#the narrow margin

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The Narrow Margin (Richard Fleischer, 1952)

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NOIR CITY returns to the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in Silver Spring, Maryland, October 10-23 with a slate of films highlighting women whose cinematic legacies are entwined with the rise of film noir. Many of this year’s films star the six actresses profiled in Muller’s 2001 book Dark City Dames: The Wicked Women of Film Noir which was reissued in April of this year in a newly revised and expanded edition with the title Dark City Dames: The Women Who Defined Film Noir. 

Please note: FNF prez Eddie Muller will not be in attendance this year. FNF board member, author, and film historian Foster Hirsch will introduce screenings October 10–12. FNF board member, author, and film historian Alan K. Rode will introduce screenings October 17–19.

Jane Greer, Marie Windsor, Audrey Totter, Evelyn Keyes, Coleen Gray, and Ann Savage are the core cadre of women featured in this year’s program, which includes many of their signature films, including, respectively, Out Of The Past (1947), The Narrow Margin (1952), Tension (1949), The Prowler (1951), The Killing (1956), and Detour (1945). 

In addition to those acclaimed favorites, the program also highlights films starring nine other actresses notable for their performances in crime films of the era: Joan Bennett, Peggie Castle, Rhonda Fleming, Marsha Hunt, Ella Raines, Ruth Roman, Jan Sterling, Claire Trevor and Helen Walker. (Not coincidentally, the recently expanded edition of Muller’s book includes new profiles of these women.)

Line-up, passes and tickets for individual screenings are available on the AFI Silver website.

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The Narrow Margin (1952), dir. Richard Fleischer

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Charles McGraw and Marie Windsor in THE NARROW MARGIN (1952), directed by Richard Fleischer

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The Narrow Margin (1952), dir. Richard Fleischer

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The Narrow Margin (1952) directed by Richard Fleischer.

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The Narrow Margin premiered in Cincinnati, OH on 23 April 1952 before wider release in May.

Produced for around $200,000, the film was a commercial success and is considered “one of the best pictures ever produced at RKO and a quintessential example of the film noir genre.“

Based on an unpublished story, Earl Felton’s screenplay was nominated for an Academy Award.