LeonLouisRicci
Although the Film is Bookended with Typical for the Time, Government Propaganda Containing Smooth and Convincing Big Brother is Looking Out for You Verbiage Coupled with Elegant Aerial Photography of the Fertile Farmland So Important to the Grocery Stores of America, the Rest of the Movie is a Dark, Dismal, Depressing, Violent World of Cut-Throats, Victims, and Villains on Both Sides of the Border. Director Anthony Mann Pulls No Punches and Along with John Alton, His Noirish Collaborator, Unleashes a Timeless Tale of the Human Trafficking of Desperate People by Greedy and Exploitive Criminals.This is a Downbeat Story that at its Core is Gut-Wrenching and Intolerable, but Continues in Various Forms to This Day. MGM Finally Made the Descent Into Social Consciousness and Film-Noir by This Time and Delivered a Gem of a Commentary with Very Little Restraint. Ricardo Montalban, George Murphy, Howard DeSilva, and Charles McGraw All Give Good Performances, but it is the Visual and Violent Template that Surrounds the Prescient Story that Remains and it's Bloody and Filthy Residue Resides in the Subconscious Long After the Movie is Over.
PWNYCNY
Those believing that the illegal immigration into the United States is a new issue only need to watch this movie to refute that belief. This movie dramatizes the problem of illegal immigration into the United States from Mexico. This movie candidly those economic and social factors which contribute to the problem and why some choose to circumvent the law in order to sneak into the United States. Those who do sneak in of course do so at great risk, yet for some the risks are worth it because of the desperate need to make money. Dealing with this problem is especially challenging and risky for law enforcement, as this movie shows. The story is presented in semi-documentary form which gives it a feeling of authenticity which further adds to the movie's dramatic power. Watch this movie.
bkoganbing
Illegal immigration is an issue this country is still trying to get a handle on. We say we don't like it, but we sure like the idea of illegals coming to work here for poverty wages. But now as in 1949 there will be people looking to exploit the situation in Mexico and in America and films like Border Incident will strike way too close to our patriotic hearts.Border Incident tells the story of an American Immigration Officer and a Mexican Federale. Both George Murphy and Ricardo Montalban go undercover to smoke out an organized people smuggling ring, Murphy as a convict with illegal stolen immigration work forms and Montalban as a migrant worker. Working in border towns on both sides of the Mexican-California border, Murphy and Montalban work in a non-stop atmosphere of intrigue and deceit. They are working separately, but know each other is on the case and the problem is there really is no one either can trust. Anthony Mann does a beautiful job in creating the tension involved in such an operation as director.Noir films were not usually what MGM put out, but in the case of Border Incident, they put out a real good one.
blanche-2
"Border Incident" is another film that benefits from the direction of Anthony Mann. From 1949, it's an atmospheric noir, probably a B movie, about the immigration department sending two people in undercover (Ricardo Montalban and George Murphy) to expose an illegal immigration operation. The ranchers bring them in, and after the season, they're left to their own devices. En route home, they are often robbed and/or killed and left in the Death Cave, which has quicksand. Very gruesome.Montalban plays Pablo Rodriguez, who poses as a brazero (farm worker) who pays 70 pesos to cross the border illegally. He befriends Juan Garcia (James Mitchell), a real brazero he meets while waiting for his named to be called for a work permit. Discouraged, Garcia decides to go illegally as well, despite having a wife and children and knowing the dangers. Murphy goes undercover as an ex-con who has work permits to sell. Pablo and Juan end up on the Parkson ranch. Parkson (Howard da Silva) is a ruthless man, and he couldn't care less about the immigrants.This is a violent film that demonstrates the exploitation of Mexicans and illustrates the problems that still exist today. All of the performances are very good - soap opera audiences may not recognize dancer/actor James Mitchell, who played Palmer Courtlandt on "All My Children" for years and died not long ago. Young and very handsome, Ricardo Montalban makes a convincing Pablo, a brave and determined man. Murphy stretches his song and dance man range as Jack.Excellent film.
AD
