ActionThriller

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.

Release Date : 1976-11-12

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Universal PicturesFilmways Pictures

Production Country : United States of America

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : Capt. Peter Holly

Original Name : Charlton Heston

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sgt. Chris Button

Original Name : John Cassavetes

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sam McKeever

Original Name : Martin Balsam

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mike Ramsay

Original Name : Beau Bridges

Gender : Male

Character Name : Lucy

Original Name : Marilyn Hassett

Gender : Female

Character Name : Steve

Original Name : David Janssen

Gender : Male

Character Name : Stu Sandmann

Original Name : Jack Klugman

Gender : Male

Character Name : Janet

Original Name : Gena Rowlands

Gender : Female

Character Name : The Pickpocket

Original Name : Walter Pidgeon

Gender : Male

Character Name : Paul

Original Name : Brock Peters

Gender : Male

Character Name : Al

Original Name : David Groh

Gender : Male

Character Name : The Priest

Original Name : Mitchell Ryan

Gender : Male

Character Name : Charlie Tyler

Original Name : Joe Kapp

Gender : Male

Character Name : Peggy Ramsay

Original Name : Pamela Bellwood

Gender : Female

Character Name : Jeffrey

Original Name : Jon Korkes

Gender : Male

Character Name : Pretty Blonde Woman in Crowd

Original Name : Susan Backlinie

Gender : Female

Character Name : Button's Wife

Original Name : Sandy Johnson

Gender : Female

Character Name : Tyler's Girlfriend

Original Name : Brooke Mills

Gender : Female

Character Name :

Original Name : Michael Gregory

Gender : Male

Character Name : Bystander with Blood on His Hands

Original Name : Branscombe Richmond

Gender : Male

Character Name : Policeman

Original Name : J.A. Preston

Gender : Male

Character Name : Woman at Airport (as Holly Irving)

Original Name : Hollis Irving

Gender : Female

Character Name : Lt. Calloway (as Bill Bryant)

Original Name : William Bryant

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mr. Green

Original Name : Allan Miller

Gender : Male

Character Name : TV Director

Original Name : Andy Sidaris

Gender : Male

Character Name : Man with Toupee

Original Name : Dick Winslow

Gender : Male

Character Name : Governor Ogden

Original Name : Garry Walberg

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mrs. Ogden (as Kate Archer)

Original Name : Cay Forester

Gender : Female

Character Name : Woman at Airport

Original Name : Christine Nelson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Howard Cosell

Original Name : Howard Cosell

Gender : Male

Character Name : Frank Gifford

Original Name : Frank Gifford

Gender : Male

Character Name : Dick Enberg

Original Name : Dick Enberg

Gender : Male

Character Name : Merv Griffin - National Anthem Singer

Original Name : Merv Griffin

Gender : Male

Character Name : The S.W.A.T. Team - Pratt

Original Name : Larry Manetti

Gender : Male

Character Name : Ambulance Attendant

Original Name : John Stuart West

Gender : Male

Reviews

John Chard

@John Chard

2024-05-16

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.