The Narrow Margin

1952
Approved
1h 11m

IMDb RATING

7.6/10

YOUR RATING

David Clarke, Charles McGraw, Peter Virgo, Jacqueline White, and Marie Windsor in The Narrow Margin (1952)

Trailer for this murderous tale set on a train

Play trailer1:56

1 Video

49 Photos

Film Noir Gangster Crime Drama Thriller

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

Directors
- Richard Fleischer
- William Cameron Menzies
Writers
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.6/10

YOUR RATING

Directors
- Richard Fleischer
- William Cameron Menzies
Writers
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 1 nomination total

Vincent Yost
(uncredited)

Ivan Browning

Waiter
(uncredited)

George Chandler

Accomplice Running Newsstand
(uncredited)

James Conaty

Tenant in Apartment House Hallway
(uncredited)

Don Dillaway

Reporter
(uncredited)

Franklyn Farnum

Train Passenger
(uncredited)

Bess Flowers

Wagon Restaurant Diner
(uncredited)

Don Haggerty

Det. Wilson
(uncredited)

Directors
- Richard Fleischer
- William Cameron Menzies
Writers
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
In preference to removing various walls from the sets, director Richard Fleischer decided to make extensive use of a handheld camera that could be brought into rooms; this was one of the first films to do so. To save money, the train sets were rigidly fixed to the floor and the camera was moved to simulate the train rocking.

Goofs
There are palm trees at the Denver train station.

Quotes
Walter Brown: Pardon me, I'd like to get through.
Jennings: Sorry, this train wasn't designed for my tonnage, heh. Nobody loves a fat man except his grocer and his tailor!

Alternate versions
Also available in a computer colorized version.

Connections
Featured in Hollywood the Golden Years: The RKO Story: Howard's Way (1987)

User reviews116

Review

Featured review

8/10

One of the best B movies ever...

The Narrow Margin is excellent. It's too bad more of our new directors have forgotten how to make a great film with a minimal budget, using instead inventive camera angles, good characters and dialog, and some surprises along the way. I really loved Marie Windsor as the mobster's wife who's going to LA to sing to the Grand Jury. She's one of the toughest broads I've ever seen! Charles McGraw does his standard tough cop role and turns in a performance that sets the standard by which all others are judged.

This is the original, and beats the heck out of the re-make.....