Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

The Narrow Margin

Play trailer Poster for The Narrow Margin 1952 1h 11m Crime Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
100% Tomatometer 12 Reviews 88% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Tense story of a tough cop attempting to transport the widow of a gangster to the trial in which she'll testify. They undertake a rail journey from Chicago to Los Angeles with their lives constantly under threat from hit men on the train, who will stop at nothing to prevent her from testifying.
Watch on Fandango at Home Stream Now

Where to Watch

The Narrow Margin

Critics Reviews

View More
Francois Truffaut Cahiers du Cinéma 05/10/2022
The Narrow Margin... is charged with very moral nitroglycerine but confers a grace that any sweaty driver of a heavy, slow-moving vehicle might envy. Go to Full Review
Mike Massie Gone With The Twins 08/23/2020
7/10
Surprisingly, there are a few lulls, and the closing moments lack the zest seen in these edgier films noir, even though the screenplay holds more than one brilliant twist. Go to Full Review
Geoffrey O'Brien The New York Review of Books 08/13/2018
Rapid, concise, and beautifully photographed, The Narrow Margin is an exercise in craft with few reverberations beyond the fascination of its technological exactness. Go to Full Review
David Nusair Reel Film Reviews 03/21/2018
2.5/4
...a stripped-down premise that's employed to watchable yet far-from-enthralling effect... Go to Full Review
Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com 02/18/2011
A-
The cast may be B-level, but the sharp writing, taut direction, and production values of the Richard Fleischer's noir thriller (which is superior to the 1990 remake) are not. Go to Full Review
Fernando F. Croce CinePassion 03/14/2010
Along with Ulmer's Detour, the ultimate noir "aesthetics of hunger" manifesto Go to Full Review
Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More
Ronnie M Nov 22 Pretty good.......great plot twist See more Don L Sep 24 This is one of the very best film noirs. There are one or two issues of plausibility with the premise, but if you can accept the premise, the rest follows wonderfully well. There's a great twist near the end--and the cinematography is as good as any film noir--perhaps better than any other. See more Ted B @Movieaddicted 09/07/2024 4.0 stars; One of the better film noir movies from the early 1950s. A surprising hit, considering it had a top Director (Richard Fleischer) leading a bunch of good but lesser known character actors. From the TCM Channel; Howard Hughes, at RKO, loved the movie. But he refused to release the film because he wanted to reshoot it with big-name actors of the time (Robert Mitchum and Jane Russell). Fleischer loved the film as shot. Two years later, the film was released when Fleischer agreed to do a big-name cast movie for Hughes. The movie takes place mostly on a train. This cleverly adds to the great thriller suspense of taking place in an enclosed area. The character actors did their jobs well. The Director put the audience on the train with these characters. I also liked the plot twist at the end of the movie. See more Steve D 04/05/2024 Not a lot new here but entertaining. See more Morvia 8thsin/ 3 03/03/2024 The movie in duration in acting puts the viewer into the film as not wanting to leave the viewer while many lines are classic and not matched from any of my viewing experiences. This movie stands the test of time in my opinion as there are not any imperfections nor inconsistencies. See more j f @LiberteBurrows 11/21/2023 RKO and Robert Fleischer make another B that bangs! See more Read all reviews
The Narrow Margin

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW
On Dangerous Ground 89% 78% On Dangerous Ground Watchlist Macao 44% 60% Macao Watchlist The Racket 30% 44% The Racket Watchlist The Big Steal 67% 63% The Big Steal Watchlist Crossfire 88% 75% Crossfire Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis Tense story of a tough cop attempting to transport the widow of a gangster to the trial in which she'll testify. They undertake a rail journey from Chicago to Los Angeles with their lives constantly under threat from hit men on the train, who will stop at nothing to prevent her from testifying.
Director
Richard Fleischer
Producer
Stanley Rubin
Distributor
RKO Radio Pictures
Production Co
RKO Radio Pictures Inc.
Genre
Crime, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
May 4, 1952, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 1, 2012
Runtime
1h 11m
Most Popular at Home Now