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The Elevator

  • TV Movie
  • 1974
  • 1h 15m
IMDb RATING
5.4/10
263
YOUR RATING
The Elevator (1974)
DramaThriller

Armed robber Eddie Holcomb flees his latest job and gets trapped with stolen loot and innocent people in a high-rise building's jammed elevator while his accomplice Pete Howarth waits to kil... Read allArmed robber Eddie Holcomb flees his latest job and gets trapped with stolen loot and innocent people in a high-rise building's jammed elevator while his accomplice Pete Howarth waits to kill witnesses who pose the slightest threat.Armed robber Eddie Holcomb flees his latest job and gets trapped with stolen loot and innocent people in a high-rise building's jammed elevator while his accomplice Pete Howarth waits to kill witnesses who pose the slightest threat.

  • Director
    • Jerry Jameson
  • Writers
    • Bruce Shelly
    • David Ketchum
    • Rhoda Blecker
  • Stars
    • James Farentino
    • Roddy McDowall
    • Craig Stevens
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.4/10
    263
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Jerry Jameson
    • Writers
      • Bruce Shelly
      • David Ketchum
      • Rhoda Blecker
    • Stars
      • James Farentino
      • Roddy McDowall
      • Craig Stevens
    • 11User reviews
    • 2Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos3

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    Top cast16

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    James Farentino
    James Farentino
    • Eddie Holcomb
    Roddy McDowall
    Roddy McDowall
    • Marvin Ellis
    Craig Stevens
    Craig Stevens
    • Dr. Stuart Reynolds
    Don Stroud
    Don Stroud
    • Pete Howarth
    Teresa Wright
    Teresa Wright
    • Edith Reynolds
    Myrna Loy
    Myrna Loy
    • Amanda Kenyon
    Carol Lynley
    Carol Lynley
    • Irene Turner
    Arlene Golonka
    Arlene Golonka
    • Wendy Thompson
    Barry Livingston
    Barry Livingston
    • Robert Peters
    Jean Allison
    Jean Allison
    • Mrs. Peters
    Bob Fisher
    • Alan Rambeau
    Paul Sorensen
    Paul Sorensen
    • Detective Lieutenant
    Ed Deemer
    • Parking Attendent
    Will J. White
    Will J. White
    • First Security Guard
    Jack Griffin
    Jack Griffin
    • Delivery Man
    Jason Wingreen
    Jason Wingreen
    • Second Security Guard
    • Director
      • Jerry Jameson
    • Writers
      • Bruce Shelly
      • David Ketchum
      • Rhoda Blecker
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews11

    5.4263
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    10

    Featured reviews

    1mls4182

    Terrible

    A shocking waste of the looks and talent of Carol Lynley.

    Carol, who started out as a teen model and later in dramatic roles on the New York stage received a seven year contract with 20th Century Fox while still a teenager. She was not only beautiful but a very capable dramatic actress.. She also had a flair for comedy.

    Carol had just had a career resurgence by starring in the mega hot The Poseidon Adventure two years earlier. There is no good reason for her film career to have blossomed throughout the 1970s. Instead she made terrible television like this as well as Flood! In 1976 and guest spots on Aaron Spelling shows.
    searchanddestroy-1

    A pure mix up of the genres, but efficient

    Well, any movie buff will recognize here a pure tribute to Louis Malle's ASCENSEUR POUR L'ECHAFAUD, where a criminal is trapped in a jammed elevator just after he committed his murder. Even a blind man could recognize this, only by earing the dialogues !! And this TV movie made in 1974 is also in the line of the disaster movies wave, where we have some former Hollywood stars who happen to be put together in front of the "disaster" just after being separately presented. See AIRPORT, TOWERING INFERNO, POSEIDON ADVENTURE, EARTHQUAKE, THE SWARM and so on...And, it's of course a small budget feature, the perfect TV product setting, cheap and efficient. But not advised for claustrophobic people. And the character study is also interesting. Some unbelievable scenes, such as this one when Farentino's character, after threatening the people with him in the elevator with his gun, gets on the elevator roof without any problem, as if he had a ladder... It was aired in France in the late seventies.
    nb_23

    More interesting than you'd think

    I agree the movie is of its time - I love the fashions and the snobbery - it's not just Britain that has a class system! But I don't agree there's no suspense. The point of the movie is the claustrophobic atmosphere, it's actually a bit more subtle than you'd think from the blurb.
    3planktonrules

    This idea MIGHT have worked for a half hour TV show...but for a movie of the week?

    The plot of "The Elevator" is incredibly simple. An armed robber is fleeing from his latest job and enters an elevator with several other people (his accomplices use another elevator). The elevator gets stuck...and so it remains for most of the film! This hardly seems like enough plot for a full-length made for TV movie...but apparently some folks thought it was. I suspect it was okayed for production because all sorts of disaster- type movies were the rage in the early to mid-1970s (such as Irwin Allen's "Towering Inferno", "The Poseidon Adventure" and "Earthquake")...and even the dumbest idea seemed like it would work. Plus, they had a couple over the hill actresses who were willing to work...another requisite for such a movie! But these other films had ideas which worked better (not great, mind you) because they weren't confined to one tight space and offered the possibilities of multiple perspectives. Not a recipe for a fantastic film...and a sad waste of Myrna Loy and Teresa Wright. Overall, you could certainly do a lot better than this formulaic and clichéd film. It's not horrible but isn't exactly a shining moment in the history of "The ABC Movie of the Week". It is, however, rather fun to watch near the end as there are several unintentional laughs!
    6Tera-Jones

    Average Film - But A Pretty Good Watch

    The film isn't what you'd call outstanding, it's average at best but it's still interesting and pretty good to watch. Some of the cast you'll recognize while others you might not recall right off the bat - cast is fine.

    The story is a bit predictable and not very suspenseful but there is something about it that kept my interest. It's about a thief and murderer who is claustrophobic and scared that gets stuck in an elevator with others. He has two accomplices trying to get to him but building security will not allow them into the building that is closed to the public. Will anyone survive? This is a good early morning film or one for boring afternoon.

    6/10

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    Related interests

    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama
    Cho Yeo-jeong in Parasite (2019)
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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Roddy McDowell and Carol Lynley co-starred together in The Poseidon Adventure (1972) before this.
    • Goofs
      When the suitcase falls to the floor in the elevator and the money falls out, there is far less in the suitcase than there was when it was originally inspected and closed earlier.
    • Connections
      Edited into Earthquake (1974)

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    Details

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    • Release date
      • February 9, 1974 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Fahrstuhl des Schreckens
    • Filming locations
      • Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA(Studio)
    • Production company
      • Universal Television
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

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    • Runtime
      • 1h 15m(75 min)
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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