The Narrow Margin (1952)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Richard Fleischer

Writers:

Earl Felton (screenplay)
Martin Goldsmith (story) ...

Release Date:

4 May 1952 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Film-Noir | Drama

Tagline:

'THAT BULLET'S MEANT FOR ME!" - Suspense every speeding second aboard a stream-lined limited...as syndicate killers seek to find and silence mystery woman headed for the Grand Jury!

Plot:

A woman planning to testify against the mob must be protected against their assassins on the train trip from Chicago to Los Angeles.

Plot Keywords:

Train | Trial | Gangster | Nail File | Sleeping Car

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Charles McGraw	...	Det. Sgt. Walter Brown
Marie Windsor	...	Mrs. Frankie Neall
Jacqueline White	...	Ann Sinclair
Gordon Gebert	...	Tommy Sinclair
Queenie Leonard	...	Mrs. Troll
David Clarke	...	Joseph Kemp
Peter Virgo	...	Densel
Don Beddoe	...	Det. Sgt. Gus Forbes
Paul Maxey	...	Sam Jennings
Harry Harvey	...	Train conductor

Also Known As:

The Target (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

71 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Norway:16 | Finland:K-16 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:Approved (PCA #14631)

Filming Locations:

Santa Fe Railroad Depot - 1170 W. 3rd Street, San Bernardino, California, USA

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

Filmed in 1950, not released until 1952. According to director Richard Fleischer, when the film was finished RKO Pictures owner Howard Hughes heard good things about it and ordered that a copy of it be delivered to him so he could screen it in his private projection room. The film stayed in the projection room for more than a year, apparently because the eccentric Hughes forgot about it.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When the character of nine year old Tommy Sinclair (Gordon Gerbert) first appears, his traveling nurse clearly calls him "Tony". For the rest of the film he's called "Tommy", the character's official name.

Quotes:

Walter Brown: So far they haven't spotted you, and they don't know what you look like. But they've seen me. If they start shooting in my direction, I don't want you hit.
Mrs. Neall: You're sure it isn't the other way around?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Silver Streak (1976)

Charles McGraw At His Best

While director Richard Fleischer gets plenty of credit for his role in making the film noir classic "The Narrow Margin" on a shoestring budget, it is hard to imagine this picture without actor Charles McGraw in the lead role. As a tough cop escorting a witness to testify in Los Angeles, McGraw's performance is what holds the picture together. Try to think now of one actor around today who could portray a cop who is at times calculating, other times sarcastic and almost always menacing. In the Hollywood of the 1940s and 50s,Charles McGraw usually played secondary roles in A pictures. In "The Narrow Margin," McGraw shows that with a competent director, he could put on some performance as the star of a movie.