Margin for Error (1943)

Director:

Otto Preminger

Writers:

Clare Boothe Luce (play)
Lillie Hayward (screenplay)

Release Date:

10 February 1943 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

There's NO Rationing of Entertainment in... [Margin for Error]

Plot:

It is a toss-up as to who is most displeased when Patrolman Moe Finkelstein is given the duty of guarding...

Plot Keywords:

German | Baron | Saboteur | Nazi | Investigation

Cast

Joan Bennett	...	Sophia Baumer
Milton Berle	...	Moe Finkelstein
Otto Preminger	...	Karl Baumer
Carl Esmond	...	Baron Max von Alvenstor (as Charles Esmond)
Howard Freeman	...	Otto Horst
Poldi Dur	...	Frieda (as Poldy Dur)
Clyde Fillmore	...	Dr. Jennings

Runtime:

74 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker (1991)

Berle Is Wide of the Margin, but Bennett and Preminger Are Great!

Preminger also starred and directed the stage play which ran highly successful seasons both on Broadway (264 performances) and the West Coast, so he was a natural for the movie version. Unfortunately, the play is more than a trifle dated, unlike Mrs Luce's other huge stage success, The Women, which is still pointed and amusing even today. By contrast, the women in Margin for Error are not the least bitchy, feline or self-indulgent. Instead, the comedy (such as it is) centers on the efforts of a Jewish cop to come to terms with his duties at the German consulate. He smiles a lot, wins the heart of a serving girl (the lovely Leisl Handl) and has plenty to say and do, but Milton Berle's interpretation never strikes me as either the slightest bit policeman-like or true-to-life. Otto Preminger's portrait of the evil consul is equally one-dimensional, but at least he gives the role presence and charisma. While Preminger rivets attention, Berle is just plain dish-washy. Admittedly, the plot is full of holes, and the other police officers are likewise ridiculously simple-minded. Thank goodness the rest of the cast are better served by the script, particularly Howard Freeman in his best role ever as the strutting, cowardly Mussolini-like bund leader; dashing Carl Esmond as the secretary; and beautiful Joan Bennett as the wife. Production values, led by Cronjager's velvety photography and Day's appealing sets, impress