The Narrow Margin

I'm a huge Charles McGraw fan. Every film he had a large part in, he excels and makes the film better.

Having seen this film 4 or 5 times, my respect for it has grown over the years.

The cinematography isn't perfect - the film probably could have benefited by staying dark and grainy as it seems to be in the early, night scenes.

The taut train scenes seem too bright, but there's nothing wrong with it, simply my preference. A darker train would have made for a more sinister film. Even so, there's plenty of excitement.

The crackling dialogue between Charles McGraw and Marie Windsor is consistently sharp. Seriously, you will have a hard time finding anything more bitter than those two. I'm not sure any other male-female could have made the dialogue (which in a 1950's way is almost corny) come off so terse, as they continuously bark at each other. Someone needs to count the number of times McGraw tells Windsor to "Shut up!".

The film has some exciting twists and turns; you'll enjoy each one.

Great story, solid performances all the way around. This is a FUN movie.

This was the "original" and, like its re-make "Narrow Margin" (the "The" is missing), it is excellent. This is one of those rare cases in which the old and the new versions both are top-notch.

In fact, it's interesting to compare the two versions. In this film, there is a very unique twist as the end concerning the woman being brought to Los Angeles. It was clever.

That woman in this 1952 version also is played by perhaps the First Lady Of Noir, Marie Windsor. She had the best lines in the film and is outstanding at playing the tough-talking moll of this genre. (See Stanley Kubrick's "The Killing" to fully appreciate more of Windsor's work.)

The film noir tough-guy male equivalent of her also stars in this film: Charles McGraw. Few guys ever looked and sounded better in noirs than McGraw. He and Windor were born to play in 'B' crime movies!

The short length of this film makes it a good one to watch anytime although, to be frank, if I could only own one of the two "Narrow Margin" films, I'd have to take the latter-day version with Gene Hackman and Anne Archer, but it would a tough decision. Both have a lot to offer.

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.....

Here's an overlooked classic that more than holds its own over five decades after its release. Two-fisted detective Charles McGraw must protect a crucial witness (Marie Windsor) on a train trip from Chicago to Los Angeles. Since keeping a secret is hard, bad guys who aren't so keen on Windsor's testimony are also on board -- and will stop at nothing to silence her. Further complexities are added to an already tense situation when the hit men confuse another passenger as their target.

"The Narrow Margin" is known as a B movie, but you'd never know it from watching it. True, the film isn't flashy, but it does make the most out of everything it has. The story is original and full of twists, the suspense terrific and the acting memorable. With its creative take on what should be a simple story, and with its colorful characters and sharp direction, it's all more than a bit reminiscent of the master himself, Alfred Hitchcock. You won't regret picking this one up now that it's available on DVD.

Detective Sergeant Walter Brown (Charles McGraw) and his longtime partner Detective Sergeant Gus Forbes (Don Beddoe) are assigned to travel to Chicago to bring the mobster's wife Mrs. Frankie Neal (Marie Windsor) to testify to the grand jury in Los Angeles against the mafia. They are ambushed at Mrs. Neal's building and Forbes is murdered by a mobster wearing a coat with fur.

Brown and Neal travel by train to LA and soon the detective realizes that there are hit men hired by the mafia to kill Mrs. Neal. However, the assassins do not know how she looks like, and Brown hides Neal in Forbes' room. Brown meets Ann Sinclair (Jacqueline White) in the restaurant, who is traveling with her annoying son Tommy and his nanny, and the mobsters believe that she is Mrs. Neal. Now Brown has to protect not only the unpleasant Mrs. Neal, but also Ann from the mobsters.

"The Narrow Margin" is a great film-noir with a tense story developed in an adequate pace and an unexpected plot point in the end. The direction is perfect and the cast has solid performances. The dialogs between Brown and Mrs. Neal are tough and her character does not worth a penny. I saw the excellent remake of this movie in the early 90's ("Margin Call") with Gene Hackman and Anne Archer, but unfortunately I had never seen the original movie. Today I have had the chance and I recommend it. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Rumo ao Inferno" ("Bound to Hell")