'Robert Shaw takes the subway'

Four armed men hijack a New York City subway car and demand a ransom for the passengers. The city's police are faced with a conundrum: Even if it's paid, how could they get away?

So nice they remade it twice (most famously in 2009 with Denzel Washington and John Travolta), The Taking of Pelham One Two Three is a classic thriller/heist film set in gritty 70s New York. Robert Shaw is in fine form as the cold and ruthless 'Mr Blue', taking an entire train hostage for the ransom of one million dollars. Additionally, keep an eye out for a pre-Seinfeld Jerry Stiller who contrasts some wonderful levity to the high stakes.