I’m sure David Godey (Morton Freedgood) knew his pulpy novel was likely to end up on the big screen, but three times? The latest coming out thirty-five years after the first?

Luckily, subways don’t date as much as other forms of transportation and technology, so they could keep going back to the same well. Lining them up, the original 1974 version is still clearly the pick of the crop. How can you beat Walter Matthau playing off against Robert Shaw? You can’t. The 1998 TV-movie isn’t bad, but is pretty limited. And the 2009 Denzel Washingon-John Travolta pairing is a real disappointment.