A Fortune If They Seal Her Lips!...A Bullet If They Fail!
A tough cop meets his match when he has to guard a gangster's widow on a train journey from Chicago to Los Angeles.
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Character
Grave, intimate, classical in form and earnest.
- gravecomic
- intimateepic
- classical in formformally daring
- earnestironic
- contemplativerelentless
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“Is Charles McGraw the best thing in The Narrow Margin?”
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“Is this Richard Fleischer's best work?”
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“Does the pace leave no room to feel anything?”
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Reviews on TMDB
Written by TMDB members; each links to the original. Not part of Tastebuds's numbers.
- John Chardon TMDB · Nov 2019
The witness protection programme just got hard boiled. After finally waking herself up, a mobsters wife decides to testify against him and his organisation. As the trial draws closer she is constantly under threat of being murdered before she can spill the beans. Tough detective Walter Brown and his partner Gus Forbes are assigned to escort her safely across country via a train from Chicago to Los Angeles, but nobody can be trusted, and the threat of death is around everyone on board this speeding train. Yes it may well be a "B" movie, but as "B" movies go this has to rank as one of the finest exponents of that particular arc. With the film taking place almost entirely on board the train, the tension sapping and claustrophobic feel is perfectly executed by director Richard Fleischer. The plot twists and turns and throws up genuine moments of surprise that thrill instead of hinder, whilst the ending doesn't cop out by pandering to the normal requisite of witness protection thrillers. Charles McGraw is great as Brown, putting the hard into hard boiled and Jacqueline White is very precious as Ann Sinclair. Truth is, is that all the cast work well within the confines of this tightly pr
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Cast
- Charles McGrawDet. Sgt. Walter Brown
- Marie WindsorMrs. Frankie Neall
- Jacqueline WhiteAnn Sinclair
- Gordon GebertTommy Sinclair
- Queenie LeonardMrs. Troll
- David ClarkeJoseph Kemp
- Peter VirgoDensel
- Don BeddoeDet. Sgt. Gus Forbes
- Paul MaxeySam Jennings
- Harry HarveyTrain Conductor
Crew
- Richard FleischerDirector
- Earl FeltonScreenplay
- George E. DiskantDirector of Photography
- Robert SwinkEditor
- Stanley RubinProducer
Where to watch
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Pairings
Companions we picked from the closest works, and how to take them.
Similar in taste
Closest on the same fourteen dimensions, from everything scored on Tastebuds Other media included when they land close.
Suddenly 195483% alikeBoth grave, classical in form, earnest.
Narrow Margin 199080% alikeBoth grave, classical in form, earnest.
Fatal Attraction 198778% alikeBoth grave, classical in form, earnest.
Eye of the Needle 198178% alikeBoth grave, classical in form, earnest.
Duel 197177% alikeBoth grave, plot-driven, relentless.
The Desperate Hours 195576% alikeBoth grave, classical in form, earnest.
Niagara 195376% alikeBoth grave, earnest, classical in form.
The Steel Helmet 195176% alikeBoth grave, classical in form, earnest.
Afro Samurai 200772% alikeTelevision · Both grave, relentless, unpretentious.
And Then There Were None 201568% alikeTelevision · Both grave, earnest, classical in form.
Often watched with
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