Critic Reviews
Narrow Margin, The (1952) Rank 4 Reviews
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Movie Martyr (Jeremy Heilman)
Richard Fleischer’s unfussy suspense classic The Narrow Margin is among the very best of Hollywood B-movies. Filled with tough talk and fast action, it chugs along with a kind of single-minded, unpretentious determination that makes its lack of ...read the complete Narrow Margin movie review at Movie Martyr (Jeremy Heilman)
filmcritic.com
It's "protect the witness" in this brief trainbound thriller, which gives us George C. Scott-soundalike Charles McGraw as a grumpy cop protecting a mobster's wife en route to the witness stand. A mountain of obstacles -- primarily mob hitmen -- stand in ...read the complete Narrow Margin movie review at filmcritic.com
Chicago Reader (Jonathan Rosenbaum)
An engaging, exciting noir thriller (1952, 70 min.) ...read the complete Narrow Margin movie review at Chicago Reader (Jonathan Rosenbaum)
User Reviews
by JOHN GODFREY on October 18, 2009
The director of Narrow Margin, Richard Fleicher, kept it simple. He didn't go for laughs. To us, 55 years out, some of the lines are humorous but that wasn't the intent. Two cops travel to Chicago from Los Angeles to pick-up the widow of a mobster in ...
by Craig Connell on March 26, 2009
This was the "original" Narrow Margin and, like its 1990 re-make it is excellent. This is one of those rare cases in which both the old and the new versions are top-notch......good stuff!
In fact, it's interesting to compare the two versions. In this ...
by ronzo on March 06, 2009
It is always a treat to see a "B-picture" that is so good, it is better than most A-grade pictures; this is such a film. The fact that it, like FRANKENSTEIN (1931) doesn't have a soundtrack, only adds to its interest.
A simple story: the protection of ...
by D. Steigman "Movi... on December 02, 2008
Keeping it short and simple- this was the one of the better Noirs. Charles McCraw is great as the cop trying to protect a lady on a train from one destination to another, but is he protecting the right woman? What I like about it for one thing is it a ...
by Brad Lloyd "Noir ... on June 21, 2008
It's been while since I watched this DVD, but I have to say it should be in the top 10 of best Film Noir movies of all time.
Love Charles McGraw in the flick, what an under appreciated actor ...
by S. J. Koblentz on April 23, 2008
B movies are often thin on star quality, filled with cliche story lines and cheap one liners and made on the cheap. This film is all of that BUT it has a simple and effective storyline that allows everything else to fall in line and create a riviting ...
by L. E. Cantrell on July 13, 2007
Some time ago, I saw the remake of this film with Gene Hackman. I wasn't much impressed. Recently, I stumbled on a DVD version of the remake and decided to compare it with this 1952 classic.
Let me now be perfectly clear. If you have any wish to ...
by The Queen of Noir... on June 09, 2007
I am embarrassed and ashamed that I, The Queen, had not seen this excellent noir before. I am also thrilled to learn that there are still undiscovered (to me) gems out there!! Two detectives are assigned to protect the wife of a mobster during her travel ...
by Thin Timmy "T. C.... on May 18, 2007
this is one of the best film noir movies
but with more of an action feel to it.
most of the movie takes place on the train
with the mob looking for a witness in route
to testify and there is no place to run. if
you saw the version with Gene Hackman and ...
by William Hare on February 18, 2007
Some film historians call the 1952 release "The Narrow Margin" the finest low budget noir triumph ever. Others opt for "Detour" and Martin Goldsmith was involved in the writing of both.
"The Narrow Margin" provided Richard Fleischer with an opportunity ...
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