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The Narrow Margin

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Two Los Angeles detectives travel to Chicago to escort the wife of a mob boss back to LA to testify against her husband. One of the detectives is played by Charles McGraw, Det. Sgt. Walter Brown, and Mrs. Frankie Neil is played by Marie Windsor. Although neither are very well remembered today, both were great character actors and extremely prolific b-movie stars. According to William Friedkin's admiring commentary track the lovely, dark haired and doe eyed Windsor was a Vargas model and a former Miss Utah. The internet clarifies the history a bit. In an on-line interview the late Ms. Windsor explains that her home state didn't have a Miss Utah, but she was a Miss Covered Wagon Days in 1939, which was about as close the Mormon State got to such a thing. In any event Windsor's combination of authority and raven-haired beauty suits her edged character well. Friedkin describes McGraw as `the most hard-boiled of the tough guys.' With a face that looked like it was chiseled from a solid block of sandstone, augmented with a deep, growling snarl of a voice that sounded as if it had been steeped in whiskey and filtered through barbed wire - supplemented by the three packs (at least) of cigarettes McGraw smokes in this 71 minute movie- you'd be hard pressed to argue with Friedkin's assessment. In the interview Windsor remembers McGraw as a sweet and gentle man. Still, even though other b-actors, Lawrence Tierney and Tom Neal, for instance, had real life assault and murder convictions, of the bunch McGraw is the one you least want tailing you when the pavement turns slick and the shadows grow long.

A great cast, and everyone in THE NARROW MARGIN is very good to excellent, can be betrayed by a weak script and/or poor direction. Fortunately, the story is a natural and the direction is top of the line. A valuable witness has to travel from Chicago to Los Angeles on a train infested with ruthless bad guys who'll do just about anything to eliminate her (if they can find her.) Almost all of the movie takes place on the train during its long journey, a hermetic and claustrophobic space with few places to run and fewer yet to hide. The dialogue crackles and Fleischer's direction, in a word, is propulsive. I've cribbed from Friedkin's commentary track a couple of times already. It's not necessarily the best c-track I've ever heard, but it may be the one I'm most in tune with. I had to dust the scales off my eyelids when he noted `they could make movies in seventy-minutes back then because the characters didn't spend all their time analyzing their actions.' Which, of course, is true. When you say a movie like THE NARROW MARGIN is fast paced you're talking about the overall pacing, not the jittery MTV editing style. Movies like TNM build tension through action, not reflection. Friedkin also points out the missing piece that keeps the `very good' TNM from being a classic. I hadn't thought about it, but after he mentioned it I knew he was right. It involves a major plot point, so rather than telling you I'll just recommend the commentary track (after, of course, you've watched the film the first time without commentary.)

Archive interview audio of TNM's director Richard Fleischer is also heard on the c-track. As always, it's a treat to hear the director of old movies speak about them. What he doesn't address are two of the incredible (now) though common (then) facts about THE NARROW MARGIN. Namely that it was made on a $90,000 budget (still under $1 million in today's dollars after adjusting for inflation) and that the picture was shot in either 14 or 21 days (accounts vary.) If Friedkin is right and TNM is not a classic, it's still a wonderful crime thriller, and one that I strongly recommend.

THE NARROW MARGIN is the apex of film noir. If you have friends and family who want to know what film noir is, give them this movie. All the classic elements are here:

Modest length - the movie clocks in at a spare 71 minutes, and all the fat has been trimmed. There is not one wasted moment, and the action will keep viewers rivited.

Brilliant black & white photography - all the moody shadows, claustrophobic camera angles and amazing lighting that epitomizes film noir are on hand here and used to great effect.

Snappy dialogue - some of the best hard-boiled dialogue I've heard ("I've met some hard cases before, lady, but you make 'em look like putty") ("What are you going to do? Shoot something for breakfast?"). The barbs come quick and steady, with menace and biting sarcasm.


Femme fatale - Mrs. Neil, the protected Mob witness is nasty, self-centered, selfish and mean. Detective Brown is almost no match for her sharp tongue.


In additon, there are twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the penultimate moment. This is one of those "old" movies that bear repeated viewings. Economy of direction, script and suspense that builds throughout make this film noir a classic.

Remember when train-treading heroes and villains were concerned with the plundering of berths and compartments and fat guys blocking the corridors? Recall when no-nonsense stalwarts like Charles McGraw and tough cookies like Marie Windsor could rule the silver screen with a steely glance? Whatever the memory or lack thereof, forget train terrorists who punch in perdition with cell phones and computers, and revel in a terrific tale of mistaken identities and intriguing plot twists!

Tough guys don't come tougher than Charles McGraw as a hard-nosed, gravel-voiced West Coast cop who's been detailed to escort a mob widow cross-country to her date with the Los Angeles grand jury. This taut film noir takes place on the tight confines of a passenger train, brilliantly blocked in a series of tight corners and cramped cabins. The direction is perfect, though... You never lose your way or wonder where the action has taken you, and the stifling sense of oppressive constriction matches the McGraw's mood as he steadily runs out of options. Great, gritty dialog, particularly from femme fatale Marie Windsor (who is a dead ringer for Ilyana Douglas) and several running gags that bring character to a fast-moving film.

With her great body, huge dark eyes and unsmiling countenance, Marie Windsor, "the Queen of the Bs," seemed to personify film noir. In one of her most memorable roles, she plays in THE NARROW MARGIN a mobster's widow who must be transported by a police officer (Charles MacGraw, another noir staple) on a train from Chicago to LA with assassins on board--who do not know what she looks like. Memorably dolled up in fetishistic strappy high heels, cheap dangling earrings and a tight dress, Windsor is fortunate to have a director here worthy of her in Richard Fleischer, whose inventive use of camera placement and mise-en-scene seems to make perfect use of the narrow confines of the train's corridors and Pullman rooms. There are several sequences--most memorably the famous initial attack in the Chicago tenement stairwell, the fight in the men's bathroom, and the stopover in La Junta, CO--where he seems to anticipate Brian de Palma in his brilliant use of editing and camera placement to indicate several things going on at once on different points in a confined space; he also makes memorable use of window reflections to heighten suspense (and, in the finale,to further the story). The only downside of the film is Jacqueline White, vaguely reminsicent of Elinor Donahue, as MacGraw's wholesome love interest on the train: she seems to have wandered in from a different movie altogether. One of the most beloved of all film noirs, this comes with a bizarrely superfluous commentary from director William Friedkin, who seeems to imagine an audience who has never been to a movie before in their lives.

You can watch The Narrow Margin faster than you can read some of these reviews and that's the point. They simply don't make movies like this anymore. Forget about what can be done in 3 hours with $200 million dollars. This is about creating and sustaining real suspense and in this task, not a second is wasted. Even the credits move along.

Nor are the actors wasted. Charles McGraw, who was about as good an actor as Ronald Reagan, is perfect for his no nonsense role. Unless you like boring movies (and some people undeniably, do) you will not be dissapointed. This is both a cop drama and a sort of Film Noir, but file it under "Action".

The Narrow Margin is an exemplary piece of low budget movie making which sparkles from its start to its brisk and exciting finish, with little or no spare flesh on its lean and economical frame -in short an example of how imagination and professionalism could now and again overcome budgetary restrictions .
Two cops , Walter Brown ( Charles McGraw) and Gus Forbes ( Don Beddoes ) are assigned to escort a Mrs Neill ,the widow of a gangster and a woman who has agreed to testify against the mob in forthcoming hearings .She is being transported by train from Chicago to LA where the hearings are due to take place .They meet the brassy woman -played by Marie Windsor -but Forbes is shot and killed by a mob employee ,leaving Brown as the soleescort and protector .
He takes an intense dislike to the woman he is protecting ,repelled by her vulgarity and cynicism ,being drawn instead to another passenger ,the demure Ann Sinclair (Jacqueline White) who is travelling with a small son and a nurse .He has one advantage over the hoods who are also on board the train -they do not know what Mrs Neil looks like .He resists briberey and threats and they bend every endeavour to discover the whereabouts of their target and then to eliminate her .
With some 15 minutes to go there is a deft plot twist ,which it would be unfair to reveal but its a beauty.
The acting is good with solid performances from the gravel-voiced McGraw whose rough hewn features and determined manner ideally suggest an experienced cop with few illlusions about people ,and from Marie Windsor whose specialised in this kind of blowsy ,brassy role and did them well .Richard Fleischer directs with economy and intensity ;a crisp diamond bright screenplay from Earl Felton helps as well
Tense and taut and well acted this is minor gem from the B movie mines

"What about this dame," says policeman Gus Forbes (Don Beddoe) to his partner, Detective Sergeant Walter Brown (Charles McGraw), who has already tagged her type without ever meeting her. The dame's a gun moll widow of a gangster. They're in a taxi on their way to pick her up, escort her to the Chicago train station and protect her from mob killers on the train until they reach Los Angeles. She's going to testify before a grand jury and blow the lid off the mob.
"A dish," Brown says.
"What kind of a dish?"
"She's a 60-cent special. Cheap, flashy, and strictly poison under the gravy."
"Amazing," his partner says. "And how do you know all this?"
"Well, she was married to a hoodlum, wasn't she?" Brown says. "What kind of a dame would marry a hood?"

The dame they're going to protect, Mrs. Frankie Neall (Marie Windsor), is selfish, not quite a slut, and deeply aware she may not make it to Los Angeles alive. She and Brown instantly dislike each other. Before they can even get out the door of her apartment, the hoods make a play for her but succeed only in killing Forbes. The killers don't see what she looks like, but they see Brown before they run. Brown gets her to the train and into their compartment. For the next day and a half, members of the mob try to bribe him and find and kill her. Brown knows who a couple of the killers are, but what about the woman who spills a drink on him? Or the fat man? Or the smoothie who shows up wearing a white carnation, gloves and a homburg? What about the auto that's racing along side the train to reach the next station when the train stops for a few minutes? Brown is alone, feeling guilty over the death of his partner, protecting a woman he detests, knowing that killers are after them. "My partner's dead and it's my fault," he snarls at her. "He's dead and you're alive. Some exchange."

This is one of the grade B great noirs from the tail end of Hollywood's noir period. The story line moves as fast and relentlessly forward as the train the plot takes place in. The movie isn't long and not a moment is wasted on exposition or character background. The whole set up for the plot is covered in a few lines of dialogue and a glimpse of a newspaper headline. There's no score, just the sounds of the wheels on the track, doors opening and closing, a train whistle. Almost all the movie is shot on the train, and is confined to the compartments, the club car, the dining car, the tight hallways. There's no place to get away, and the process of elimination will sooner or later bring the hoods to the compartment where Brown has hidden Mrs. Neall. False leads and misdirection keep you on your toes. The photography is exceptional, from the death of Forbes in a shadowy stairway to the reflection of action on the windows of the train.

Charles McGraw, a tough looking actor, plays Brown, and Brown is a tough cop. McGraw has a gravelly voice and a face that looks like it's taken a few punches. Marie Windsor matches him in the no illusions department. Windsor, with her sullen eyes, almost always played bad girls. The two of them snarl at each other, slam doors in each other's face and get off some great lines of pulp dialogue. The tension between the two of them provides a lot of the film's energy. The other actors bring dimension to what could have been stock threats.

The one weakness is the death of a major character, who, once dead, simply disappears without thought or regret. We've become invested in the character and it's a little unsettling to have the person dealt with so emotionlessly.

This is a fast-paced noir with some great, pulp-noir dialogue by screenwriter Earl Felton, a lot of tension on the train and enough suspicious developments to keep you guessing. If you've seen the 1990 remake, Narrow Margin, be prepared for some surprises. The DVD picture looks great. There are no extras except a commentary track by William Friedkin and an old, edited audio interview with Richard Fleischer.

This is a very fine film noir that is also the highlight of Marie Windsor's career. I want to carefully avoid giving away any of the nifty plot twists but want to emphasize Ms Windor's extraordinary ability to take one from feeling repulsion to respect and empathy (and sometimes back again in a single scene!)Her femme fatale is the only film noir character that can compare to Barbara Stanwyck in Double Indemnity for portraying at once ruthlessness, strength, cunning, and sex. Highly recommended. Grab this immaculate transfer. Repeated viewing guaranteed.

Los Angeles police detectives Walter Brown (Charles McGraw) and Gus Forbes (Don Beddoe) are responsible for escorting a gangster's widow from Chicago to Los Angeles, where she is to testify before a grand jury. On their way to pick her up, the two men discuss their expectations of "what kind of dame would marry a hood". Gus says, "All kinds", while Walter thinks Mrs. Neall must be a "60-cent special. Cheap, flashy, and strictly poison under the gravy." And Mrs. Neall (Marie Windsor) seems to be exactly as he predicted. But they don't even to get out of her apartment building before an attempt on Mrs. Neall's life kills Gus. Bitter and resentful of his partner's life being sacrificed for a woman he estimates as unworthy and unscrupulous, Walter accompanies Mrs. Neall onto the train bound for L.A. and hides her in an adjoining compartment. The trip quickly turns into a game of cat and mouse, hide and seek, between Walter and several hoods (David Clarke, Peter Brocco) who want to obtain the pay-off list in Mrs. Neall's possession or kill her. Walter's worries are mounting, as another passenger, Ann Sinclair (Jaqueline White), may have been mistaken for his charge, because he became friendly with her.

"The Narrow Margin"'s strengths are its snappy, clever dialogue and closed spaces. Marie Windsor gives the film's memorable performance as smart-mouthed, self-interested Mrs. Neall. She has all the best lines, and the film would be worth watching for her alone. Director Richard Fleischer has taken great care to create the feeling and appearance of a moving train on a studio set, and he makes good use of that claustrophobic environment in creating tension. When the characters are limited in what they can do, that, in itself, becomes a force propelling the action forward and focusing our attention on behavior. In the film's most famous scene, the camera gets down and dirty with the characters as Walter and thug Joseph Kemp brawl in a small train compartment. This scene is reputed to be the inspiration for the most famous train fight scene in cinematic history in the James Bond "From Russia with Love" -and it immediately brings that film to mind. The scene in "The Narrow Margin" is quite effective in its own right, though, and is certainly a memorable moment in the annals of train films. The action of the "The Narrow Margin" relies upon the idea that none of the characters know what Mrs. Neall looks like, which requires some suspension of disbelief, as she surely must have been seen and photographed with her late husband. But "The Narrow Margin" has film noir's archetypal great camera angles and beautiful low-key lighting; quick, clever dialogue; and identity confusion that creates some moral confusion. All that in only 1 hour and 12 minutes.

The DVD (Warner Brothers 2005): This is a good print of the film. There is an occasional speck, but no significant flaws, and the sound is fine. Bonus features are a theatrical trailer (2 minutes) and an audio commentary by William Friedkin -director of a couple neo-noirs and "The Exorcist"- and director Richard Fleischer. The comments from Richard Fleischer are few and far between and were presumably taken from an archived interview. Fleischer talks about the characteristics of film noir as he saw it. William Friedkin discusses story, actors, characters, the film's visual style, and film noir in general (a subject on which he is definitely not an expert). Subtitles are available for the film in English, French, and Spanish.