The Border (1982)

A corrupted border agent decides to clean up his act when an impoverished woman's baby is put up for sale on the black market.

Director:

Tony Richardson

Writers:

Deric Washburn, Walon Green,

Stars:

Jack Nicholson, Harvey Keitel, Valerie Perrine

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jack Nicholson	...	Charlie Smith
Harvey Keitel	...	Cat
Valerie Perrine	...	Marcy
Warren Oates	...	Red
Elpidia Carrillo	...	Maria
Shannon Wilcox	...	Savannah
Manuel Viescas	...	Juan
Jeff Morris	...	J.J.
Mike Gomez	...	Manuel
Dirk Blocker	...	Beef
Lonny Chapman	...	Andy
Stacey Pickren	...	Hooker
Floyd Levine	...	Lou
James Jeter	...	Frank
Alan Fudge	...	Hawker

Storyline

U.S. Border Patrol agent Charlie Smith just wants to do a good job and provide for his wife. But between her demands for a more affluent lifestyle and the importuning of Charlie's partner Cat to take part in illegal activities in exchange for bribes, Charlie gets caught up in helping smuggle illegal immigrants across the Texas border. When one of them, a young Mexican girl named Maria, loses her baby to abductors who plan to sell the child, Charlie decides to take a stand for her and against the corruption he's fallen into.

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Plot Keywords:

baby | drugs | border | kitchen | police | 

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Taglines:

It divided the land. It divided the man.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

30 April 1982 (Finland)

Also Known As:

Grenzpatrouille

Filming Locations:

Antigua, Guatemala

Box Office

Budget:

$22,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Efer Productions, RKO Pictures, Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film's title "The Border" refers to the Mexican-US border, specifically, the border between the American state of Texas and the country of Mexico, around the El Paso and Rio Grande region, which is where the picture is set.

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Quotes

Charlie Smith: No more, Marcy. No more's no more. No more does not mean more, and more, and more! No more means no more!

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Connections

Referenced in Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession (2004)

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Soundtracks

"Too Late"
Written by Jim Dickinson, John Hyatt, Ry Cooder
Performed by John Hyatt

User Reviews

Outstanding portrayal of real events

This has got to be one of Jack Nicholson's finest acting jobs. His portrayal of an emotionally unsatisfied Border Patrol agent stuck trying to find peace within himself is riveting to watch. The soundtrack is outstanding also with that simple truth " you can lose more than you hope to gain on the other side of the border".