Filmways Pictures
Universal Pictures
Not part of a collection.
Two-Minute Warning
91,000 people. 33 exit gates. One sniper…
A psychotic sniper plans a massive killing spree in a Los Angeles football stadium during a major championship game. The police, led by Captain Peter Holly and the SWAT commander, learn of the plot and rush to the scene.
- Original title
- Two-Minute Warning
- Language
- EN
- Country
- US
- Budget
- $6,700,000
- Revenue
- $6,700,000
John Chard
Apr 20, 2020 · via TMDB
Undervalued thriller. A lone gunman has his sights set on a sell-out crowd at a championship football game. Captain Peter Holly leads the desperate fight to try and stop the maniac from picking people off at will. Perched high on top of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the gunman has his pick of the targets, the Mayor -the President - or merely the innocent? Either way he has to be stopped before all hell breaks loose. Much like "Rollercoaster" a year later, Two-Minute Warning is wrongly lumped in with the disaster movie genre that flooded the 1970s, and just like Rollercoaster, Two-Minute Warning is an excellently taut thriller. The build up is paced to precision, all characters are introduced to us to give us something to associate with should things go very wrong. As this is happening we get little POV snippets of our killer, accompanied by Charles Fox's harshly impacting music, the killer is never seen but we feel the dread, the impending sense of murder is a constant presence. Once we are at the game and the authorities are aware that a sniper is on the roof, the film shifts up a gear and lays on the suspense thick and heavy. Captain Holly (Charlton Heston in authoritative scene commanding form) is joined by the SWAT team, led by the cool and serious Sgt. Chris Button (John Cassavetes), whilst stadium security manager Sam McKeever (Martin Balsam) prays that disaster can be averted. Then the final third of the picture is a ripper of heart pounding stuff, a final third that rewards the viewers patience for having invested in the film and the key characters. Filling out the cast is Gena Rowlands, Jack Klugman (brilliant interplay with Mitch Ryan's priest), Beau Bridges, Walter Pidgeon and David Jansen. Two-Minute Warning is a quality thriller that is sadly undervalued on the big IMDb site, go on, give it a go and you might just be pleasantly surprised. 7.5/10 Footnote: I should point out that my thoughts are on the original unedited cut of this film, I have never seen the watered down TV cut and have no plans to ever do so.
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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Charlton Heston
Capt. Peter Holly
John Cassavetes
Sgt. Chris Button
Martin Balsam
Sam McKeever
Beau Bridges
Mike Ramsay
Marilyn Hassett
Lucy
David Janssen
Steve
Jack Klugman
Stu Sandmann
Gena Rowlands
Janet
Walter Pidgeon
The Pickpocket
Brock Peters
Paul
David Groh
Al
Mitchell Ryan
The Priest
Joe Kapp
Charlie Tyler
Pamela Bellwood
Peggy Ramsay
Susan Backlinie
Pretty Blonde Woman in Crowd
Sandy Johnson
Button's Wife
Michael Gregory
—
Branscombe Richmond
Bystander with Blood on His Hands
J.A. Preston
Policeman
William Bryant
Lt. Calloway (as Bill Bryant)
Allan Miller
Mr. Green
Andy Sidaris
TV Director
Dick Winslow
Man with Toupee
Garry Walberg
Governor Ogden
Cay Forester
Mrs. Ogden (as Kate Archer)
Christine Nelson
Woman at Airport
Howard Cosell
Howard Cosell
Frank Gifford
Frank Gifford
Dick Enberg
Dick Enberg
Merv Griffin
Merv Griffin - National Anthem Singer
Larry Manetti
The S.W.A.T. Team - Pratt
John Stuart West
Ambulance Attendant
Robert Ginty
Vendor
Gerald Hirschfeld
Director of Photography
Glenn R. Wilder
Stunt Coordinator
Freddie Hice
Stunts
Kitty O'Neil
Stunts
Tony Brubaker
Stunts
Larry Peerce
Director
James Plannette
Gaffer
Charles Fox
Original Music Composer
Edward Hume
Screenplay
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