"The Narrow Margin," directed by Richard Fleischer

Movie, 1952

Thrilled set on a train, as a tough Chicagoan cop escorts a gangster's widow to stand testimony in Los Angeles. Solid noir with some really pleasing and tricksy visual effects and a hard edge which eschews title music for the grating, alienating noise of trains and machinery. While visually a treat, the characters include a none-too convincing pastiche here and there - a lumpen criminal in a check jacket and a fat man blocking corridors, and there are parts of the plot which seem underdone in a hurried finish. Nonetheless, great entertainment.

"Quicksand," directed Irving Pichel

Movie, 1950

Serviceable, worthy film noir, concerning a series of crimes, committed in a chain reaction - an initial minor peccadillo leading into a series of more desperate measures. A semi-cautionary tale with some B-movie pacing which tumbles at a hurried end as if the whole thing had been played as a comedy after all. The femme fatale is pretty lightweight, reflecting an overall lack of intensity. For all that, this is an enjoyable caper with a few nice scenes and thrills connected with the genre. Largely forgettable, though fun while it lasted.