Just watched it on TCM. Why didn't they just cut the power on the runaway car at the end?
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@eddie g posted:Just watched it on TCM. Why didn't they just cut the power on the runaway car at the end?
It was a Hollywood movie, what would you expect?
One of my favorite movies of all time.
To correct the record- Mr. Blue (Robert Shaw) warned Lt. Zachary (Walter Matthau), that if they cut the power, they would kill all of the hostages. As long as the car was moving the cops assumed the hijackers were still onboard the car. The override of the deadman switch was the key to their getaway.
What RSJ said, the key to the plot was that they made it look like the hijackers were still on the train, by bypassing the deadman's feature on the train. The idea was the cops would follow the train, and the hijackers were off the train and could get away. They were told if they stop the train, they would kill the hostages. The train is eventually stopped by speed induced trippers bc it is moving too fast.
