Two Oscars. Four Golden Globes. A SAG award. Numerous military honours as part of the Marine Corps. An asteroid was named in his honour. If you can think of an accomplishment, then Gene Hackman has probably done it.
Across his long life and career, the moustachioed maestro conquered almost every arena he stepped into. The only thing he wouldn't have won an award for was good behaviour on set, but hey, nobody's perfect.
Alas, even the very best have their share of stinkers. Hackman was very candid in talking about his career regrets, particularly when it came to movies he thought deserved better. He played the title character in Kevin Costner's Wild West vanity project Wyatt Earp, which was a flop both critically and commercially. His final film, Welcome to Mooseport, was an underwhelming political comedy undeserving of being his swansong. Then there's Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, the awfulness of which warrants its own examination.
When reflecting on his career during an interview with The Oklahoman, Hackman took the time to point out several of his films that hadn't lived up to his expectations. There was one in particular that stood out, mainly because most people have probably never even heard of it, which was part of the problem.
"(The limited success of) Narrow Margin with Anne Archer was a disappointment," he says. "It didn't do very well, for whatever reason. It didn't catch on.
Released in 1990, Narrow Margin is a thriller from director Peter Hyams of Timecop fame. Hackman plays a District Attorney charged with escorting a key witness (Archer) on a train ride back to the United States so she can testify against a terrifying mob boss. As you can imagine, this isn't without complications.
Mob bosses can be very unreasonable people. Fans of 1950s film noir might recognise the title of this movie. That's because it's a remake of a 1952 Richard Fleischer movie called The Narrow Margin. The Hackman character is played by Charles McGraw, while Marie Windsor plays Archer's role. That version of the movie is considered something of a classic and even scored an Oscar nomination. As for the 90s version, well...
It's no great surprise that, when Hackman passed away in 2025, Narrow Margin was not included in any of his tribute packages. The film came and went without much fanfare. When the original came out, setting a thriller on a train was still fairly novel. Strangers on a Train had come out just one year prior and taken the genre by storm. Almost 40 years later, people simply weren't impressed. The film was dismissed as a clichéd retread of a much better offering from an entirely different time. Some modern reviewers have been kinder to the film, but not enough to elevate it anywhere near the top of Hackman's pantheon.
Honestly, it's a little strange that Hackman is so surprised by its shortcomings. It's a fairly standard remake of a noir movie. There's a natural ceiling for that sort of movie. Maybe he just really liked working with Anne Archer? Who knows?