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The Narrow Margin

The Narrow Margin

Thriller · Crime · 1952

A tough cop meets his match when he has to guard a gangster's widow on a train journey from Chicago to Los Angeles.

Movie details

The Narrow Margin

“A Fortune If They Seal Her Lips!...A Bullet If They Fail!”

1952 Thriller · Crime 1h 11m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.3 / 10

Community rating

A tough cop meets his match when he has to guard a gangster's widow on a train journey from Chicago to Los Angeles.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Narrow Margin?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Double Indemnity

Double Indemnity

Crime · 1944

An insurance representative is seduced by a dissatisfied housewife into a scheme of insurance fraud and murder that arouses the suspicion of his colleague, a claims investigator.

Union Station

Union Station

Thriller · 1950

Police catch a break when suspected kidnappers are spotted on a train heading towards Union Station. Police, train station security and a witness try to piece together the crime and get back the blind daughter of a rich business man.

This Gun for Hire

This Gun for Hire

Crime · 1942

Sadistic killer-for-hire Philip Raven becomes enraged when his latest job is paid off in marked bills. Vowing to track down his double-crossing boss, nightclub executive Gates, Raven sits beside Gates' lovely new employee, Ellen, on a train out of town. Although Ellen is engaged to marry the police lieutenant who's hunting down Raven, she decides to try and set the misguided hit man straight as he hides from the cops and plots his revenge.

Killer's Kiss

Killer's Kiss

Thriller · 1955

Davey Gordon, a New York City boxer at the end of his career, falls for dancer Gloria Price. However, their budding relationship is interrupted by Gloria's violent boss, Vincent Rapallo, who has eyes for Gloria. The two decide to skip town, but before they can, Vincent and his thugs abduct Gloria, and Davey is forced to search for her among the most squalid corners of the city, with his enemy hiding in the shadows.

Insomnia

Insomnia

Thriller · 2002

Two Los Angeles homicide detectives are dispatched to a northern town where the sun doesn't set to investigate the methodical murder of a local teen.

White Heat

White Heat

Crime · 1949

A psychopathic criminal with a mother complex makes a daring break from prison and then leads his old gang in a chemical plant payroll heist. After the heist, events take a crazy turn.

The Seven-Ups

The Seven-Ups

Thriller · 1973

A tough detective who is part of an elite New York City unit is trying to find out who killed his partner, but uncovers a plot to kidnap mobsters for money.

The Outfit

The Outfit

Crime · 2022

Leonard is an English tailor who used to craft suits on London’s world-famous Savile Row. After a personal tragedy, he’s ended up in Chicago, operating a small tailor shop in a rough part of town where he makes beautiful clothes for the only people around who can afford them: a family of vicious gangsters.

The Mirror Crack'd

The Mirror Crack'd

Mystery · 1980

Jane Marple solves the mystery when a local woman is poisoned and a visiting movie star seems to have been the intended victim.

Foreign Correspondent

Foreign Correspondent

Thriller · 1940

American crime reporter John Jones is reassigned to Europe as a foreign correspondent to cover the imminent war. When he walks into the middle of an assassination and stumbles on a spy ring, he seeks help from a beautiful politician’s daughter and an urbane English journalist to uncover the truth.

Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Richard Fleischer

Written by

Earl Felton · Martin Goldsmith · Jack Leonard

Charles McGraw

Charles McGraw

Det. Sgt. Walter Brown

Marie Windsor

Marie Windsor

Mrs. Frankie Neall

Jacqueline White

Jacqueline White

Ann Sinclair

G

Gordon Gebert

Tommy Sinclair

Queenie Leonard

Queenie Leonard

Mrs. Troll

David Clarke

David Clarke

Joseph Kemp

P

Peter Virgo

Densel

Court is in session

Put The Narrow Margin on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Big-Idea Head

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.