The Narrow Margin
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Movie Reviews of The Narrow Margin
Movie Review: Oscar-nominated Noir
Summary: 3 Stars
I like train movies, and I've seen the Hyams/Hackman version a few times. Since I'm a fan of film noir it only made sense to check out this original 1952 version.
Charles McGraw (looking like Kirk Douglas in a way) is the tough cop assigned to protecting a witness against the mob. He must take her from Chigaco to LA on board a train with the bad guys right behind them. They don't know what she looks like so there's lots of prowling about. So far so similar. But there are a few twists that Hyams erased in favor of making the 1990 version more unique.
As long as the train rattles through the night the film is atmospheric, but bright daytime scenes seem a bit out of place in a film noir. And there are a couple of plot developments that I don't quite get (What happened to Yost? And why did Brown cross him off his telegram?).
It's perfect late night viewing. But I prefer the 1990 version as it expands the plot and scope.
Movie Review: Gripping excitement
Summary: 3 Stars
I saw this movie on TV years ago and was impressed at how it kept the pace up thruout the story. This is one of those "B" movies they did on a very low budget, probably shooting all of it in a few weeks. It is an example of how a good movie can be made without spending a lot of money. The story is about a cop taking a witness on a train ride to testify as a prosecution witness in a trial of a crime boss. The bad guys make repeated tries to find and kill the witness as the train makes its way. The story moves fast, and there is an interesting plot twist at the end. I love train movies like this, North By Northwest, Silver Streak, and others.