the characters. Beau Bridges, Martin Sheen, and Donna Mills are interesting to watch in this film. The ending is something to see, and the very ending provokes some questions to the summation of this film. Recommended to see.

I caught this movie on AMC at 3 o'clock this morning (or so), and was blown away! What a tense, gritty drama - and what a cast! I was trying to figure out who was who, as they were all so young (Ed McMahon? Donna Mills? Ruby Dee without Ossie Davis? Wow!) Martin Sheen's baby face made his psycho character all the more frightening. To me, the movie is a great time capsule of the sixties, and of New York. I do have a complaint to register regarding the AMC channel - instead of squeezing the end credits to make room for commercials for the next movie, how about staying true to your movie fans who have a compulsive need to read the credits, and show them full-screen to the end? Who's with me on this one? Thank goodness for IMDb to get us through!

"The Incident" is a dark story, drama and crime picture set in New York City. Much of the story takes places on a late night subway ride when two hooligans run roughshod over the people in the last car of the train. This is hardly an entertaining film, and not very good as a mystery or crime film. It's a social film with a picture of inner city hooligans abusing people and threatening them with violence. It's also a good picture of how people can be cowered by fear.

The acting is very good by all of the cast, which includes some prominent names of the day. Among them are Jack Gilford, Thelma Ritter, Gary Merrill, Beau Bridges, and a young Ed McMahon. It's one of the first movies, outside of TV, for Martin Sheen. He co-stars as Artie Connors in the lead roles with Tony Musante as Joe Ferrone.

This isn't a film for families or anyone who wants some laughs or mystery. But, if one is training or interested in civil order or handling rowdy characters who threaten people or the peace, this might be a good film to watch. Those who live in the big city who watch this film will likely not be taking any late night subway rides.