The Narrow Margin
The Narrow Margin (1952) is undeniably one of the under-appreciated gems of film noir, but why isn’t it great? Duh, you might say, it was made in about 3 weeks for $90,000, what do you expect!? But this is one of those films were journeyman director, journeyman cameraman, journeymen actors, all came together to produce a gem--that is almost a classic.
The plot and pace, as well as the cinematography are outstanding. Two L. A. cops are sent to Chicago to escort the wife of a crime boss back to L. A. where she will testify and present an incriminating list of contacts. Organized crime tries to kill her and get the list. But the suspense is more multi-faceted than this. First, when Detective Brown (Charles McGraw) and his old partner, Forbes, show up at a Chicago low-rent apartment building to collect the crime boss’s tough-talking wife (Marie Windsor), Forbes is killed by a mobster. This signals how serious the stakes are and lets us know that anyone—even one of the good guys—can get killed at any time. Then, when Brown and Mrs. Neall board the train, the criminals do to—but they don’t know what Mrs. Neall looks like, and they soon erroneously settle on a pretty blonde (Jacqueline White) seen with Detective Brown as Mrs. Neall, putting an innocent woman and her young son in danger. Meanwhile, the gangsters try to bribe Brown, but he holds steadfast, only to be tempted by his charge who says, “This is big business and we’re right in the middle of it” and we should catch the other train, the gravy train. He holds fast again, but it is one man against significant odds.
George E. Diskant’s cinematography is a good as it gets in film noir. Here’s one example from the atmospheric opening sequence. As Detective Brown and his partner wait at the front door of the Chicago apartment building, the camera angle is severely up with the outside staircase cutting across the picture. This creates the subtle feeling that things are a bit off kilter. The next shot is severely angled down the inside stair case as the two detectives come through the door and up the stairs. There are rows of balusters, one set so close to the camera that is fuzzing out, one in mid-ground throwing shadows, and one in the background creating a huge depth of field. As the two detectives, climb the stairs, the shadow of a pole cuts diagonally across their path, and their faces go in and out of harsh shadows. Even though they are only walking up stairs, you know something is amiss. The great camera work continues on the train, as everything is claustrophobic. The director (Richard Fleischer) has passengers squeezing by each other in the passage ways, a crowded effect heightened by a man named Jennings who is so fat that no one can get by. When Detective Brown tangles with the toughest hoodlum, the camera work creates the feeling of being right there in cramped quarters. Diskant uses only two camera angles for the extended fight. The hand-held camera is right in the actors’ faces; the fixed camera is as if from a fourth wall showing us side views only as if we were standing in the door way watching two guys battle it out in a tiny compartment. As a masterful touch throughout the film, Diskant uses the train windows not to show panoramic shots but reflections. This not only heightens the complexity of the atmosphere but figures practically in the final shoot-out when Brown uses the window reflections to his advantage. George E. Diskant’s cinematography is so good that it sent me searching for other Diskant work only to discover that the year after The Narrow Margin, he switched to television and worked there exclusively, being nominated for two Emmys.
The superb pace of the film is exemplified at the surprise plot twist three-quarters of the way through the 72-minute film. First scene: The two hoodlums finally catch Mrs. Neall and shoot her. Thus Detective Brown’s mission has failed and the movie has no more suspense. Second scene: Meanwhile, Brown is hesitantly telling the nice blonde woman that she is in danger because of being mistaken for a gangster’s wife, when she says she IS the gangster’s wife. Immediately, Brown is back on his mission. But if the thugs think that Mrs. Neall is dead, there is no more danger or suspense. Third scene: Looking for the infamous list, the thugs pull apart “Mrs. Neall’s” phonograph and find her L. A. police badge. She had apparently been working undercover partly on the look out for police corruption and partly as a decoy for the real Mrs. Neall. The suspense is on again, and the thugs set out to kill the right woman this time. Wonderful pacing.
What makes The Narrow Margin a 3.5 instead of a 4 star movie has something to do with the ending and the undercover cop. It is difficult to put your finger on, and more difficult to fix. Part of the problem is that “Mrs. Neall” is so obnoxious. When the policemen meet her, she blows smoke in their faces, talks tough, and bosses them around. Brown eventually says to her that he has known some really hard women but she makes them look like putty. Brown is repulsed by her and so are we. So why should we care if she gets bopped off? But the other part of the problem is when she does get killed and we learn that she has been an undercover cop doing a tough and thankless job. In contrast to the first of the movie where Brown is torn up by his partner’s death, the film completely ignores the undercover cop once her body hits the floor. I can see why the film does this: The plot rushes to its climax, and Detective Brown rushes to save the blonde woman to whom he has a growing attraction. Also, the undercover cop has been obnoxious. But what the film loses is gravitas. To solve these problems, the film should have made “Mrs. Neall” more appealing. For example, as well as being tough-talking, she could have been trying to hide her fear and she could have been grudgingly thankful for the police protection. It would have been natural for an undercover cop to show both emotions. While the movie needs her to be a contrast to the nice blonde lady, she does not have to so extreme. We get it. When she is murdered, there should have been a short scene where Brown barges into her compartment, sees it torn apart, sees her and her badge on the floor, and mumbles something about another cop going down in a thankless job. That would have tied into the earlier theme, given the character her due, and provided added motivation for Brown’s attraction to the clean-cut blonde woman and her energetic little boy.
This film is not better known because it misses out on the way film noirs become canonized. Eccentric, artistic director whose work we can trace with interest? No, Richard Fleischer has been described as the director who aimed for maximum out put, the director who was at the mercy of his material, good or bad. Great black and white cinematographer like John Alton with a string of movies showing great artistry? No, although obviously great shooting movies, George E. Diskant went into television and stayed there. Great actor who became an icon? No, Charles McGraw is good but never became a lead in A pictures. Beautiful female lead who went on to do a series of pictures with her co-star, generating on-screen chemistry? No, although Jacqueline White was a good actress, she had some bad luck in Hollywood and The Narrow Margin was her last film, as she retired to raise a family of five. Surprise Oscar? No, although it was nominated for best story. This picture deserves more recognition.