Post by petrolino on Sept 1, 2017 22:35:04 GMT
The tangential film noir 'The Narrow Margin' occupies a moral vacuum at high velocity. It concerns the efforts of Detective Sergeant Walter Brown (Charles McGraw) and his partner Detective Sergeant Gus Forbes (Don Beddoe) to transport a mob witness from Chicago, Illinois to Los Angeles, California. As long as she remains under police protection, the assignment can't be compromised.
"Not considered an auteur, like, say, Alfred Hitchcock, this great American director has been undervalued by critics and film historians. Like Robert Wise and John Huston, Fleischer was a versatile craftsman who was able to turn his eye to many kinds of films. As a result, he enjoyed a long career spanning six decades during which he consistently combined action and spectacle with storytelling complexity, and mainstream appeal with controversial subject matter. Fleischer directed Disney’s best-ever live action film, '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea' (the Jules Verne fantasy starring Kirk Douglas and James Mason), after which he became known for making what would become known as blockbusters, among them 'The Vikings', 'Fantastic Voyage' and 'Tora! Tora! Tora!' In between making these big budget historical epics, science fiction adventures and panoramic war movies, Fleischer completed a trilogy of serial killer thrillers now widely considered to be classics of the genre: 'Compulsion' starring Orson Welles, 'The Boston Strangler' with Tony Curtis and '10 Rillington Place' featuring Richard Attenborough."
- Miles Fielder, The Edinburgh International Film Festival
"RKO was the smallest of the big studios and the biggest of the small studios, it was the one right in the middle. They had very wonderful stars and it was run efficiently. The long-term contracts gave a sense of security among its employees. After all, they paid you every week, working or not. Downsides were loss of creative control, you could be loaned out against your will and at the end of every six-month period, they had the option of dropping your contract. Today, the studio system no longer exists and in some ways – the way it is now – it had advantages the old system didn’t have. The directors now do have more freedom. But overall, I was able to make my movies my way, without any restraint or restrictions."
- Richard Fleischer, Film Talk
'The Narrow Margin' is a claustrophobic exercise in tension that's also one of the most mobile film noirs, testament to the skills of its director Richard Fleischer who'd previously made 'Bodyguard' (1948), 'Trapped' (1949) and the minimalist heist picture 'Armored Car Robbery' (1950) which proved groundbreaking. Having trained as an editor and become self-taught in the mechanics of comedy, Fleischer developed an unshakeable sense of timing, fostering the ability to render any situation inert or have it explode at the drop of a hat. 'The Narrow Margin' uses technical ingenuity and smart blocking to sustain constant suspense. Cinematographer George Diskant charts the action using a myriad of angles and a variety of camera lengths, employing a stalking carriage dolly, abrupt track-lifts, extreme close-ups and even a wobblecam (a technique that would become popular in the 1960s). The cast remains pitch-perfect in their dedicated service to this witness protection story, led by gravel-voiced Charles McGraw and husky fatale Marie Windsor.
'The Narrow Margin' is tense, terse, active and suspenseful which are seen as trademarks of Richard Fleischer's hard-boiled crime dramas. Brian De Palma found Fleischer's palpable crime thrillers to be a source of inspiration, examining his innovative use of split-screen techniques in 'The Boston Strangler' (1968), but here it's a character played by comedian Paul Maxey of Wheaton, Illinois that proved the difference-maker when it came to filming mob hitman Big Joe Battaglia (Edmonte Salvato) in 'Carlito's Way' (1993). Action filmmaker John Carpenter has always looked to the work of Howard Hawks for inspiration, just as Walter Hill looks to Sam Peckinpah, and John Flynn looked to Don Siegel; Wes Craven admired Fleischer's way around a set-piece and both men would experiment with sound effects to enhance suspense during their careers, rather than always falling back upon traditional scoring, though it's the airline thriller 'Red Eye' (2005) that pays homage to the human traffic rattling aboard the train in 'The Narrow Margin'. This movie has long been held up as a profoundly influential picture upon American b-movie makers specialising in genre film-making.
Samuel Fuller (born August 12, 1912, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States - died October 30, 1997) {pictured with Bella Darvi}
Don Siegel (born October 26, 1912, Chicago, Illinois, United States - died April 20, 1991) {pictured with Sydney Greenstreet & Peter Lorre}
Robert Wise (born September 10, 1914, Winchester, Indiana, United States - died September 14, 2005) {pictured with Julie Andrews}
Richard Fleischer (born December 8, 1916, Brooklyn, New York, United States - died March 25, 2006) {pictured with Mia Farrow}
"Trains have always served filmmakers as a terrific background for suspense thrillers. There's no greater testament to this than the fact that trains play an important part in five films of the undisputed master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock The Thirty-Nine Steps (1935), Secret Agent (1936), The Lady Vanishes (1938), Strangers on a Train (1951) and North by Northwest (1959). It wouldn't be difficult to come up with a list of great movies whose most exciting sequences take place entirely or partly on a train, but most moviegoers would be likely to overlook one of the best uses of the location, the RKO thriller The Narrow Margin (1952). Too bad the film is largely forgotten today, because not only is it a first-rate example of the post-war film noir genre, it also takes place almost entirely on a train. Director Richard Fleischer exploits the narrow corridors and cramped compartments to maximum effect, heightening the sense of claustrophobia and the paranoia of being trapped without an exit. What's more, Fleischer uses the sound of the moving train continuously in the background which generates a certain driving tension. The train interiors were all shot on an RKO soundstage while exterior station scenes were lensed in Los Angeles' Union Station; all in an amazingly short 15-day schedule."
- Rob Nixon, Turner Classic Movies
- Rob Nixon, Turner Classic Movies
"Charles McGraw was an Iowa child, born in Des Moines on May 10, 1914 — not in New York as many film sources say. The actor’s real name was Charles Butters, the son of Beatrice Crisp and Francis “Frank” Butters, both of English extraction. The senior Butters worked for B.F. Goodrich, probably as a traveling representative for the tire manufacturer. The 1919 Des Moines city directory lists Frank Butters’ address as 1815 Washington Ave. B.F. Goodrich was located at 206-208 11th St. between Walnut and Mulberry streets in Des Moines. When he was just 5 years old, McGraw told the Des Moines Tribune later, his family moved to Ohio when his father was transferred to the Akron headquarters of B.F Goodrich. In 1955, McGraw returned to Des Moines to promote his movie “The Bridges at Toko-ri,” starring William Holden and Grace Kelly. He told the Tribune that he had few memories of Des Moines, but vividly remembered the day his father took him to the Capitol. “I remember going to the top of the Capitol dome and being scared to death,” he said. Alan K. Rode, in his well-researched 2008 biography “Charles McGraw: Film Noir Tough Guy,” indicates that McGraw had an “active and typical” childhood as he grew up in Akron and became fascinated with movies when he worked as an usher at the Strand Theater. Graduating from high school in January 1932, he spent one semester at college, and in the spring of 1935 decided to try his luck in New York City. Although the times were hard during the Depression, McGraw was able to eke out a meager living by doing odd jobs, but also getting extra money from his parents when he needed it. His first stage role came as a boxer in “The Jazz Age” (1937), which led later that year to a small role in the acclaimed Group Theatre’s production of Clifford Odets’ “Golden Boy.” That’s where McGraw, acting under his mother’s maiden name, honed his acting skills."
- Tom Longden, Des Moines Register
"Not considered an auteur, like, say, Alfred Hitchcock, this great American director has been undervalued by critics and film historians. Like Robert Wise and John Huston, Fleischer was a versatile craftsman who was able to turn his eye to many kinds of films. As a result, he enjoyed a long career spanning six decades during which he consistently combined action and spectacle with storytelling complexity, and mainstream appeal with controversial subject matter. Fleischer directed Disney’s best-ever live action film, '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea' (the Jules Verne fantasy starring Kirk Douglas and James Mason), after which he became known for making what would become known as blockbusters, among them 'The Vikings', 'Fantastic Voyage' and 'Tora! Tora! Tora!' In between making these big budget historical epics, science fiction adventures and panoramic war movies, Fleischer completed a trilogy of serial killer thrillers now widely considered to be classics of the genre: 'Compulsion' starring Orson Welles, 'The Boston Strangler' with Tony Curtis and '10 Rillington Place' featuring Richard Attenborough."
- Miles Fielder, The Edinburgh International Film Festival
"RKO was the smallest of the big studios and the biggest of the small studios, it was the one right in the middle. They had very wonderful stars and it was run efficiently. The long-term contracts gave a sense of security among its employees. After all, they paid you every week, working or not. Downsides were loss of creative control, you could be loaned out against your will and at the end of every six-month period, they had the option of dropping your contract. Today, the studio system no longer exists and in some ways – the way it is now – it had advantages the old system didn’t have. The directors now do have more freedom. But overall, I was able to make my movies my way, without any restraint or restrictions."
- Richard Fleischer, Film Talk
Charles McGraw :
Marie Windsor :
'The Narrow Margin' is a claustrophobic exercise in tension that's also one of the most mobile film noirs, testament to the skills of its director Richard Fleischer who'd previously made 'Bodyguard' (1948), 'Trapped' (1949) and the minimalist heist picture 'Armored Car Robbery' (1950) which proved groundbreaking. Having trained as an editor and become self-taught in the mechanics of comedy, Fleischer developed an unshakeable sense of timing, fostering the ability to render any situation inert or have it explode at the drop of a hat. 'The Narrow Margin' uses technical ingenuity and smart blocking to sustain constant suspense. Cinematographer George Diskant charts the action using a myriad of angles and a variety of camera lengths, employing a stalking carriage dolly, abrupt track-lifts, extreme close-ups and even a wobblecam (a technique that would become popular in the 1960s). The cast remains pitch-perfect in their dedicated service to this witness protection story, led by gravel-voiced Charles McGraw and husky fatale Marie Windsor.
"Nobody loves a fat man except his grocer and his tailor."
'The Narrow Margin' is tense, terse, active and suspenseful which are seen as trademarks of Richard Fleischer's hard-boiled crime dramas. Brian De Palma found Fleischer's palpable crime thrillers to be a source of inspiration, examining his innovative use of split-screen techniques in 'The Boston Strangler' (1968), but here it's a character played by comedian Paul Maxey of Wheaton, Illinois that proved the difference-maker when it came to filming mob hitman Big Joe Battaglia (Edmonte Salvato) in 'Carlito's Way' (1993). Action filmmaker John Carpenter has always looked to the work of Howard Hawks for inspiration, just as Walter Hill looks to Sam Peckinpah, and John Flynn looked to Don Siegel; Wes Craven admired Fleischer's way around a set-piece and both men would experiment with sound effects to enhance suspense during their careers, rather than always falling back upon traditional scoring, though it's the airline thriller 'Red Eye' (2005) that pays homage to the human traffic rattling aboard the train in 'The Narrow Margin'. This movie has long been held up as a profoundly influential picture upon American b-movie makers specialising in genre film-making.
"The crucifixion and eclipse are accompanied by an arrangement of the plainchant “Kyrie eleison” which recurs in variations throughout the film. This is the work of Mario Nascimbene, who wrote the score, conducted by Franco Ferrara. Nascimbene had previously written the music for Richard Fleischer’s 1958 'The Vikings' and later, beginning with 1967’s 'Survival', would collaborate extensively with Roberto Rossellini. Rossellini sat in with Nascimbene while he scored live at his “Mixerama” console, a synthesizer of his own invention and precursor to the sampler, contributing extraterrestrial electronic sounds to Rossellini’s sui generis historical films: 'Socrates', 'Blaise Pascal', 'Augustine of Hippo', 'Cartesius', 'Year One' (Anno uno), and, yes, perhaps the strangest Biblical epic of all, 1975’s 'The Messiah'. Nascimbene, who was very well-to-do, had a home studio equipped with the latest technology, and was on the forefront of magnetic tape-based developments in absolute music circa 1960. In order to distinguish the Barabbas score from those written by contemporaries on other Biblical epics, Nascimbene scored it using the Mixerama, which he described in a 1986 interview with Soundtrack Magazine: “The ‘Mixerama’ is an instrument which contains 12 stereo cassette tapes, so you can get 24 different sounds. I have more than 1,000 cassettes like that. I have recorded all the possible sounds the musicians in an orchestra can make, from the piccolo to the contrabass, male and female voices, the strings (now sharp, then soft, then trilling or pizzicato…) on all the notes of the musical scale . . . When I had all the sounds separately, I recorded the high and low ranges of every single note, and then recorded them separately onto the stereo cassette tapes. So in the end I had truly infinite possibilities of a mixture of sound. Each note had its own sound, but three or four used together change that sound. It’s all pulsating, creative, ‘living’ sound. Unlike modern computer keyboards, the ‘Mixerama’ uses pure sound treated in a human way.” Scoring the crucifixion in 'Barabbas', for example, Nascimbene combined “voices, a soprano and two strings during an extended five-minute segment at the moment of the eclipse itself; [and] the sound of a bass at half speed.” While Nascimbene’s compositions for 'Barabbas' don’t approach the same level of abstraction as his work with Rossellini, the sound design is full of what were, at the time, radical elements. In the scene which shows the scourging of Christ, for example, a metallic slicing sound is accompanied by a chorus of rising and falling feminine wails which sound like they come from a roller coaster plunging downhill—although there are no women present."
- Nick Pinkerton, 'Futures & Pasts : Barabbas'
"Honestly, at the time that I did the first "A Nightmare on Elm Street" there was no sense in the composing community of a shift from orchestral to home based scoring. It was only later that this began to be perceived as a trend among most of us working in the field. I had been using home studio-based techniques since the early 1970s. This approach can provide for more personal experimentation and exploration of sounds and possibilities. I remember doing a synth-based mockup of "Mr. Majestyk" around 1973, prior to recording the score with orchestra as a demo of intent. Many of my early scoring jobs included home studio recording techniques. Of course, now this is all quite common and widespread, even on large projects, and I feel quite literally at home with it."
- Charles Bernstein, Man Is The Warmest Place To Hide
- Nick Pinkerton, 'Futures & Pasts : Barabbas'
"Honestly, at the time that I did the first "A Nightmare on Elm Street" there was no sense in the composing community of a shift from orchestral to home based scoring. It was only later that this began to be perceived as a trend among most of us working in the field. I had been using home studio-based techniques since the early 1970s. This approach can provide for more personal experimentation and exploration of sounds and possibilities. I remember doing a synth-based mockup of "Mr. Majestyk" around 1973, prior to recording the score with orchestra as a demo of intent. Many of my early scoring jobs included home studio recording techniques. Of course, now this is all quite common and widespread, even on large projects, and I feel quite literally at home with it."
- Charles Bernstein, Man Is The Warmest Place To Hide
Film Noir's Fallen Idols
The Godfather (A Man Alone) :
Anthony Mann (born June 30, 1906, San Diego, California, United States - died April 29, 1967) {pictured with Janet Leigh}
The New Breed (A Dirty Half-Dozen) :
Nicholas Ray (born August 7, 1911, Galesville, Wisconsin, United States - died June 16, 1979) {pictured with Gloria Grahame}
Samuel Fuller (born August 12, 1912, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States - died October 30, 1997) {pictured with Bella Darvi}
Don Siegel (born October 26, 1912, Chicago, Illinois, United States - died April 20, 1991) {pictured with Sydney Greenstreet & Peter Lorre}
Robert Wise (born September 10, 1914, Winchester, Indiana, United States - died September 14, 2005) {pictured with Julie Andrews}
Richard Fleischer (born December 8, 1916, Brooklyn, New York, United States - died March 25, 2006) {pictured with Mia Farrow}
Robert Aldrich (born August 9, 1918, Cranston, Rhode Island, United States - died December 5, 1983) {pictured with Rossana Podesta}
"There were many great directors, such as William Wyler who was a superb director, but it really was Orson Welles who changed everything for everybody and it certainly affected me. I tried to emulate what Orson did [with “Citizen Kane”]. Everybody tried to make their films look like as if they were made by Orson Welles, who was known as the acknowledged and revered king of moviemakers. He had a wonderful technique and when I was able to make two pictures with him – two in a row, “Compulsion” [1958] and “Crack in the Mirror” [1960] – I was very thrilled. We got along very well. When I told him I thought “Citizen Kane” was the best film ever made, he actually blushed, he seemed slightly embarrassed and he thanked me for saying that. But I didn’t say it to flatter him, I meant it. As it turned out, Orson was his own worst enemy. He really knocked himself out of the business and he regretted that very much. He ignored the studios, didn’t care about the timing and the budget – sometimes he spent a lot of money – so in the end the studios became very wary and decided he wouldn’t be working for them anymore: they simply couldn’t afford him."
- Richard Fleischer
- Richard Fleischer
