May 19, 2005

NYC subway in film history at Transit Museum Annex

New York transit has seen some tough days. It's been attacked by King Kong, eaten by 600-pound worms, ("Men in Black II,") infiltrated by talking apes, ("Beneath the Planet of the Apes,") and has of course seen its share of hijackings ("The Taking of Pelham One Two Three," and "The French Connection.")

Those transgressions and more are chronicled at "On Location: New York Transportation in Film," at the New York Transit Museum Gallery Annex at Grand Central Terminal.

There are scenes from movies as recent as "Madagascar," -- now in theaters -- to as far back as 1896, when the first motion picture of New York City was filmed by William Heise, on assignment from Thomas Edison Company. He filmed Herald Square, as pedestrians and streetcars rushed through the intersection at 33rd Street and Sixth Avenue.

It wasn't until 1948 when "Naked City" became the first major feature film shot entirely on location in New York City.

In addition to movie clips and stills, the exhibit has a few props on display, including the control panel from "The Taking of Pelham One Two Three," as well as a tiger-jacket worn by one of the Chinese gang members at the all-city gang meeting near Yankee Stadium in "The Warriors."

As it turns out, most of "The Warriors" was shot at the Hoyt-Schermerhorn station in Brooklyn.

The exhibit turns up several other bits of movie trivia, including a story about the subway conductor in "French Connection." The conductor on the train was played by real-life subway conductor Bob Morrone because the actor didn't show up for work that day. For the scene he was wired with blood packs, and the look of surprise on his face was real because he didn't know that he'd also been wired so that crew could pull him to the ground upon impact. The train used in the film, an R-17, is on display at the Transit Museum in Brooklyn.

The exhibit runs through October 30. It's free. The gallery annex is located in Grand Central Terminal, not far from the grand concourse. It's in the central hallway that also leads to the subways.

May 19, 2005 10:04 AM in Midtown, Museums, Transportology

®Copyright 2006, All Rights Reserved