Two psychos (Martin Sheen and Tony Musante) terrorize the passengers of a NYC subway car. The first half introduces the characters...the second half is the attack. The "victims" are an unhappily married couple (Ed McMahon and Diana van de Vlis); a young couple (Edward Arnold and Donna Mills); an elderly couple (Jack Gilford and Thelma Ritter); two Army guys (Beau Bridges and Robert Bannard); ANOTHER unhappy couple (Mike Kellin and Jan Sterling); a gay man full of self-loathing (Robert Fields); a recovering alcoholic (Gary Merrill) and a black couple (Brock Peters and Ruby Dee).

This is a great movie and STILL unknown to this day. It is very unpleasant to watch and the realism may be too much for some people. Also the film is, sadly, still topical (although NY subways are nowhere near this bad nowadays). Each character is attacked (verbally and physically) during the course of the film--the attacks on the black couple and the gay man are so extreme and violent they're virtually unwatchable. All the acting is excellent which makes this film very hard to shake off. Also it's very interesting to see Ed McMahon doing drama and this is the film debut of Sheen and Mills. Shot in b&w which actually helps. A must see...just brace yourself.

Anybody who has ever taking the MTA late at night can relate to what is seen in this 1960's crime thriller that is very gritty and extremely true to life as far as New York City's after dark hours are concerned. The characters played by Tony Musante and Martin Sheen still exist as passengers at any time of day on the subway, but they are more frightening and dangerous late at night. Regular people out at 2 a.m. Coming from parties or work or dates, some drunk, some sober, have a variety of reactions, but it's obvious that most of them are panic-stricken by the possibility of violence that could erupt at any minute from these two thugs.

An all-star cast of some of the best character actors from stage and screen play these concerned passengers, mainly for their own safety, and certainly not for the sleeping homeless man that Sheen attempts to give a hot foot to. It takes 45 minutes for all the passengers to be gathered together on the downtown 4 train heading from the Bronx into Manhattan where are these two insane creatures take over. People of all ages are affected, and they look on in horror but none of them have the real courage to do anything to stop them.

Gary Merrill has an out-of-work alcoholic, Brock Peters and Ruby Dee as an unhappily married couple fighting over his anger over racial issues, Thelma Ritter and Jack Gilford as an arguing older couple, and Ed McMahon and Diane Van der Vlis as a troubled couple debating having another child are among the passengers, and there is even a single gay man (Robert Fields) whom Sheen seems to be making a pass at but eventually starts roughing up. The two thugs seemed obviously doped-up as their behaviors are often inconsistent.

While incidents like this are not a regular occurrence on the subway, they can and do happen out of the spur of the moment, and this is really true to life and the way of how disturbing it is. The fact that nobody listen finger to try to help stop it or the harassment towards Fields is something else that hasn't changed either, and that adds realistic feeling to the drama that turns makes every day real people in New York seem somewhat like monsters. The problems that each of these individuals face obviously are nothing compared to the shared terror they all face together. It's an unforgettable film that is hard to take your eyes off of, as much as it is difficult to watch.

The Incident was a film that got great critical notices when it came out then seemed to disappear. I was waiting more than 50 years to see it and it was worth the wait.

A bunch of familiar players pair off in twos mostly some married, some not and at least one gay guy looking to hook up in those pre-Stonewall days. They're all quite absorbed with their selves and significant others not to notice a pair of deadly hoodlums, Tony Musante and Martin Sheen board the train. These two are quite deadly and they are the first we meet. And when we do meet them we see how deadly they are.

As our dramatis personae gather on the subway after we see bits of their lives, Musante and Sheen start to terrorize the occupants of the subway car. All of them so self absorbed in their own situations they don't make any kind of move. The men humiliated, the women degraded.

I'd love to know where the transit cops were? This was in the Lindsay years and back then the big campaign was to advertise New York as Fun City.

Some of the more memorable couples were Jan Sterling and Michael Kellin, Thelma Ritter, and Jack Gilford, Ed McMahon and Diane VanderVlis, Brock Peters and Ruby Dee.

The Incident is a film testament to New Yorkers legendary code of non-involvement. When rescue comes, it comes at the hands of the only non-New Yorker on the train.

After 50 years The Incident with its many fine performances packs a wallop.