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The Narrow Margin follows Detective Walter Brown (Charles McGraw) as he is assigned the duty to protect Mrs. Neall (Marie Windsor), the widow of a notorious mob boss who's got a price on her head as she heads to testify before a grand jury. But things don't go as planned as Brown and Neall find themselves trapped in the same train with the hitmen sent to take her out.
This film was released in 1952, at a time when film noir was perhaps becoming more ambitious in its themes and scope. However, director Richard Fleischer chooses to keep both things small and simple. The premise is rather simple: a cop assigned to protect a women from some hoodlums; and so are the scope and setting: a train ride from Chicago to Los Angeles. Both of these, paired with a 70 minutes runtime, help give this film a slick flow.
The performances are not necessarily flashy, but they're all effective in doing what they're supposed to do; rough cop, feisty woman, tough bad guys, and it all works extremely well with the snappy dialogue that allows them to shoot one liners as fast as they do punches or bullets. In addition, the narrow and cramped corridors of the train help to amp up the claustrophobia of our characters, and how trapped and with no escape they are.
There is a certain twist towards the end that I'm still not sure of how well it works. I understand how it's supposed to make sense within the notion of a corrupted police force, but it still felt a bit of a stretch. However, Fleischer doesn't slow down for us to examine the scenery. He keeps the plot chugging along anyway, without diving too much into it. Much like it's lead character, The Narrow Margin may look a bit rough around the edges, but it is still extremely efficient, reliable, and to the point.
Grade:
THE NARROW MARGIN
(1952, Fleischer)
A film noir
(1952, Fleischer)
A film noir
"Maybe you're like the train. When it's moving, everything is a blur. When it slows down and stops, you begin to notice the scenery."
The Narrow Margin follows Detective Walter Brown (Charles McGraw) as he is assigned the duty to protect Mrs. Neall (Marie Windsor), the widow of a notorious mob boss who's got a price on her head as she heads to testify before a grand jury. But things don't go as planned as Brown and Neall find themselves trapped in the same train with the hitmen sent to take her out.
This film was released in 1952, at a time when film noir was perhaps becoming more ambitious in its themes and scope. However, director Richard Fleischer chooses to keep both things small and simple. The premise is rather simple: a cop assigned to protect a women from some hoodlums; and so are the scope and setting: a train ride from Chicago to Los Angeles. Both of these, paired with a 70 minutes runtime, help give this film a slick flow.
The performances are not necessarily flashy, but they're all effective in doing what they're supposed to do; rough cop, feisty woman, tough bad guys, and it all works extremely well with the snappy dialogue that allows them to shoot one liners as fast as they do punches or bullets. In addition, the narrow and cramped corridors of the train help to amp up the claustrophobia of our characters, and how trapped and with no escape they are.
There is a certain twist towards the end that I'm still not sure of how well it works. I understand how it's supposed to make sense within the notion of a corrupted police force, but it still felt a bit of a stretch. However, Fleischer doesn't slow down for us to examine the scenery. He keeps the plot chugging along anyway, without diving too much into it. Much like it's lead character, The Narrow Margin may look a bit rough around the edges, but it is still extremely efficient, reliable, and to the point.
Grade: