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himself in with Ann and demands the payoff list. Brown and
Jennings later arrive. Densel is trapped but has Ann as hostage. Brown uses the reflection from the window of a train on the next track to see into Ann's compartment, and he shoots Densel through the door without endangering her. Brown then enters the compartment and finishes Densel off with more shots. Kemp jumps off the train and heads for accomplices in a car nearby, but they are all quickly arrested. The train arrives in Los Angeles, and Brown escorts Ann from the station toward the court house. She chooses to walk with Brown the two blocks straight to testify rather than sneak out under cover.
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car so Kemp will know that the room is unguarded. Kemp goes back and searches both rooms, finding nothing. Kemp later returns to the dining car, which Brown leaves to escort Neall back to her room. Later, mobster
Vincent Yost meets Brown and unsuccessfully tries to bribe him into pointing out Neall and abandoning her, appealing to both his greed and his fear (Brown tells Yost he is under arrest for bribery but Brown is out of his jurisdiction so he has no arresting authority). He even suggests that Brown could use the bribe to help the family of his murdered partner, Gus Forbes.
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in case he might be corrupt. Ann had earlier mailed the payoff list to the Los
Angeles District Attorney. Meanwhile, Densel and Kemp search for the payoff list and discover the fake Neall in her compartment; the music from her record player gives her away. They break into her room, and Densel shoots her dead as she tries to sneak her gun out of her purse. Then Kemp discovers a badge and police identification, identifying her as Chicago policewoman Sarah Meggs, hidden within her record player.
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Brown tries to explain to Ann that mobsters on the train plan to kill her, mistakenly believing she is Neall. However, she stuns him by revealing that she is the real Neall. The woman he has been protecting is an undercover policewoman, a decoy, and Brown was not told of either woman's true identity
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Kemp tries to open the door to the next compartment, where Mrs. Neall hides, but Brown tells the conductor that the room is empty, and Kemp and the conductor leave. Brown knows that Kemp will come back to her room, so he hides Neall in the ladies room with all of her luggage, and goes to the dining
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As the detectives and Mrs. Neall leave her apartment, they are waylaid by Densel, a mob assassin. Forbes is shot to death, and Densel, wounded by Brown, escapes. At the train station, Brown discovers that he has been followed by gangster Joseph Kemp. Each man knows the other is a mortal enemy. With
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By chance, Brown makes friends with passenger Ann
Sinclair and her young son Tommy. When Kemp spots Brown with her, he mistakes Ann for Neall. After Brown beats him up in a fight and questions him, the policeman learns of the mistake. Brown again attempts an arrest without arresting authority. But
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Using a small cast of comparative unknowns, headed by
Charles McGraw, Marie Windsor and Jacqueline White, this inexpensive Stanley Rubin production for R.K.O. is almost a model of electric tension that, at least technically, nudges some of the screen's thriller milestones. Crisply performed and
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Densel, deducing the truth, goes for Ann. Her door is locked, but he knocks on the next door. Tommy opens and Densel enters, grabbing him. Densel knocks on the interior door to Ann's room and threatens to kill Tommy if she does not open. She complies, and he pushes Tommy away. Densel then locks
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release was held up for two years after its completion. Reasons given for the delay have varied from Hughes' indecision to coaxing the in-demand
Fleischer into doing more work for the mogul. Hughes did assign Fleischer to reshoot sections of the Mitchum–Russell film,
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for background landscapes. The film was shot in just 13 days, and made extensive use of a handheld camera to film within the confined sets without having to remove their walls, an innovative practice at the time. While a few instances of
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Later, in 2005, film critic Dennis
Schwartz said, "A breathtakingly suspenseful low-budget crime thriller that is flawlessly directed ... The fast-paced pulpish taut story is filled with tense incidents and a well-executed twist."
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written and directed by Earl Felton and
Richard Fleischer with tingling economy, this unpretentious offering should glue anyone to the edge of his seat and prove, once and for all, that a little can be made to count for a lot.
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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.
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this time, he turns Kemp over to railroad agent Sam
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and his partner, Sergeant Gus Forbes, are assigned to protect
Frankie Neall, a mob boss's widow, as she rides a train from
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The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 100% of critics gave the film a positive review, based on 10 reviews.
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the help of a conductor, Kemp comes into Brown's room under the pretense that he is looking for lost luggage.
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492:. Well received at the time of its release, the production was made as a model
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can be heard in the movie, it is also notable for the absence of a traditional
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picture was written by Earl Felton, based on an unpublished story written by
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The film was based on a story by Martin Goldsmith and Jack Leonard titled
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is considered by critics and film historians to be a classic example of
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to release it as an A picture. While extensive reshoots did not happen,
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reflects the "noir view" of an unstable and deceiving moral reality.
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and Jack Leonard. The screenplay by Earl Felton was nominated for an
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was so taken with the film he considered reshooting most of it with
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The film's train followed a similar route to that of the real-life
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402:. However, exterior shots vary throughout the film and rely on
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Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference to the American Style
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Fictional portrayals of the Los Angeles Police Department
690:"This sleeper may very well be the best B-film ever made"
623:. New Rochelle, New York: Arlington House. p. 268.
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960:(3rd rev. and expanded ed.). Woodstock, New York:
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Academy Award for Best Writing (Motion Picture Story)
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863:. Alameda: Film Noir Foundation. p. 47.
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273:Detective Sergeant Walter Brown of the
800:"DVD Savant Review: The Narrow Margin"
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305:, and waylays Jennings, freeing Kemp.
1543:American psychological thriller films
714:Brady, Thomas F. (February 3, 1950).
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1518:Films directed by Richard Fleischer
1493:1950s psychological thriller films
770:"John Sayles on The Narrow Margin"
743:McCann, Gary G. (April 30, 2015).
653:Just Tell Me When to Cry: A Memoir
450:did film a few additional scenes.
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798:Erickson, Glenn (June 24, 2005).
128:Uncredited stock music composers:
1217:The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing
952:; Ward, Elizabeth, eds. (1992).
874:Erickson, Glenn (June 3, 2016).
716:"Metro Acquires Buckner's Story"
543:, Earl Felton, 1953. (nominated)
1498:American black-and-white films
393:was the film's working title.
16:1952 film by Richard Fleischer
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694:Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews
591:"Catalog - The Narrow Margin"
410:also stands in for Chicago's
1503:1950s English-language films
1201:20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
1000:AFI Catalog of Feature Films
657:. Carroll and Graf. p.
595:AFI Catalog of Feature Films
566:in 1990. It was directed by
852:Rode, Alan K. (Fall 2004).
825:"The Narrow Margin: Trivia"
649:Fleischer, Richard (1993).
464:, with the screenwriter of
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1409:The Prince and the Pauper
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939:. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
325:as Det. Sgt. Walter Brown
40:Theatrical release poster
33:
1528:Films set in Los Angeles
1233:Between Heaven and Hell
749:streamlinermemories.com
599:American Film Institute
552:The film was remade as
448:William Cameron Menzies
364:as Det. Sgt. Gus Forbes
1465:Million Dollar Mystery
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418:at RKO Studios, using
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340:Peter Virgo as Densel
331:as Mrs. Frankie Neall
174:May 2, 1952
1548:1950s American films
1523:Films set in Chicago
1401:The Incredible Sarah
1305:The Boston Strangler
1257:These Thousand Hills
688:(January 22, 2005).
285:to testify before a
1533:Films set on trains
1449:Conan the Destroyer
1329:10 Rillington Place
1265:Crack in the Mirror
1169:Armored Car Robbery
1121:So This Is New York
776:. November 13, 2021
234:is a 1952 American
1538:RKO Pictures films
1353:The New Centurions
1083:Films directed by
1034:TCM Movie Database
962:The Overlook Press
910:The New York Times
880:Trailers From Hell
854:"Credit Where Due"
774:Trailers From Hell
721:The New York Times
503:The New York Times
496:. In 1952, critic
303:La Junta, Colorado
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1321:Tora! Tora! Tora!
1177:The Narrow Margin
1145:Follow Me Quietly
1085:Richard Fleischer
1041:The Narrow Margin
1029:The Narrow Margin
1018:The Narrow Margin
1007:The Narrow Margin
994:The Narrow Margin
932:The Narrow Margin
535:Awards and honors
529:The Narrow Margin
486:The Narrow Margin
481:Critical response
461:His Kind of Woman
452:The Narrow Margin
346:as Tommy Sinclair
248:Richard Fleischer
231:The Narrow Margin
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50:Richard Fleischer
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195:Running time
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167:Release date
161:RKO Pictures
151:RKO Pictures
135:Dave Torbett
127:
118:Robert Swink
73:Jack Leonard
1345:See No Evil
1241:The Vikings
916:January 22,
885:31 December
834:31 December
809:31 December
804:dvdtalk.com
780:31 December
754:31 December
568:Peter Hyams
560:Anne Archer
470:Earl Felton
399:Super Chief
283:Los Angeles
78:Produced by
60:Earl Felton
46:Directed by
1488:1952 films
1482:Categories
1249:Compulsion
964:. p.
574:References
548:Adaptation
416:soundstage
381:Production
368:Paul Maxey
362:Don Beddoe
287:grand jury
199:71 minutes
178:1952-05-02
143:Production
1513:Film noir
1457:Red Sonja
1129:Bodyguard
861:Noir City
490:film noir
476:Reception
238:starring
236:film noir
223:$ 230,000
131:Gene Rose
114:Edited by
1393:Mandingo
1281:Barabbas
1023:AllMovie
901:H. H. T.
728:June 22,
699:June 29,
212:Language
137:Roy Webb
124:Music by
86:Starring
66:Story by
1417:Ashanti
1225:Bandido
1161:Trapped
1048:YouTube
1032:at the
997:at the
829:tcm.com
604:May 31,
494:B movie
279:Chicago
215:English
204:Country
176: (
145:company
1468:(1987)
1460:(1985)
1452:(1984)
1444:(1983)
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466:Margin
455:'s
391:Target
387:Target
250:, the
220:Budget
182: (
1193:Arena
1105:Banjo
857:(PDF)
558:with
429:score
242:and
1313:Che!
1012:IMDb
970:ISBN
918:2008
887:2022
836:2022
811:2022
782:2022
756:2022
730:2018
701:2024
663:ISBN
625:ISBN
606:2014
562:and
442:and
317:Cast
275:LAPD
269:Plot
1046:on
1021:at
1010:at
966:198
935:at
500:of
281:to
252:RKO
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