Border Incident

For other uses, see Border incident (disambiguation).
Border Incident
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAnthony Mann
Screenplay byJohn C. Higgins
Story byJohn C. Higgins
George Zuckerman
Produced byNicholas Nayfack
StarringRicardo Montalbán
George Murphy
Howard Da Silva
James Mitchell
CinematographyJohn Alton
Edited byConrad A. Nervig
Music byAndré Previn
Distributed byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date
  • October 28, 1949 (1949-10-28) (United States)
Running time
94 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$749,000[1]
Box office$908,000[1]

Border Incident is a 1949 American film noir featuring Ricardo Montalbán, George Murphy, and Howard Da Silva. Directed by Anthony Mann, the MGM production was written by John C. Higgins from a story 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.[2]

Plot

The film's trailer.

Two agents, one Mexican (PJF) and one American, are tasked to stop the smuggling of Mexican migrant workers across the border to California. The two agents go undercover, one as a poor migrant.

Cast

Production

The film was among a number of lower budgeted movies produced at MGM under the regime of Dore Schary.[3]

According to Mann, "Metro said: ‘Make whatever picture you want.' John [Alton] and I had thought of doing Border Incident, because the guys there were also involved with the Federal agents and T Men. Through the research we had made with T Men we found the fantastic story of the Border Incident boys. We made it on location, but it was really not Metro’s cup of tea. When it came out, they were flabbergasted. It wasn’t anything they thought a motion picture should be!"[4]

Reception

According to MGM records the film earned $580,000 in the US and Canada and $328,000 overseas resulting in a loss of $194,000.[1]

Critical response

Roger Westcombe compared the film to classic Westerns: "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."[5]

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b c The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
  2. ^ Border Incident at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films.
  3. ^ Thomas F. Brady Special to The New York Times (Dec 21, 1948). "Metro is Planning Low-Budget Films: 'Border Incident,' To Be Made Next Year, First of Series – Cost Set at $550,000". New York Times. p. 33.
  4. ^ Wicking, Christopher; Pattinson, Barrie (July–October 1969). "Interviews with Anthony Mann". Screen. Vol. 10. p. 37.
  5. ^ Westcombe, Roger Archived March 1, 2005, at the Wayback Machine. Big House Film, review. Last accessed: December 25, 2007.

Bibliography

  • 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.