By a hair's breadth
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | By a hair's breadth |
| Original title | The narrow margin |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1952 |
| length | 71 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Richard Fleischer |
| script | Earl Felton |
| production | Stanley Rubin |
| music |
Frank Sarver , C. Portman |
| camera | George E. Treble |
| cut | Robert Swink |
| occupation | |
| |
To a hair's breadth (original title: The Narrow Margin ) is an American film noir by the director Richard Fleischer from 1952. The film is based on an unpublished story by Martin Goldsmith and Jack Leonard .
action
Detective Brown is supposed to accompany the widow of a gang boss on the train ride from Chicago to Los Angeles. He is meant to protect Mrs. Neall, who is about to testify in court. Brown is accompanied by his partner Forbes, who is killed by gangsters right after meeting the widow. At the train station, Brown realizes that the gangster Kemp is following him.
On board the train, Brown meets the attractive Ann Sinclair and her curious son Tommy. Kemp sees Brown with his acquaintance and concludes that Ann is his target. Kemp tries to bribe Brown. With this, Brown learns of Kemp's mistake. He hands Kemp over to the overweight train attendant Jennings and warns Ann. But she surprises him with the news that she is the real Mrs. Neall. The woman Brown has previously mistaken for Mrs. Neall is actually Sarah Meggs and serves as a decoy for any pursuers.
Kemp's partner Densel, the Forbes killer, is able to knock Jennings down and free Kemp. They storm Brown's compartment and kill Sarah Meggs. Then Densel looks for Mrs. Neall. He locks himself up with her in her compartment. Brown can shoot Densel down. To do this, he shoots through the door when he sees Densel's reflection in a side train at a train station. Brown kills Densel when he enters the compartment. Kemp is able to jump off the stopping train, but is quickly arrested.
background
Started by a hair's breadth on May 4, 1952 in the USA and on January 6, 1953 in the Federal Republic of Germany .
In 1990 Peter Hyams directed a remake called Narrow Margin, starring Gene Hackman and Anne Archer .
Reviews
“B-Class gangster film. Not very likely, but of great tension, which is effectively increased by the atmosphere and the spatial isolation of the train. "
“Claustrophobic thriller. One of the best B-movies ever made. Model for 'Narrow Margin - 12 hours of fear'. "
Awards
- 1953: Oscar nomination for Best Original Story
Web links
- By a whisker in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Review in the New York Times (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Alain Silver, Elizabeth Ward (Ed.): Film Noir. An Encyclopedic Reference to the American Style, Third Edition. Overlook / Duckworth, New York / Woodstock / London 1992, ISBN 978-0-87951-479-2 , pp. 197-198.
- ^ A b By a hair's breadth in the lexicon of international film .