November 5, 1967 –
A forgotten neo-noir film, The Incident, directed by Larry Peerce and starring Victor Arnold, Robert Bannard, Beau Bridges, Ruby Dee, Robert Fields, Jack Gilford, Mike Kellin, Ed McMahon, Gary Merrill, Donna Mills, Tony Musante, Brock Peters, Thelma Ritter, Martin Sheen, Jan Sterling, and Diana Van der Vlis, was released on this date.
The New York Transit Authority denied permission to film even background shots on its property, but the filmmakers shot them anyway. Cinematographer Gerald Hirschfeld and an assistant rode the subway with a hidden camera, and when its sound was noticed, they stopped and came back later to finish the job. Hirschfeld said in an interview that he filmed in black and white in order to get “the most realistic style of photography possible“; test shots were taken in muted color but they were deemed to distract from the desired somber effect.
