Borderline

Clare Trevor had decorated many films in a range of roles which commonly portrayed her as a tough broad. She was able to assure her husband, producer Milton Bren, that she was also qualified to perform in comedic parts, and the result is his bankrolling of this action-comedy hybrid: BORDERLINE, which features Fred MacMurray and Trevor as undercover narcotics operatives working for different agencies with the same target, but unaware of each other's placement. The film just misses working on both levels of drama and comedy; the scenario by veteran Hollywood light musical scriptor Devery Freeman cuts its chances, but improves during the second half. MacMurray, generally unrecognized as a cinema tough guy, shines and teams well with Trevor, who in fact does demonstrate that she can do light comedy.

Some huge names in this: Fred MacMurray, Claire Trevor, Ray Burr. Fred and the feds are trying to catch the bad guys bringing drugs over the border. Claire Trevor is a police officer who offers to help out by going undercover. but they don't know the other is undercover, the good guys! Ray Burr is the bad guy, as usual. it's a bit of a dra-medy, with some silly scenes here and there. after some drama, they get away in an airplane, and show up at the meeting place. keep an eye out for charles lane, in his usual uncredited role. has about two lines. for a while, he held the record for the most roles in films. directed by Bill Seiter. he made only a couple more films, then moved into television. this one is a light and fun caper... not too serious. comedies were a specialty of Seiter. check out the actors he worked with at wikipedia dot com! this one is good -- just when you think it's over, it goes another ten minutes. after a huge, long career as a film star, MacMurray will be Dad on My Three Sons.

Borderline has the interesting premise that two government agencies have operators working the same case and neither knows anything about the other. If they did there would be no film called Borderline.

According to a recent biography of Fred MacMurray the film was produced by Claire Trevor's husband Milton Bren and MacMurray was given a piece of the film in lieu of a salary. It doesn't look like to much was spent on production values so it probably made a profit for its investors who were also its investors.

Trevor is with the LAPD and she's sent in looking for dope smuggler Raymond Burr while MacMurray is with the Feds and he's worked his way into the gang of rival smuggler Roy Roberts. Circumstance throws these two together as MacMurray takes Trevor for what she is, a wisecracking moll whom he starts to fall for. Nevertheless his duty is clear.

Borderline is not quite an easy fit between film noir and comedy which both stars have done their share of. Nevertheless MacMurray and Trevor work well together. Borderline is the kind of film Fred might have done with Carole Lombard had she lived.

Fans of this most underrated actor will like this film, Fred carried worse in his career.

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.

A noir thriller with comedic elements, dealing with two undercover agents unwittingly stalk the same target, but neither is aware of the other's identity. Customs agents are looking for information about Pete Ritchie (Raymond Burr), who is involved in smuggling drugs between Mexico and the US. Police officer Madeleine Haley (Claire Trevor) goes undercover in order to gain Ritchie's confidence, but there's also another undercover agent(Fred MacMurray), and before long she meets him through one of his associates. With their real identities hidden, they fall for each other and make a run for the border. As she is talking with Ritchie, Johnny Macklin and one of his men burst in, and they provoke a strong confrontation. From now on, Haley and Macklin are in constant danger as she attempts to figure out everything that is happening in the smuggling operation.

Thriller movie with hilarious incidents, suspense, action, car chases, and adequate interpretations. Although the leads work well together, they play two undercover agents infiltrate a drug-smuggling ring in Mexico, but neither is aware of the other's identity. Fred MacMurray and Claire Trevor are well accompanied by a fine support cast, such as: Raymond Burr, Morris Ankrum, Roy Roberts, José Torvay, Don Diamond, among others. They are hindered by an ocassionally confusing and uneven script that moves in fits and stars, blending comedy, drama and Film Noir with some thrilling pursuits. Unfortunately , director William A. Seiter never decides whether the material is of a comedic or dramatic nature.

Produced by the same main actors and director himsef who deferred their salaries to finance the movie. In fact, Borderline (1950) is the first production of Borderline Pictures, Inc, formed by producer Milton H. Bren, director-producer William A. Seiter, Claire Trevor and actor Fred MacMurray. The motion picture was professional, though regularly directed by William A Seiter. Seiter was a typical Hollywood craftsman who entered films in 1915 as a stuntman in westerns and was one of the founding members of the Directors Guild and directed films of all kinds of genres as drama, thriller , musical, Western and romantic comedy. But he is especially remembered for his handling of comedy. In his long career, he made films with Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey, The Ritz Brothers, Shirley Temple, W. C. Fields, The Marx Brothers, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy and Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. Among his most important films are the following: Belle of the Yukon, The cheerful fraud, This Is My Affair, Make Haste to Live, Champ for a day, Little Giant, Susannah of the Mounties, It is a date, Nice girl?, You were never lovelier and two films starred by John Wayne: Allegheny Uprising and A lady takes a chance. Rating: 5.5/10. Passable and decent picture for Fren MacMurray and Claire Trevor fans.