"The Narrow Margin" is a hard-hitting crime thriller which grips its audience right from the start and never lets go. In a story which is full of intrigue, danger and mistaken identities, the pace is absolutely relentless and the characters are tough and uncompromising. The atmosphere is consistently tense and the blistering dialogue is sensational. Despite its short running time and its "low budget, B-movie" status, this is a remarkably entertaining film which is also directed with above-average skill and flair.
Detective Sergeant Walter Brown (Charles McGraw) and Detective Sergeant Gus Forbes (Don Beddoe)are assigned to pick up a mobster's wife called Mrs Frankie Neale (Marie Windsor), from her apartment in Chicago and escort her to Los Angeles where she is due to testify before a grand jury. Mrs Neale is in possession of her husband's "pay-off list" and this makes her a target for the mob who are intent on ensuring that she doesn't reach L.A. alive.
Brown has nothing but contempt for Mrs Neale, so when his friend Gus is shot and killed by a mob hit-man as they're leaving her apartment building, his hostility towards her becomes even deeper and he also becomes totally disgusted by her complete lack of concern about the incident. Despite his personal feelings and the obvious dangers involved, Brown decides to go ahead and complete his mission as planned.
Detective Brown and Mrs Neale travel by train to L.A. and have adjoining compartments. During their journey, there is a continual sense that danger lurks everywhere, as both are fully aware that their lives are under threat and it's not always possible to identify which of the suspicious looking passengers are killers employed by the mob. A fat man and a little boy who are on the train are not who they first appear to be and Brown is very wary of a grim-looking character called Joseph Kemp (David Clarke). Another man attempts unsuccessfully to bribe him and Brown also gets to know an attractive blonde called Ann Sinclair (Jacqueline White) who turns out to be friendly and good-humoured. Further killings, surprises and twists then follow before the train eventually reaches its destination.
Charles McGraw as the tough cop who's permanently on-edge and Marie Windsor as the feisty, self-centred star witness are brilliant as two people who despise each other with a passion and some of the verbal exchanges between them are great. For example, when he says to her "You make me sick to my stomach" she replies "Well use your own sink and let me know when the target practice starts".
In common with many other stories where the action takes place on a train, the space within which the characters function seems to become increasingly cramped as the story proceeds and the tension grows accordingly. A variety of interesting camera angles are used to emphasise this feeling and the use of extreme close-ups and images on reflective surfaces are also used to good effect.
"The Narrow Margin" is a great piece of hardboiled entertainment which is incredibly intense, very fast-moving and definitely not to be missed.
Detective Sergeant Walter Brown (Charles McGraw) and Detective Sergeant Gus Forbes (Don Beddoe)are assigned to pick up a mobster's wife called Mrs Frankie Neale (Marie Windsor), from her apartment in Chicago and escort her to Los Angeles where she is due to testify before a grand jury. Mrs Neale is in possession of her husband's "pay-off list" and this makes her a target for the mob who are intent on ensuring that she doesn't reach L.A. alive.
Brown has nothing but contempt for Mrs Neale, so when his friend Gus is shot and killed by a mob hit-man as they're leaving her apartment building, his hostility towards her becomes even deeper and he also becomes totally disgusted by her complete lack of concern about the incident. Despite his personal feelings and the obvious dangers involved, Brown decides to go ahead and complete his mission as planned.
Detective Brown and Mrs Neale travel by train to L.A. and have adjoining compartments. During their journey, there is a continual sense that danger lurks everywhere, as both are fully aware that their lives are under threat and it's not always possible to identify which of the suspicious looking passengers are killers employed by the mob. A fat man and a little boy who are on the train are not who they first appear to be and Brown is very wary of a grim-looking character called Joseph Kemp (David Clarke). Another man attempts unsuccessfully to bribe him and Brown also gets to know an attractive blonde called Ann Sinclair (Jacqueline White) who turns out to be friendly and good-humoured. Further killings, surprises and twists then follow before the train eventually reaches its destination.
Charles McGraw as the tough cop who's permanently on-edge and Marie Windsor as the feisty, self-centred star witness are brilliant as two people who despise each other with a passion and some of the verbal exchanges between them are great. For example, when he says to her "You make me sick to my stomach" she replies "Well use your own sink and let me know when the target practice starts".
In common with many other stories where the action takes place on a train, the space within which the characters function seems to become increasingly cramped as the story proceeds and the tension grows accordingly. A variety of interesting camera angles are used to emphasise this feeling and the use of extreme close-ups and images on reflective surfaces are also used to good effect.
"The Narrow Margin" is a great piece of hardboiled entertainment which is incredibly intense, very fast-moving and definitely not to be missed.