Borderline (1950)

Two undercover agents infiltrate a drug-smuggling ring in Mexico, but neither is aware of the other's identity.

Director:

William A. Seiter

Writer:

Devery Freeman (story and screenplay)

Stars:

Fred MacMurray, Claire Trevor, Raymond Burr

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Fred MacMurray	...	Johnny McEvoy - aka Johnny Macklin
Claire Trevor	...	Madeleine Haley
Raymond Burr	...	Pete Ritchie
José Torvay	...	Miguel (as Jose Torvay)
Morris Ankrum	...	Bill Whittaker
Roy Roberts	...	Harvey Gumbin
Don Diamond	...	Deusik
Nacho Galindo	...	Porfirio
Pepe Hern	...	Pablo
Grazia Narciso	...	Porfirio's Wife

Storyline

Customs agents are looking for information about Pete Ritchie, who is involved in smuggling drugs into the US. Police officer Madeleine Haley goes undercover in order to gain Ritchie's confidence, and before long she meets him through one of his associates. As she is talking with Ritchie, Johnny Macklin and one of his men burst in, and they provoke a violent confrontation. From then on, Haley is in constant danger as she attempts to figure out everything that is happening in the smuggling operation.

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Plot Keywords:

narcotics | public domain | drug smuggling | police interrogation | posing as husband and wife | 

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Taglines:

Two Undercover Agents Unwittingly Stalk the Same Target.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

"Lux Radio Theater" broadcast a 60-minute radio adaptation of the movie on October 8, 1951, with Claire Trevor and Fred MacMurray reprising their film roles.

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Goofs

At the end of the film there is a general mêlée and a fight between Macklin and Gumbin takes place behind and below the bar. The police fire a smoke grenade into the room and as Macklin rises from behind the bar there is blood seeping from his lower left lip. As he collapses on the floor the police and Madeleine Haley rush in. She embraces and kisses Macklin him but the trace of blood has disappeared from his face.

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Quotes

[discussing Madeleine, who is trying to convince her boss she's capable of going undercover to nail Pete Ritchie]
Cop #1: It'll never work. Ritchie goes for cheap, tawdry dames.
Cop #2: She'll do.

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Alternate Versions

The badly edited version, released by Viking Entertainment/Burbank Video is missing the scene when the heroes discover they are both cops!

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Connections

Featured in The World Famous Kid Detective (2014)

User Reviews

Good Start, Ends Up Being Mostly Average

After a good start, this crime drama gets bogged down from time to time, and ends up being just average, or perhaps slightly above average. Besides the interesting story setup, it features a good core cast, with Claire Trevor getting a good role that allows her to play a variety of material, Raymond Burr well-cast as a brutish villain, and Fred MacMurray.

The story starts with Trevor as a police officer working undercover in Mexico. Her initial dealings with Burr and MacMurray set up some interesting possibilities, and create some suspense from the start. The rest of the story is not really bad, but it too often allows the pace to stagnate, and it does not make the best use of some of the possibilities. Aside from a couple of good scenes, it plays out in a more routine fashion.

"Borderline" is still worth seeing for fans of the genre. Besides the main story, it has some occasional comic touches that come across all right. If it ends up seeming like a bit of a disappointment, it is simply because it showed signs of becoming something better than it turned out to be.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

1 March 1950 (USA)

Also Known As:

Borderline

Filming Locations:

Malibu, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Milton H. Bren and William A. Seiter Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1