The Narrow Margin

Starring: Charles McGraw, Marie Windsor, Jacqueline White, Gordon Gebert, David Clarke, Don Beddoe
Directed by: Richard Fleischer
Rating: Not rated
Genre: Film Noir, Thriller
1952

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A police officer (Charles McGraw) must protect a woman testifying against the mob from her attackers on board a train.

Review:

Tim: The Narrow Margin is a taut, electric little film noir that holds the audience's attention with it's riveting, twisting storyline. This is a film that was made on a small scale, with a small budget. There's no big name stars in this film. And yet, it's still extremely entertaining. This is a movie that grabs hold of you and doesn't let you go. The film is only 71 minutes long (which is pretty short!), but it moves so quickly that you finish it a bit breathless. I really, really enjoyed this film.

The story is pretty simple- a detective is protecting a woman from mobster hitmen, determined to kill her before she can testify in court. That storyline has been done numerous times before. The difference here is that the majority of the action takes place on board a train. This is a great twist- trains have often played important roles in movies, even from the earliest days of cinema. There's something so claustrophobic and exciting about a train- it's this contained little world, speeding along the tracks. There's not a lot of places to run and hide. The film uses this setting in terrific fashion. You really feel like the train is the whole world, and we're smack in the middle of it.

I loved how the story twisted and turned, similar to the train on its tracks. There were quite a few surprises and unexpected events peppered throughout the film. That really kept my attention, because I never knew what to expect next. While a few of the twists are a little convenient, for the most part, the story is fantastic. This film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay (its only nomination, no wins), and it deserved that acclaim.

The cast was fine, although I do wish there had been a bigger star. Charles McGraw does a decent job, giving one of those quintessential film noir performances. His calm demeanor and raspy voice worked well within the confines of this film. I don't think he is a truly great actor, but he worked well in this role. Marie Windsor was decent, but I felt like her performance strayed too much into over-the-top territory. Jacqueline White was decent, but her performance was just a bit bland. In this film, director Richard Fleischer certainly gets the most out of his cast. Unfortunately, the talent is definitely second tier.

What's interesting is that while I thoroughly enjoyed this film, it definitely has the mark of a "B" film. However, it defies those expectations. This is a B movie that delivers an "A" result. While I thoroughly enjoyed the film, it does feel like a bit of an overachiever- like the film was better than it had any reason to be. I think with a slightly bigger budget, this film could have been incredible. As such, though, it's still a thoroughly engrossing, entertaining film. It is rightly deemed a film noir classic, and a movie that I truly enjoyed watching.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



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