The police receives a $500k ransom demand by threating to blow up a plane with RDX explosives. Jim Molner (James Mason) is horrified by the realization that he helped build the bomb. The gang leader Paul Hoplin (Rod Steiger) is an Army buddy who tricked him. Paul forces him to continue by taking his wife and young daughter hostage. Kelly (Angie Dickinson), Vince (Jack Klugman), and Steve (Neville Brand) are the other gang members.
I don't really understand the compromise. I would think that Hoplin would simply tie the husband and kid down forcing the wife to do his bidding. I don't get why the couple would see splitting up as a better deal. It's all a little confused. The only gain comes from forcing the wife to be controlled by the pervert Steve. It's a manufactured situation. I also don't care much about the FBI's side of the story. There is a good crime drama in here and the cast is interesting. It's especially interesting to see Dickinson and Klugman as villains.
I don't really understand the compromise. I would think that Hoplin would simply tie the husband and kid down forcing the wife to do his bidding. I don't get why the couple would see splitting up as a better deal. It's all a little confused. The only gain comes from forcing the wife to be controlled by the pervert Steve. It's a manufactured situation. I also don't care much about the FBI's side of the story. There is a good crime drama in here and the cast is interesting. It's especially interesting to see Dickinson and Klugman as villains.