Movies - Border Incident

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	Movies - Border Incident

Border Incident is a 1949 black-and-white film directed by Anthony Mann. The MGM film, considered film noir, was written by John C. Higgins and George Zuckerman.

The story concerns two agents, one Mexican and one American, who are tasked to stop the smuggling of Mexican migrant workers across the boarder to California. The two agents go undercover, one as a poor migrant.

Some memorable scenes in the dark, gritty film include a harrowing episode involving a plowing machine and a climactic shootout in a quicksand swamp. The film was shot by famed cinematographer John Alton who uses shadows and lighting effects to involve an audience despite the fact that the film was shot on a low budget.

Critical reaction

Film reviews of the movie today are mostly positive. Roger Westcombe writing on the web page compares the film to classic film westerns: "Yet far from a typical Western’s sense of freedom, Border Incident shares with (director Mann's previous effort) T-Men
that film’s inky, submerged visual quality. These are ‘wide’ but not ‘open’ spaces, as Alton’s beautifully registered grey-toned but grim visuals make the distant horizons as closed as the American border. The constant presence of vulnerable, innocent peasants adds a piquancy to Border Incident, raising the stakes from the destiny of a mere two police agents to that of an entire underclass."

Cast

Ricardo Montalban as Pablo Rodriguez
George Murphy
as Jack Bearnes
Howard Da Silva
as Owen Parkson
James Mitchell
as Juan Garcia
Arnold Moss
as Zopilote

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Border Incident ]

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