Narrow Margin

Plot

Narrow Margin directed by Peter Hyams and loosely based on the classic film noir of the same title, tells the story of a resourceful District Attorney who must return a witness to San Francisco alive so she can testify in a trial. Carol (Anne Archer) is in the bathroom of the hotel room of her blind date when he is murdered by mobsters for stealing money. Knowing she is the only witness, Carol flees to an isolated Canadian mountain home to hide out. She is followed by Caulfield (Gene Hackman) who knows that she is a witness and wants to make her testify. When the mobsters track Caulfield to the cabin, Carol must join him in a run for her life on a Canadian train. This film, while it is somewhat uneven, is a tour de force for director/writer/cinematographer Peter Hyams, who delivers a fast-paced, action-packed chase through the Canadian mountains, stunningly photographed and well acted by both Hackman and Archer. ~ Linda Rasmussen, Rovi

Review

Narrow Margin presents a hackneyed story line: A woman witnesses a murder, the perpetrators finger her for a hit, and she goes on the lam. But this film has Gene Hackman. It also has suspense and a speeding train on which Hackman plays Spiderman. As a result, the dimwitted plot -- which unabashedly resorts to wizened clichés and contrivances -- turns into a tolerably decent nail-biter. It all starts when Carol Hunicutt (Anne Archer) witnesses mobsters whacking a hapless sap in a Los Angeles hotel room. To escape their wrath, she holes up in a cabin in the Canadian outback. The pace quickens when a Los Angeles deputy, DA Robert Caulfield (Hackman), tracks down Hunicutt to get her to testify against the killers. Mob helicopter hit men hot on the trail shoot the cabin into a honeycomb, but Caulfield and Hunicutt (who are apparently immortal) escape unscathed and race through the wilds. When all seems lost, Caulfield pulls a Chingachgook: He throws a stone to rustle the bushes and the villains turn tail. All right, original and uplifting the film is not, but after Caulfield and Hunicutt hop a train populated by mob strongarm men and spies (in this film, the mob has more resources than the CIA), the plot takes on an Agatha Christie flavor with a twist of Ian Fleming. It's all good fun. No, the film has no redeeming artistic value and no profound message. But once the action starts, it's hard to stop watching it. Be sure to stick around for the final scene when the hero confronts a tall evildoer on the top of a passenger car as the train approaches a tunnel. ~ Mike Cummings, Rovi

Cast

• Gene Hackman - Robert Caulfield
• Anne Archer - Carol Hunnicut
• James B. Sikking - Nelson
• J.T. Walsh - Michael Tarlow
• M. Emmet Walsh - Sgt. Dominick Benti

Susan Hogan - Kathryn Weller; Nigel Bennett - Jack Wootton; J.A. Preston - Martin Larner; Harris Yulin - Leo Watts; Natino Bellantoni - Bartender; Lindsay Bourne - Club Car Waiter; Ron Cummins - Hotel Valet; Lon Katzman - Loughlin; Tom McBeath - Conductor; Kevin McNulty - James Dahlbeck; Barney O'Sullivan - Ticket Agent; Doreen Ramos - Elderly Woman; Andrew Rhodes - Nigro; Robert Rozen - Dining Car Waiter; Barbara Russell - Nicholas' Mother; B.A. "Smitty" Smith - Keller; Ted Stidder - Conductor #1; Dana Still - Bellman with Message; Codie Lucas Wilbee - Nicholas; Lesley Ewan - Larner's Secretary; Antony Holland - Elderly Man

Credit

Kim Mooney - Art Director, Eric Orbom - Art Director, David Willson - Art Director, Jerry Offsay - Co-producer, Ellen Mirojnick - Costume Designer, Peter Hyams - Director, James Mitchell - Editor, Mario Kassar - Executive Producer, Andrew G. Vajna - Executive Producer, Bruce Broughton - Composer (Music Score), Pat Gerhardt - Makeup, Margaret Solomon - Makeup, Joel Schiller - Production Designer, Peter Hyams - Cinematographer, Mary Eilts - Producer, Jonathan A. Zimbert - Producer, Kim MacKenzie - Set Designer, Stan Parks - Special Effects, Glenn Wilder - Stunts, Jack Leonard - Screen Story, Martin Goldsmith - Screen Story, Peter Hyams - Screenwriter, Earl Felton - From Screenplay by

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