Bordertown (1935)

Johnny Ramirez rises from bouncer to partner in Charlie Roark's border town casino. Charlie's wife Marie loves Johnny, but Johnny loves society woman Dale. Marie kills her husband, making ... See full summary »

Director:

Archie Mayo

Writers:

Laird Doyle (screen play), Wallace Smith (screen play),

Stars:

Paul Muni, Bette Davis, Margaret Lindsay

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Paul Muni	...	Johnny Ramirez
Bette Davis	...	Marie Roark
Margaret Lindsay	...	Dale Elwell
Eugene Pallette	...	Charlie Roark
Robert Barrat	...	Padre
Soledad Jiménez	...	Mrs. Ramirez
Hobart Cavanaugh	...	Harry
Gavin Gordon	...	Brook Manville
William B. Davidson	...	Dr. Carter (as William Davidson)
Arthur Stone	...	Manuel Diego
Vivian Tobin	...	Mrs. Garner

Storyline

Johnny Ramirez rises from bouncer to partner in Charlie Roark's border town casino. Charlie's wife Marie loves Johnny, but Johnny loves society woman Dale. Marie kills her husband, making it look like suicide. She tells Johnny she committed murder for him and, still rejected, tells the police that she and Johnny murdered Charlie. She goes crazy in court and Johnny goes free. Dale runs from Johnny and dies in an auto crash. Johnny sells the casino.

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Plot Keywords:

casino | murder | police | trial | religious confession | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

23 January 1935 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Barreira

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Paul Muni hired a Mexican man as chauffeur to study his accent and mannerisms in preparation for this role.

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Goofs

Camera shadow on Johnny and Dale when they are dancing at the opening of Johnny's casino.

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Connections

Featured in The Bronze Screen: 100 Years of the Latino Image in American Cinema (2002)

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Soundtracks

"Soft Green Seas"
(1934) (uncredited)
Music by R. Alex Anderson

User Reviews

Bordertown

Amusing movie here that almost paints everyone with a broad stroke of brush. Paul Muni plays a Mexican (!!) lawyer trying to make it in law in the Mexican part of LA, but loses his first case badly, not because of his mishandling of the law , but also, as the judge states, he's got that Mexican savage blood in him! He returns to Mexico to become the second hand of a successful casino. The manager's wife (played by Bette Davis) can't stop making goo-goo eyes at him, even killing her husband to get her our of the way. Soon he falls in love, no not with Davis, but with the original client he was prosecuting against in LA, this makes Davis go insane, while the client lady is still calling Muni a "savage". This is pretty ridiculous. but it's fun wondering where on earth this is going to go next. It does take a while to get going though.