The Incident (1967)

Very well executed

Fantastic!

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

What a disaster of a movie! This film with a current rating of 7.8 is a total failure and a farce, even for 1967. Are we to believe that two drunk punks can terrorize a carriage of people and nobody raises a finger to stop this nonsense at outset in unison?What made it worse is that the acting is so poor and put on that I forced myself to watch the whole show in disgust. How this trash can be liked is beyond my understanding.This film has nothing in its favor and should be treated as one of the worst movies ever made. I am flabbergasted!

I'm a subway buff. Love underground/elevated trains, stations, etc., and am especially fond of the NYC subway. This is the best subway movie ever made.(I know - some folks will reference "The Taking Of Pelham 123", in one or another of its versions, as being better, and it certainly is fine, but this is better. Just my opinion.) What truly blows me away about the making of this film is that NYC Transit would not allow the filmmakers to shoot, but they did, anyway. The hid cameras in bags and just went ahead and shot without permission. Then they had a NYC subway car interior built for them by the original manufacturer, for the interior scenes. So, perfect realism in all aspects of the scenery.OK, the plot. Marvelous. Two punks terrorize a train full of passengers during the late night/early morning hours. This continues until one of the passengers (I won't tell you which one) finally stands up to them. While the punks are basically abhorrent, they occasionally do something to one or another of the passengers that perhaps makes you believe that they might begin to behave reasonably. Then they don't go in the direction you might wish. They do something even more reprehensible, and that's how the tension is kept razor sharp.Acting? Superb all around. Tony Musante is especially good as one of the punks, as menacing as any character in the history of motion pictures. Hell, just his look is enough to make most of the passengers back off. Martin Sheen, as his buddy, looks more reasonable, but is actually pretty much as vicious. Among the passengers, Beau Bridges is great as a soldier on leave. Another great performance comes from Mike Kellin as the henpecked husband of Jan Sterling. Very surprisingly good dramatic performance from Ed McMahon (!) as parent of a young girl.The ending is both satisfying and sad. We see the punks get some payback, but the hero is never thanked, never given anything even close to what he deserves. Lives have been changed - some irrevocably - but one is also left with the feeling that some of these characters are so into self-denial that they will be just fine with everything in a few days.Fine time capsule of the time period - the 1960's - and of the subway at that time.Highly recommended, even if you're NOT a subway buff.

This is a terrific movie to watch today, 40 years after its release. As an essentially one-scene presentation, without any superstar members of the talented cast, and given the number of protest-type plays and films at this time of turmoil in the 1960's --- it is better now, not only for its story and performances, per se, but also as an excellent chronicle of these times.The story of a group of individuals, threatened and intimidated by a couple of "toughs," has been told many times, in a variety of settings, depicting the victims' fright, indifference, and even occasional amusement. But this one does tells it about as well as possible. The seedy setting, a New York City subway car, at night, provides a time capsule example of the word "seedy." A group like this could be equally-menaced, say, held hostage in the Presidential Suite at the Waldorf, but the dramatic effect would never be the same.Besides the drama - viewed now, four decades later - the film evokes a nostalgic view and feel of the 60's period. Martin Sheen and Tony Musante (a young 27 and 31, respectively), are outstanding, and Sheen's role, against-type, especially so. Beau Bridges is also 26 here, as is Donna Mills, and we also see Ed McMahon and Jan Sterling in their mid-40's. A very interesting view of these personalities then, along with the number of others in this outstanding ensemble.A real gem, and one of those frequent reminders that the best films often are found elsewhere from the high-budget, superstar epics.

Never saw or heard of film before-caught it on AMC this morning and could not stop watching it until it ended. I did not even know it was on the channel. Great cast-Martin Sheen and Tony Musante were great.Beau Bridges,Ruby Dee,Brock Peters,-an All Star cast, among others. I loved it-how come I did not hear about it 40 years ago when it was released.I enjoyed it greatly!!! The fact that it was in black and white made it even better. I grew up in N.Y. and it really hit home-how people could be passive and do nothing to help one another in a time of stress.(Kitty Genovese incident in 1964). Martin Sheen of course was so young then and went on to a great TV and movie career. Brock Peters and Ruby Dee had been terrific in many films. Beau Bridges played a part that was unusual for him. Ed McMahon we all know was Johnny Carson's side kick for his entire career on the Tonight Show-this part was not the Ed McMahon we saw on TV and he played it well.Gary Merrill also played a nice part in the film,as did Thelma Ritter, a great character actress,Jan Sterling, Jack Gilford and Donna Mills.An unbelievable cast of characters.