A cop has to get a witness from Chicago to Los Angeles in time for a major trial.
Trapped on a train with a pair of killers on his tail, can Brown (Charles McGraw) keep Frankie (Marie Windsor) alive?
One of my favourite movies. I watched it about a decade ago and fell in love.
So clean and efficient, The Narrow Margin is the epitome of a small-scale genre piece.
The cast are solid: Charles McGraw is all gruff professionalism as the incorruptible Brown, but the real highlight is Marie Windsor as the tough-as-nails witness who becomes his unwilling accomplice.
Made using only a few sets, the film is always on the move, milking suspense from every minor interaction.
Brown is constantly having to contend with his fellow passengers. While there are only two villains, it is Brown’s fellow passengers and the claustrophobic setting which become greater obstacles to his mission.
The film’s one action scene - a desperate scuffle in a train car bathroom - is fantastic. Shot with a handheld camera between the combatants, occasionally approximating a POV, with characters attacking the camera.
With only the sound of heavy breathing and train tracks, it is still a visceral set-piece.
Despite McGraw’s growl and presence, he never comes across as a superman.
A few final twists add to the suspense - one of the villains gets off the train and is replaced by another killer who Brown does not know- the filmmakers do not keep this a surprise, revealing this new variable to the viewer before Brown to increase the suspense.
The whole movie is a testament to how much can be milked from limited resources.
A pulpy, noir-infused sibling to Hitchcock’s train-set thrillers, there are no lulls in the action, as the film speeds through its 71 minutes.
A terrific showcase for director Richard Fleischer, The Narrow Margin is one of the highlights of a long, underrated career of a talented studio journeyman.
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