On the Line (1984)

Director:

José Luis Borau

Writers:

José Luis Borau (writer)
David Greig (writer)

Release Date:

September 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

She sells pleasure. He sells freedom.

Plot:

A Border Patrol agent is determined to catch his old nemesis, an American criminal who successfully smuggles illegal aliens across the border from Mexico. |

Plot Keywords:

Border | Mexico | Illegal Alien | Prostitute | Female Nudity

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

David Carradine	...	Bryant
Scott Wilson	...	Mitch
Victoria Abril	...	Engracia
Jeff Delger	...	Chuck
Paul Richardson	...	Jonathan
Sam Jaffe	...	El Gabacho
Jesse Vint	...	Chief Owens
Mitch Pileggi	...	Stephens
Christopher Saylors	...	Rooney
David Estuardo	...	Pimp
Anne Galvin	...	Rita
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Walter Anderson	...	Academy director
Roberto Arredondo	...	Smuggler
Annette Barath	...	Mrs. Snyder
Michael Bowen	...	Customs officer
Carlos Cantú	...	Mexican consul
Russ Cox Jr.	...	Naked client
Aletha Emerick
Anneliese Goldman	...	Woman in red
Ronald Gottesman	...	Rev. Snyder
Ben Jones	...	Texas lawyer
Celso Martinez	...	Mexican lawyer
Steven Polinsky	...	Law professor
Richard Rutowski	...	Duty officer
Stacy Sanches	...	Rita

Also Known As:

Downstream (USA)
Río abajo (Spain)

Runtime:

Spain:101 min | USA:103 min | Australia:60 min (original version)

Country:

USA | Spain | Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Not Rated | Iceland:16 | Norway:15

Filming Locations:

Australia

Company:

Ambar Films

Trivia:

The is that last film project for Sam Jaffe.

Soundtrack:

HELLO HEARTBREAK

Uneven But Worthwhile

I saw this on video in the early 90s as "On the Line." It appeared to be in undubbed English. In the version I saw the two (or maybe three) story lines are not well integrated. One is the long standing rivalry between David Carradine, as a successful smuggler of illegal Mexican immigrants, and Scott Wilson, as an overzealous Border Patrol Agent. Another plot involves the arrival of two naive young men (related to one of the other characters, maybe Wilson) from the American Midwest, and the subsequent involvement of one of them with a Mexican prostitute played by Victoria Abril, who is quite good in the role. This portion of the film also examines the lives of a few of the other prostitutes who inhabit the brothel where Abril works. And it leads to an amusing cameo by Sam Jaffe as a somewhat senile crime lord. Perhaps the US video distributor had this film cut awkwardly to make it appear more of an action flick. For instance, David Carradine is top billed, but his screen time is not substantial--he pretty much disappears in the second half of the film. The film is well directed and photographed. It's evident that the writer/director had something beyond an exploitation flick in mind here. I would like to see the uncut Spanish version.