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The premise was nothing new. A cop guards a witness on a fast-moving train, as hit men try to eliminate his quarry. But while that sure-fire set-up had been used in two fine series films of the 1940s – The Lone Wolf Takes a Chance and the Mike Shayne entry Sleepers West – The Narrow Margin goes one better. It has the courage to keep the bulk of its story on the train, rather than decamping to country houses for the final reels, while director Richard Fleischer’s direction – somehow both bravura and unobtrusive – keeps the interest piqued throughout 71 pulsating minutes.

Charles McGraw is the detective, a terse, scowling tough guy with a sensitive streak. He has to chaperone a gangster’s wife to the coast, and already knows what he’s getting. Marie Windsor, all heavy mascara, clanking jewellery and bad manners, doesn’t disappoint. Boarding a train in Chicago, the pair are joined by a gallery of well-drawn, surprising characters: not just the brazen assassins, but a kid who thinks McGraw’s a train robber and an overweight passenger who’s adamant that ‘nobody loves a fat man’.

The tone is set from the opening frame, where the RKO ‘beeps’ are replaced by a persistent train whistle. As the train rounds a bend at full-steam, the title screams into view.

Fleischer uses countless visual tricks to keep the viewer in the midst of the action. As McGraw paces frantically along the narrow corridors, he’s tracked by handheld camera. When he fights with moustachioed hit man David Clarke, the sole of his boot connects full-on with the screen.

The film’s Oscar-nominated script is memorable, and is alive with the biliousness and off-colour poetry of truly great film noir. ‘You make me sick to my stomach,’ McGraw tells Windsor. ‘Well use your own sink,’ she replies. Both stars are terrific, with McGraw nailing the character of the career cop who is aware of his duty but tempted by the big pay-off.

This is a model B film and a classic of its type: a brutal, gripping thriller that doesn’t let up for a moment, with concessions to comedy and romance worked seamlessly into the breathlessly pulpy narrative.

 

Rick Burin on 20th October 2009
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