The Incident - Score Video (NYC Subway Film Noir mid 1960s)

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• published: 13 May 2014
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This lesser known drama was the major contemporary subway movie before The Taking of Pelham 123 was released. One day, I asked Don Harold what the turning point was for the loss of control of transit system. He said it was release of this film, which I had never heard of. Despite the shaky black and white shots of moving trains, the film is an absolute masterpiece. The only special effect used is the relentless pursuit of portraying the realism of an aging transit system in a time of rapid social change and decline in of civic order. The sport jacketed white thugs are merely a prop for displaying the weaknesses and hypocrisy of the wide variety of people that might encounter each other on a late night ride. Don seemed to be saying that the film, whose makers were prohibited from TA property, incited more violence and vandalism on the system. Of course, much larger cultural currents were at play, but the timing of the film's production could not have been better. Urban social problems were exploding at a time when much of the original infrastructure of the extant transit system were intact. Adapted from a 1963 DuPont Show of The Week "Ride with Terror" written by Nicholas E. Baehr (if there is a god, please conjure a copy of that teleplay), this 1967 production is a carefully constructed film that wastes no line of dialog, facial expression or camera angle. When I first screened this, I was driven nearly to insanity trying to figure out if they used a real subway car. The car interior had so many familiar elements, perfectly weathered and dinged up. Clearly a pre-war car, it looked different from Lo-vs. And anyway, they got rid of all the Lo-vs by 1963. It looked too good to be another dumb movie set though. Thanks to the internet, we can all now know that the production company (according to the Wikipedia entry) went to St. Louis Car to get drawings and plans for the 1938 built World's Fair IRT Low Voltage car. A replica was constructed for use in a studio. The visual authenticity is remarkable. These WF cars were still running their last miles on the Third Avenue El in the Bronx when the film was made, and that is where the outside shots are filmed. Seen running in regular service, you can spot a patrolman standing in one car in the first run by. You also can see the motorman leaning way to the right to see around the corner of the left curving track from Gun Hill Road to Third Ave. He is also likely reacting to the bright floodlights mounted adjacent to the el. The purpose of this video is to introduce you to the film and the score, expertly arranged to set the mood for this midnight ride to terror in mid 1960s Bronx and Manhattan. Enjoy!