The Narrow Margin
| The Narrow Margin | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Richard Fleischer |
| Produced by | Stanley Rubin |
| Screenplay by | Earl Felton |
| Story by |
Martin Goldsmith Jack Leonard |
| Starring |
Charles McGraw Marie Windsor Jacqueline White |
| Music by |
Uncredited stock music composers: Gene Rose Leith Stevens Dave Torbett Roy Webb |
| Cinematography | George E. Diskant |
| Edited by | Robert Swink |
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Production
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| Distributed by | RKO Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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71 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $230,000 |
The Narrow Margin is a 1952 American film noir directed by Richard Fleischer and written by Earl Felton, based on an unpublished story written by Martin Goldsmith and Jack Leonard. The screenplay by Earl Felton was nominated for an Academy Award.
The picture stars Charles McGraw, Marie Windsor and Jacqueline White. It was released by RKO Radio Pictures. A police detective plays a deadly game of cat-and-mouse aboard a train with mob assassins out to stop a slain gangster's widow before she can testify before a grand jury.
Detective Sergeant Walter Brown (Charles McGraw) of the Los Angeles Police Department and his partner are assigned to protect a mob boss's widow, Mrs. Frankie Neall (Marie Windsor), as she rides a train from Chicago to Los Angeles to testify before a grand jury. She is also carrying a payoff list that belonged to her murdered husband. On the way to pick her up, Brown bets his partner and friend, Sergeant Gus Forbes (Don Beddoe), what she will be like: "She's the sixty cent special. Cheap. Flashy. Strictly poison under the gravy."
As the detectives and Mrs. Neall leave her apartment, they are waylaid by a mob assassin named Densel (Peter Virgo). Forbes is shot to death, but Densel, although wounded by Brown, escapes. At the train station, Brown discovers that he has been followed by gangsters Joseph Kemp (David Clarke) and Vincent Yost (Peter Brocco). The latter meets him on the train and unsuccessfully tries to bribe him.
Brown's relationship with Mrs. Neall is caustic. She is a cynical and flashy brunette, who flirts with him while expressing doubt about his integrity and commitment to protecting her. By chance Brown makes friends with an attractive blonde train passenger he meets, Ann Sinclair (Jacqueline White), and her too-observant young son Tommy (Gordon Gebbert). When Kemp spots Brown with her, he mistakes Sinclair for his target. After Brown beats him up in a fight and questions him, the policeman learns of the mistake. He turns Kemp over to railroad agent Sam Jennings (Paul Maxey) and hurries to warn Ann. Densel, however, has boarded the train during a brief stop at La Junta, Colorado, and waylays Jennings, freeing Kemp.
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