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Borderline

Play trailer Poster for Borderline Released Mar 1, 1950 1h 28m Crime Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 1 Reviews 11% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
The Los Angeles police know that Pete Ritchie (Raymond Burr) has been bringing drugs into the city, but they can't pin a single piece of evidence on him. After many botched attempts to get at the crook, they resort to having cop Madeleine (Claire Trevor) go undercover and seduce her way into Ritchie's circle. Before she can get anywhere, she's abducted by Johnny (Fred MacMurray), a government agent posing as a thug. But Johnny and Madeleine have no idea they're on the same side of the law.
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Borderline

Critics Reviews

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Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews The seriocomic crime drama had too few thrills to be thrilling. Rated: C+ Aug 9, 2013 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Steve D Entertaining because of the great cast. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 09/19/24 Full Review paul d Despite three great actors - Fred MacMurray, Claire Trevor and Raymond Burr - a clever premise, and nice locations in Mexico, Borderline was a weak film. The biggest problem is that it doesn't know if it wants to be a suspense thriller (most of the film), a comedy (odd scenes seemingly thrown in) or a romance (came on strong at the end, as was expected). I blame the director and screenwriter for this mess. It could have been a much better movie. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member The cast (Fred MacMurray, Claire Trevor, and Raymond Burr) and thumbnail story description of two undercover agents infiltrating a drug ring in Mexico had me excited about this film noir, but it ended up being a rather bland nourish adventure film. It's along the lines of "Out of the Past" or "The Big Steal" but nowhere as good. MacMurray and Trevor are both trying to bust Burr's drug smuggling ring, but neither knows that the other is an undercover agent. The cast makes the film watchable, but the story had more possibilities than what ended up on screen. A decent cast and set-up are squandered. Disappointing, but watchable. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review Audience Member As old movies go, this one is worth seeing once. As a window into how the narcotics trade was viewed in the years after WWII, this is invaluable. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Audience Member "Borderline" is a 1950 film that's just that - borderline good, borderline noir, borderline funny, borderline - well, just borderline. Though it stars Fred MacMurray, Claire Trevor and Raymond Burr, you'll come away with the impression (possibly true) that once the big stars came home from the war, MacMurray's services were no longer needed and that Trevor, like so many wonderful Hollywood actresses, had passed 30 and was now diving for roles--An amusing romantic chase movie, with drugs, death and Raymond Burr thrown in... Guns, Cars, a Dame and a Plane!! Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Audience Member A detective story with wasted potential as its interesting, but ordinary. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Borderline

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis The Los Angeles police know that Pete Ritchie (Raymond Burr) has been bringing drugs into the city, but they can't pin a single piece of evidence on him. After many botched attempts to get at the crook, they resort to having cop Madeleine (Claire Trevor) go undercover and seduce her way into Ritchie's circle. Before she can get anywhere, she's abducted by Johnny (Fred MacMurray), a government agent posing as a thug. But Johnny and Madeleine have no idea they're on the same side of the law.
Director
William A. Seiter
Producer
Milton Bren, William A. Seiter
Screenwriter
Devery Freeman
Production Co
Borderline Films
Genre
Crime, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 1, 1950, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 28, 2011
Runtime
1h 28m
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