THE NARROW MARGIN
DVD region 2. Odeon.

Following on from Armored car Robbery, Odeon bring us another Richard Fleischer / RKO film noir classic – this time in the shape of one of the genre’s sharpest films.

Opening up with stark, headline style credits, The Narrow Margin (not to be confused with the 1990 film of the same name) wastes no time in getting into the action, as cop Walter Brown ((Charles McGraw) and his partner get off the train in Chicago to collect gangster’s wife Mrs Frankie Neal (Marie Windsor), who is due to testify to a grand jury in Los Angeles. Brown’s partner is killed in a shoot-out, but he and Neal manage to make it back to the train, for the long trip back to LA. Unfortunately, mob hitmen are also on board, and are trying to find Neal - whose appearance is unknown to them.

The Narrow Margin drips with a sense of style way above anything you’d expect – you could pause the film at any point in the opening ten minutes or so and find yourself looking at a perfectly framed, beautifully crafted still photo. The bulk of the film, of course, takes place within the confines of the train, and the claustrophobia and lack of hiding places are beautifully exploited, as the story thunders along with barely a pause for air. McGraw is the very definition of hardboiled, and yet the film also shows an unusual (for the time) human side to him, as he grieves his partner’s death and struggles awkwardly in conversation with the attractive young mother he meets.

The film has a genuinely surprising twist towards the end, some well-placed humour and assorted red herrings amongst the ruthless – but not very efficient – killers. There isn’t a moment of film wasted in this movie – modern filmmakers could learn a lot from the way this film cuts to the chase.

Crime movie fans will need no encouragement to nap this up; for anyone else, take my word for it – this is a tight, tense, gripping thriller that is well worth picking up.

DAVID FLINT

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