Noir City: The Narrow Margin
February 17, 2025
Set mostly on a train rife with killers, a tough cop (Charles McGraw) is assigned to haul a mobster’s wife to L.A. to testify against a gang of mobsters. Marie Windsor gives one of her signature performances in this inventive B film thriller.
Starting at 5:30pm, join us on Opening Night for a special performance from the Dmitri Matheny Quintet, performing jazz from the silver screen. Lyrical flugelhornist Dmitri Matheny will be joined by his all-star band prior to the screening of The Narrow Margin. A Noir City Seattle tradition not to be missed!
Due to unforeseen technical challenges, all scheduled 35mm Noir City screenings will now be presented digitally.
Passes: $158 | $133 SIFF Members
Individual Tickets: Select showtime to purchase.
Note: Reserved seating is not available for Noir City. Members: Make sure to sign in to your SIFF account before selecting showtimes and passes.
Friday evening’s screenings of The Narrow Margin and Hell's Half Acre were cancelled due to technical difficulties with the sound system, and have been rescheduled for Monday. Our Box Office team has emailed ticket purchasers and passholders. Questions? Email boxoffice@siff.net.
Rescheduled showtimes:
Mon 2/17, 12:30pm - The Narrow Margin (35mm)
Mon 2/17, 3:00pm -Hell's Half Acre (35mm)
SIFF year-round passes and vouchers are not valid for these screenings.
Marie Windsor gives one of her signature performances in this heralded thriller, one most inventive B films of the classic noir era. Set mostly on a train rife with killers, a tough cop (Charles McGraw) is assigned to haul a mobster’s wife to L.A. to testify against a gang of mobsters. It’s a toss-up as to what’s more exciting—Richard Fleischer’s propulsive handling of the spirited action sequences or Windsor and McGraw, chest to chest, spewing hardboiled insults at each other all the way from Chicago to L.A. Earl Felton’s dialogue snaps, crackles, and pops, and Fleischer’s dynamic direction is explosive enough to have blasted him out of the B unit and into the ranks of Hollywood’s preeminent directors for the next thirty-five years. Note courtesy of Noir City.
- Director: Richard Fleischer
- Principal Cast: Charles McGraw, Marie Windsor, Jacqueline White
- Country: USA
- Year: 1952
- Running Time: 71 min.
- Producer: Stanley Rubin
- Screenplay: Earl Felton
- Cinematographers: George E. Diskant
- Editors: Robert Swink
- Music: Gene Rose, Leith Steven, Dave Torbett, Roy Webb
- Filmography: Soylent Green (1973), Fantastic Voyage (1966), 20,000 Leages Under the Sea (1954)
- Language: English
- Format: 35mm
- US Distributor: Warner Bros