Border Incident
Encyclopedia
Border Incident is a film noir
directed by Anthony Mann
. The MGM film was written by John C. Higgins
and George Zuckerman
. The film was shot by cinematographer
John Alton
who used shadows and lighting effects to involve an audience despite the fact that the film was shot on a low budget. The drama features Ricardo Montalban
, George Murphy
, Howard Da Silva
, among others.
. It runs through the desert for miles along the California-Mexico border... Farming in Imperial Valley... [requires] a vast army of farm workers... and this army of farm workers comes from our neighbor to the south, from Mexico. ... It is this problem of human suffering and injustice about which you should know. The following composite case is based upon factual information supplied by the Immigration and Naturalization Service
..."
The story concerns two agents, one Mexican (PJF
) and one American, who are tasked to stop the smuggling of Mexican migrant worker
s across the border to California. The two agents go undercover, one as a poor migrant.
Some of the film's most memorable include the death of an American by a mechanized harrow
and a climactic shootout in a quicksand swamp.
s: "Yet far from a typical Western's sense of freedom, Border Incident shares with [director Mann's previous film noir] 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."
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
directed by Anthony Mann
Anthony Mann
Anthony Mann was an American actor and film director, most notably of film noirs and Westerns. As a director, he often collaborated with the cinematographer John Alton and with James Stewart in his Westerns.-Biography:...
. The MGM film was written by John C. Higgins
John C. Higgins
John C. Higgins was an American screenwriter. During the 1930s and early 1940s, the Winnipeg, Canada-born scribe worked on mostly complex murder mystery films including the James Stewart film Murder Man...
and George Zuckerman
George Zuckerman
George Zuckerman was an American screenwriter and novelist.Zuckerman began his career writing short stories for Cosmopolitan, Collier's Weekly, and Esquire in the 1940s. He wrote the stories for the 1947 films The Fortress and Whispering City before completing his first screenplay, Trapped, in 1949...
. The film was shot by cinematographer
Cinematographer
A cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image...
John Alton
John Alton
John Alton A.S.C. , born Johann Altmann, in Sopron/Ödenburg, Kingdom of Hungary, Austria-Hungary, was an American cinematographer...
who used shadows and lighting effects to involve an audience despite the fact that the film was shot on a low budget. The drama features Ricardo Montalban
Ricardo Montalbán
Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino, KSG was a Mexican radio, television, theatre and film actor. He had a career spanning six decades and many notable roles...
, George Murphy
George Murphy
George Lloyd Murphy was an American dancer, actor, and politician.-Life and career:He was born in New Haven, Connecticut of Irish Catholic extraction, the son of Michael Charles "Mike" Murphy, athletic trainer and coach, and Nora Long. He was educated at Peddie School, Trinity-Pawling School, and...
, Howard Da Silva
Howard Da Silva
Howard Da Silva was an American actor.-Early life:He was born Howard Silverblatt in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Benjamin and Bertha Silverblatt. His parents were both Yiddish speaking Jews born in Russia. He had a job as a steelworker before beginning his acting career on the stage...
, among others.
Plot
"Here is the All-American CanalAll-American Canal
The All-American Canal is an long aqueduct, located in southeastern California. It conveys water from the Colorado River into the Imperial Valley and to nine cities. It is the Imperial Valley's only water source, and replaced the Alamo Canal, which was located mostly in Mexico...
. It runs through the desert for miles along the California-Mexico border... Farming in Imperial Valley... [requires] a vast army of farm workers... and this army of farm workers comes from our neighbor to the south, from Mexico. ... It is this problem of human suffering and injustice about which you should know. The following composite case is based upon factual information supplied by the Immigration and Naturalization Service
Immigration and Naturalization Service
The United States Immigration and Naturalization Service , now referred to as Legacy INS, ceased to exist under that name on March 1, 2003, when most of its functions were transferred from the Department of Justice to three new components within the newly created Department of Homeland Security, as...
..."
The story concerns two agents, one Mexican (PJF
Federal Judicial Police
The Federal Judicial Police was the former federal police force of Mexico.The jurisdiction of the Federal Judicial Police encompasses the entire nation and was divided into thirteen zones with fifty-two smaller detachment headquarters...
) and one American, who are tasked to stop the smuggling of Mexican migrant worker
Foreign worker
A foreign worker is a person who works in a country other than the one of which he or she is a citizen. The term migrant worker as discussed in the migrant worker page is used in a particular UN resolution as a synonym for "foreign worker"...
s across the border to California. The two agents go undercover, one as a poor migrant.
Some of the film's most memorable include the death of an American by a mechanized harrow
Harrow (tool)
In agriculture, a harrow is an implement for breaking up and smoothing out the surface of the soil. In this way it is distinct in its effect from the plough, which is used for deeper tillage. Harrowing is often carried out on fields to follow the rough finish left by ploughing operations...
and a climactic shootout in a quicksand swamp.
Cast
- Ricardo MontalbanRicardo MontalbánRicardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino, KSG was a Mexican radio, television, theatre and film actor. He had a career spanning six decades and many notable roles...
as Pablo Rodriguez - George MurphyGeorge MurphyGeorge Lloyd Murphy was an American dancer, actor, and politician.-Life and career:He was born in New Haven, Connecticut of Irish Catholic extraction, the son of Michael Charles "Mike" Murphy, athletic trainer and coach, and Nora Long. He was educated at Peddie School, Trinity-Pawling School, and...
as Jack Bearnes - Howard Da SilvaHoward Da SilvaHoward Da Silva was an American actor.-Early life:He was born Howard Silverblatt in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Benjamin and Bertha Silverblatt. His parents were both Yiddish speaking Jews born in Russia. He had a job as a steelworker before beginning his acting career on the stage...
as Owen Parkson - James MitchellJames Mitchell (actor)James Mitchell was an American actor and dancer. Although he is best known to television audiences as Palmer Cortlandt on the soap opera All My Children , theatre and dance historians remember him as one of Agnes de Mille's leading dancers...
as Juan Garcia - Arnold MossArnold MossArnold Moss was an American character actor.His son is songwriter Jeff Moss....
as Zopilote - Alfonso BedoyaAlfonso BedoyaAlfonso Bedoya was a Mexican actor who frequently appeared in U.S. films.- Early life :Bedoya was born in Sonora. He had a nomadic childhood upbringing in Mexico, though he was educated in Houston, Texas.- Film career :...
as Chuchillo - Teresa Celli as Maria Garcia
- Charles McGrawCharles McGrawCharles Butters , best known by his stage name Charles McGraw, was an American actor, who made his first film in 1942, albeit in a small, uncredited role. He was born in Des Moines, Iowa.-Career:...
as Jeff Amboy - José Torvay as Pocoloco
- John RidgelyJohn RidgelyJohn Ridgely was an American film character actor with over 100 film credits. He appeared in the 1946 Humphrey Bogart film The Big Sleep as blackmailing gangster Eddie Mars and had a memorable role as a suffering heart patient in the film noir Nora Prentiss .The Chicago, Illinois-born actor...
as Mr. Neley - Arthur HunnicuttArthur HunnicuttArthur Lee Hunnicutt was an American actor known for his portrayal of wise, grizzled, old rural characters...
as Clayton Nordell - Sig RumanSig RumanSig Ruman was a German-American actor known for his comic portrayals of pompous villains.-Life and career:...
as Hugo Wolfgang Ulrich - Otto Waldis as Fritz
Critical reaction
Roger Westcombe compared the film to classic WesternWestern (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
s: "Yet far from a typical Western's sense of freedom, Border Incident shares with [director Mann's previous film noir] T-Men
T-Men
T-Men is a semidocumentary style 1947 film noir shot in black-and-white. The film was directed by Anthony Mann with cinematography by noted noir cameraman John Alton....
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."
Additional references
- Harry Tomicek: Das grosse Schwarz. Border Incident, von Anthony Mann, Kamera: John Alton (1949). In: Christian Cargnelli, Michael Omasta .(eds.): Schatten. Exil. Europäische Emigranten im Film noir. PVS, Vienna 1997, ISBN 3-901196-26-9
External links
- Border Incident trailer at You Tube