ActionThrillerCrimeMystery

Narrow Margin

- It will take you to the edge of suspense.

An L.A. District Attorney attempts to take an unwilling murder witness back to the United States to testify against a top-level mob boss. Frantically attempting to escape two deadly hitmen sent to silence her, they board a Vancouver-bound train only to discover that the killers are onboard with them. For the next 20 hours, as the train hurls through the beautiful but isolated Canadian wilderness, a deadly game of cat and mouse ensues in which their ability to tell friend from foe is a matter of life and death.

Release Date : 1990-09-21

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Carolco Pictures

Production Country : United States of America

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : Robert Caulfield

Original Name : Gene Hackman

Gender : Male

Character Name : Carol Hunnicut

Original Name : Anne Archer

Gender : Female

Character Name : Nelson

Original Name : James B. Sikking

Gender : Male

Character Name : Leo Watts

Original Name : Harris Yulin

Gender : Male

Character Name : Michael Tarlow

Original Name : J. T. Walsh

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sergeant Dominick Benti

Original Name : M. Emmet Walsh

Gender : Male

Character Name : Kathryn Weller

Original Name : Susan Hogan

Gender : Female

Character Name : Jack Wootton

Original Name : Nigel Bennett

Gender : Male

Character Name : Martin Larner

Original Name : J.A. Preston

Gender : Male

Character Name : Keller

Original Name : B.A. 'Smitty' Smith

Gender : Male

Character Name : Nicholas

Original Name : Codie Lucas Wilbee

Gender : Male

Character Name : Nicholas' Mother

Original Name : Barbara Russell

Gender : Female

Character Name : Elderly Man

Original Name : Antony Holland

Gender : Male

Character Name : Elderly Woman

Original Name : Doreen Ramos

Gender : Male

Character Name : James Dahlbeck

Original Name : Kevin McNulty

Gender : Male

Character Name : Nigro

Original Name : Andrew Rhodes

Gender : Male

Character Name : Loughlin

Original Name : Lon Katzman

Gender : Male

Character Name : Bellman With Message

Original Name : Dana Still

Gender : Male

Character Name : Larner's Secretary

Original Name : Lesley Ewen

Gender : Female

Character Name : Ticket Agent

Original Name : Barney O'Sullivan

Gender : Male

Character Name : Bartender

Original Name : Natino Bellantoni

Gender : Male

Character Name : Conductor #1

Original Name : Ted Stidder

Gender : Male

Character Name : Club Car Waiter

Original Name : Lindsay Bourne

Gender : Male

Character Name : Dining Car Waiter

Original Name : Robert Rozen

Gender : Male

Character Name : Conductor #2

Original Name : Tom McBeath

Gender : Male

Character Name : Hotel Valet

Original Name : Ron Cummins

Gender : Male

Reviews

John Chard

@John Chard

2024-05-16

Narrow Margins and Wide Loads. Director and writer Peter Hyams took the bold decision to reimage one of the best film noir crime pictures of the 1950s, and all things considered it’s not half bad. Without getting close to the greatness of Richard Fleischer’s 1952 claustrophobic suspenser that is. Having Gene Hackman and Anne Archer heading up your two principal characters is a good foundation. As the district attorney employee and witness to a mob killing respectively, both actors come up trumps for their director as they are thrust into a game of cat and mouse aboard a speeding train. As the Canadian wilderness outside the train’s windows soothes the eyes, the cramped interiors make for good suspense as Hackman plays the calm to Archer’s panic. There’s nothing new here in terms of thriller conventions, and the pitfalls and familiarity of the plot’s ideas keep it from hitting better heights: people still do dumb things – important details are all too quickly swept aside – laws of gravity non existent and etc. But refreshingly Hyams resists the chance to insert a cloying romance, while his staging of suspense scenes are very well handled. But of course he’s got Hackman being as cool as a cucumber. 6.5/10