The Narrow Margin (1952)
One always assumes that a B-Noir film would be so laughable with its laughable cheesy dialogue, skimpy plot, bad acting and editing. Wrong on all accounts, this low budget film with unknown actors actually did quite well. It maintained its fast pace and element of suspense. In fact, it was nominated in 1953 for Best Screenplay. In 1990, a remake was done starring Gene Hackman and Anne Archer.
Almost the whole film took place on a moving train. Two cops are assigned to transport a dead mob leader's wife from Chicago to Los Angeles. She is supposed to be carrying a list of names of gang members and was due to testify. A loud mouth obnoxious lady is taken from a cheap apartment in a top secret mission. As the identity of the witness is unknown to anyone, the coppers and the crooks, everyone is double guessing her identity.
Even before they make it to the train, one of the cops in is mortally wounded. The panic starts in the mind of the remaining cop, Sgt Brown, as he rushes to get his witness to the train and to Los Angeles in one piece.
Other mob members are also hot on their trail to kill Mrs Neall (the witness) and lay their hands on the list. So, starts a cat-and-mouse with Sgt Brown protecting Mrs Neall and the mob members trying to bribe the Sergeant. The cop stood his ground. He befriends a blonde on the train. Actually, it turned out that the 'Mrs Neall' that the police was protecting was a decoy. She was a cop herself. The real witness was the blonde!
A good fast paced film that lived up to the expectation of being a B-Noir without appearing too B-graded!
One always assumes that a B-Noir film would be so laughable with its laughable cheesy dialogue, skimpy plot, bad acting and editing. Wrong on all accounts, this low budget film with unknown actors actually did quite well. It maintained its fast pace and element of suspense. In fact, it was nominated in 1953 for Best Screenplay. In 1990, a remake was done starring Gene Hackman and Anne Archer.Almost the whole film took place on a moving train. Two cops are assigned to transport a dead mob leader's wife from Chicago to Los Angeles. She is supposed to be carrying a list of names of gang members and was due to testify. A loud mouth obnoxious lady is taken from a cheap apartment in a top secret mission. As the identity of the witness is unknown to anyone, the coppers and the crooks, everyone is double guessing her identity.
Even before they make it to the train, one of the cops in is mortally wounded. The panic starts in the mind of the remaining cop, Sgt Brown, as he rushes to get his witness to the train and to Los Angeles in one piece.
Other mob members are also hot on their trail to kill Mrs Neall (the witness) and lay their hands on the list. So, starts a cat-and-mouse with Sgt Brown protecting Mrs Neall and the mob members trying to bribe the Sergeant. The cop stood his ground. He befriends a blonde on the train. Actually, it turned out that the 'Mrs Neall' that the police was protecting was a decoy. She was a cop herself. The real witness was the blonde!A good fast paced film that lived up to the expectation of being a B-Noir without appearing too B-graded!
Comments
Post a Comment