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The Narrow Margin

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7.3/10 • 152

1952-05-031h 11m

ThrillerCrime

A Fortune If They Seal Her Lips!...A Bullet If They Fail!

A tough cop meets his match when he has to guard a gangster's widow on a train journey from Chicago to Los Angeles.

Directors
Richard Fleischer
Editors
Robert Swink

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Charles McGraw

    Charles McGraw

    Det. Sgt. Walter Brown

  2. Marie Windsor

    Marie Windsor

    Mrs. Frankie Neall

  3. Jacqueline White

    Jacqueline White

    Ann Sinclair

  4. Gordon Gebert

    Gordon Gebert

    Tommy Sinclair

  5. Queenie Leonard

    Queenie Leonard

    Mrs. Troll

  6. David Clarke

    David Clarke

    Joseph Kemp

  7. Peter Virgo

    Peter Virgo

    Densel

  8. Don Beddoe

    Don Beddoe

    Det. Sgt. Gus Forbes

  9. Paul Maxey

    Paul Maxey

    Sam Jennings

Reviews1

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John Chard Avatar

John Chard

Nov 7, 2019

The witness protection programme just got hard boiled. After finally waking herself up, a mobsters wife decides to testify against him and his organisation. As the trial draws closer she is constantly under threat of being murdered before she can spill the beans. Tough detective Walter Brown and his partner Gus Forbes are assigned to escort her safely across country via a train from Chicago to Los Angeles, but nobody can be trusted, and the threat of death is around everyone on board this speeding train. Yes it may well be a "B" movie, but as "B" movies go this has to rank as one of the finest exponents of that particular arc. With the film taking place almost entirely on board the train, the tension sapping and claustrophobic feel is perfectly executed by director Richard Fleischer. The plot twists and turns and throws up genuine moments of surprise that thrill instead of hinder, whilst the ending doesn't cop out by pandering to the normal requisite of witness protection thrillers. Charles McGraw is great as Brown, putting the hard into hard boiled and Jacqueline White is very precious as Ann Sinclair. Truth is, is that all the cast work well within the confines of this tightly produced picture. It was a surprise hit for RKO, where made on a small budget of under a quarter of a million dollars, it turned out to be a very profitable "B" production for the company. It wowed audiences back in the 50s and it's testament to the film's worth that today, here in the modern age, it's still being sought out and praised by movie lovers of all ages. 8/10

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
$10,000,000.00
Revenue
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Keywords
hitmanwidowtelegramoverweight manpolice protectionblondelittle boyfilm noirmurderundercover coppolice detectiverailroad detectivegunmanbrawlfollowedtrain triphard-boiled dame