BORDER
INCIDENT
1949.....92 minutes
Ricardo Montalban, George Murphy, Howard
Da Silva
Border
Incident is a gritty, realistic crime melodrama. The story concerns
the efforts by both the Mexican and American governments to
stop the smuggling of Mexican migrant workers across the border.
Representing Mexico is special agent Pablo Rodriguez (Ricardo
Montalban), while Jack Bearnes (George Murphy) works on behalf
of the US. Screenwriter John C. Higgins and producer/director
Anthony Mann refuse to pull any punches, as witness the surprising
mid-film murder of one of the major characters. Highlights include
a harrowing episode involving a plowing machine and a climactic
shootout in a quicksand swamp. The uniformly well-chosen supporting
cast includes Howard da Silva, Arnold Moss, Alfonso Bedoya and
Charles McGraw, "film noir" veterans all.
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