Borderline
Tags: murder

Plot synopsis:
The film follows a United States Border Patrol Agent in Charge, Jeb Maynard (Bronson), who is forced to track down the killers of a young Mexican boy and his colleague and friend, a veteran Senior Patrol Agent, "Scooter" Jackson, portrayed by (Wilford Brimley). Jeb Maynard is the Patrol Agent in Charge of the "fictional" Otay Border Patrol Station, located in the hills east of San Diego, CA. Otay Station is a composite of the actual El Cajon, CA and Brown Field, CA Border Patrol Stations. He is helped by the young boy's mother, Elena Morales, (Karmin Murcelo) and a rookie Border Patrol Agent, Jimmy Fantes, (Kirby).Senior Patrol Agent Jackson and the young boy are murdered by Hotchkiss, a ruthless alien smuggler, also called "the Marine" by the aliens, portrayed by (Ed Harris). The murders take place when a truckload of illegal aliens being smuggled by Hotchkiss is stopped by Senior Patrol Agent Jackson while on routine road patrol. The truck has boxes of tomatoes on top of a hidden roof on the back of the truck. Under the roof is a hidden compartment containing the load of illegal aliens. Hotchkiss shoots "Scooter" from a concealed position in the back of the truck with a sawed-off shotgun at close range. The Mexican boy is badly wounded by stray buck shot so Hotchkiss finishes him off with another blast from his shotgun. Hotchkiss drags the bodies into the bushes along the side of the road and conceals the Border Patrol sedan in the same bushes. The other alien smuggler driving the truck with Hotchkiss becomes very nervous about the murders so Hotchkiss later kills him to keep him silent after they drop off the load of illegal aliens at a local fruit ranch, owned by well to do fruit farmer Carl Richards, and used as a front to smuggle aliens. Hotchkiss later abandons the truck used to smuggle the aliens along a rural road. Hotchkiss leaves the body of the other alien smuggler who was driving the truck the night of the murders, along with the truck, and conceals some small bags of marijuana in the truck to make it appear to be a drug smuggler's vehicle. Other Border Patrol Agents find the bodies of Agent "Scooter" Jackson and the boy, and the Border Patrol car later in the morning. Agent Fantes finds some fresh tomatoes near the bodies. Agent Maynard notices some boot prints in the dirt among all the other foot prints at the crime scene. These particular prints were made by a pair of military style boots with some odd markings in the soles. One of a veteran Border Patrol Agent's professional skills is "sign-cutting." "Sign-cutting" is the skill to examine, analyze, and interpret tracks and marks made in the ground. Patrol Agents use this skill to track groups of illegal aliens crossing the border. Maynard has Fantes take the tomatoes to the Agriculture department of a nearby university for analysis. The F.B.I. is called to investigate. The F.B.I. has primary juridiction investigating the murder of any federal agents. A couple of days later the abandoned truck is found with the drugs. The F.B.I. agents investigating the murders wrongly conclude that Agent "Scooter" Jackson stopped some drug smugglers that night and was shot because of it. Hotchkiss is running a sophisticated and highly profitable alien smuggling operation between Mexico and the United States. Maynard and Fantes start checking the trails in the hills that the smugglers use to bring in illegal aliens and drugs. They find the same military boot prints along a trail where a Border Patrol electronic ground sensor has been dug up and disabled. Hotchkiss is a former U.S. Marine who had been trained on such equipment while in the Marine Corps. He discovered the sensor and disabled it on a prior smuggling run.Jeb Maynard thinks that "Scooter" Jackson was murdered by alien smugglers and tries to convince the F.B.I. that the marijuana in the truck was merely a ruse. The F.B.I. does not believe him. After "Scooter" Jackson's funeral with full honors, Jeb tells his boss, I&NS Commissioner Malcolm Wallace, about his suspicions. Commissioner Wallace cautions Jeb to proceed carefully in the matter. So Jeb begins his own investigation of the murders with the assistance of Patrol Agent Jimmy Fantes. Maynard had found a piece of paper with a San Diego address on it in the murdered Mexican boy's clothes. Maynard goes to the address and finds the boy's mother, Elena Morales, working at a well to do family's home as their nanny. Maynard takes Elena to the morgue so she can identify her son's remains. Maynard then asks for her help in finding her son's killers. Elena is brave and she agrees. Maynard goes undercover posing as the woman's cousin. They cross into Mexico and she introduces him to an alien smuggler in Tijuana, Mexico who brought her over the border when she last crossed. This smuggler is Hotchkiss's partner in Mexico. Maynard's physical features are such that he can pass for Mexican. Elena tells the smuggler that her cousin is simple minded and doesn't talk much. Jeb Maynard cannot speak Spanish well enough to pass as a native Mexican. Elena pays the smuggler with money Jeb gave her.They are smuggled across the U.S.-Mexican border and through the hills east of San Diego into the United States along with a group of thirty illegal aliens. Maynard hears the smuggler guiding the group talking about "the Marine" who runs things" to Elena. But then the group is ambushed by bandits who want to rob the group. Jeb and Elena escape unharmed. Jeb and Elena walk back towards the suburbs of San Diego. Jeb gets Elena home and thanks her for her help. He tell Elena that she should stop by his office the following week and he will try to help her straighten out her immigration status in the United States.Maynard gets home, cleans up, and tries to get some sleep. Jimmy Fantes stops by Maynard's home to report to him that the agriculture report came back on the tomatoes found at the crime scene. These particular tomatoes were treated with a particular new brand of pesticide. Fantes checked with the local office of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and only a few large farms in the local area use that brand of pesticide. Maynard and Fantes meet later at the Border Patrol station to plan their next move. They put on their Border Patrol uniforms and drive in Jeb's Border Patrol S.U.V. to check the local fruit farms that use that pesticide. They finally end up at Carl Richards's large fruit ranch. Jeb knows of Richards's reputation for hiring illegal aliens for poor wages to harvest his fruit. Hotchkiss is in the main ranch house when Maynard and Fantes arrive. Hotchkiss stays inside the house and Richards goes outside to speak to the Border Patrol Agents. While talking to Richards, Jeb Maynard notices the same style military boot prints in the dirt near the main house that he detected at the crime scene.Jeb Maynard and Jim Fantes set up a surveillance of the Richards Ranch with the assistance of Border Patrol Agents Lambert and Monroe. While using binoculars they see Hotchkiss wearing his combat boots and camouflage marine field jacket departing the house with other smugglers, including the Mexican smuggler who was guiding the group that Jeb and Elena had infiltrated. Maynard has found "the Marine". Hotchkiss is planning a large alien smuggling run soon that will bring hundreds of illegal aliens into the U.S. in one evening. Then he plans on shutting down operations for a while until things cool off.From what he witnesses on the surveillance of the ranch over the following days Jeb Maynard deduces Hotchkiss's plans. Maynard get all his agents together at the station and plans an operation for the following evening. The Border Patrol is going to raid the Richards Ranch. Jeb Maynard and his Border Patrol Agents raid the ranch in the late evening/early morning capturing all the illegal aliens and the smugglers bringing them into the ranch's main barn. At dawn Hotchkiss arrives at the ranch with the last load of illegal aliens. As the Patrol Agents attempt to arrest him Hotchkiss pulls out a model MAC-10 nine millimeter machine pistol and fires a burst at the agents. The agents take cover and Hotchkiss jumps in a car and speeds away. Jeb Maynard pursues him in a Border Patrol four wheel drive truck. Hotchkiss attempts to lose Maynard on an old dirt road. The road dead ends and Hotchkiss runs on foot into the surrounding trees and bushes. Maynard draws his Smith and Wesson Model 28 .357 Magnum revolver from its holster and starts tracking Hotchkiss through the forest. Hotchkiss cirlces around back to the vehicles thinking he has given Maynard the slip. Just as Hotchkiss is about to get back in his car Maynard emerges from the treeline with his revolver pointed at Hotchkiss and says, "the end of the road." Hotchkiss wheels about and starts firing his MAC-10 machine pistol at Maynard. Maynard is a better shot and kills Hotchkiss with a single shot from his .357 Magnum.The film ends with Maynard and Fantes watching Richards leaving the United States Court House in San Diego, CA after he has been sentenced to three years in federal prison for alien smuggling. Fantes laments that Richards will probably go right back to smuggling aliens within a month of his release from prison. Jeb Maynard responds by saying, It's okay kid, we'll be there waiting for him.

Review: Charles Bronson has a long-listed filmography that has undeserved sleepers mixed among the favourites, but also there are quite a few standard vehicle efforts.
Entertaining for the odd 97 minutes, but nothing really there to make it overly memorable.
Maybe to see a steely Ed Harris make his first real dent in the major film industry, but other than that there's very little to it.The subject at hand (illegal immigration of Mexicans crossing over the US border) is very topical and naturally integrated, as Charles Bronson plays the chief border patrol officer.
The human drama is too black and white (lacking an emotional punch), but also suffering was that it never gained any real sort of assured brunt when it came to the action.
But this being the case it doesn't stop it from being effective, just it leaves a no real agreeable imprint.During the nights Chief Border Patrol Officer Jeb and his overworked men take in many illegal aliens trying to cross over the border.
After the killing of a border patrol officer and a young Mexican boy too.
The FBI is brought on to the case and believes it to have something to do with drug running.
However Jeb along with the deceased boy's mother go about trying to figure out what really happened and he has his true suspicions.What I liked was how director Jerrod Freedman gives the film quite an organic look, as the camera follows the action in a documentary-style.
Gil Mellé's rousing score is on the mark.The cast do the best with what the script allows.
Bronson alone gets through it with such genuine conviction.
Harris' on-screen charisma evidently features with a well-comprised performance and Karmin Murcelo gives a wonderfully warm turn of heart-broke.
There's an well-fitted supporting cast with Bruno Kerby, Michael Lerner, Wilford Brimley, Kenneth McMillan and Charles Cyphers.Workable, if indistinguishable..
I remember when I was in grade 8, people where starting to buy VCRs, and owning one was a big deal.
Borderline was one of them, I thought it was pretty cool.
Watching this film 19 years later I found it predicable, and a little lame.
simple flick but so many popular seventies actors involved.
This is just a flick with a simple story but it's still watchable towards todays standards.
It's all about the borderline between America and Mexico and the business that is going on to 'help' Mexicans cross the line.
For a flick of 1980 it is very low on brutality.
It was a time that had a lot of blood, nudity and gore in it's flicks but this here just hasn't any of that.
The main lead is done by Charles Bronson, you love or hate him but I love him even as he isn't an actor with great abilities he still delivers.
It was made at a time that Bronson was more in rough flicks or revenge flicks starting with the Death Wish franchise (1974).
But there's also Ed Harris (Hotchkiss) here to see in one of his first major roles.
He got his first taste of critical acclaim, playing astronaut John Glenn in The Right Stuff (1983).
Also Bruno Kirby (Jimmy Fante ) made it in blockbusters like Good Morning Vietnam (1987).
There are more popular faces to see in smaller roles like Charles Cypher.We have seen this story a few times in other flicks but as I said earlier, it still works and is in fact still actual.Gore 0/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 0/5 Story 3/5 Comedy 0/5.
A Bit Too Low Key But a Good Bronson Film.
Borderline (1980)*** (out of 4)Jeb Maynard (Charles Bronson) works the U.S.-Mexico border and is dealing with a large number of illegal immigrants sneaking into the country.
One day his partner is brutally murdered in the line of duty so Jeb sets out to find who's behind it.
The Federal boys thinks it's related to drugs but Jef feels there's another motive.BORDERLINE is a film that never gets discussed.
You could gather up a thousand Bronson fans and question them on any movie in his long career and I'd say very few would have even seen this one.
It's really too bad because while the movie isn't a complete success it's at least entertaining enough that fans of the actor should give it a chance and especially since it offers him up a different type of role.I'm going to guess this film isn't all that popular because there's really not much of a violent streak to it.
There's one brutal murder shown but it's not overly graphic since it's basically just a shotgun blast.
I think the 'revenge' aspect people love with Bronson means they want to see him go out and blow away people and that doesn't happen here.
Instead what we're treated to is a low-key movie about a simple man trying to solve a murder.
There aren't any shoot outs or a high body count.I think the film moves a bit too slow for its own good and there's no question that a higher speed would have helped things.
Outside of that I think the film is mostly a success.
Bronson turns in yet another quiet but good performance and you can't help but think he liked being able to play a more serious part here.
The supporting cast includes a nice turn by Bruno Kirby as well as Wilford Brimley in a small bit.
Ed Harris really stands out here as the cold-blooded killer.
He doesn't say much but you can feel the coldness of his character just by looking at Harris' eyes.It's doubtful this film will ever have a great number of fans and that's understandable but at the same time more Bronson fans should give it a shot..
A decent Bronson vehicle..
"Borderline", admittedly, is fairly undistinguished in terms of presentation.
It's passable as an action flick, and entertains reasonably well for 100 minutes.
It purports to shed light on the problem of illegal immigration, which in this day and age is more of a hot button issue than ever before.
Characters are mostly thinly drawn, but writer Steve Kline and writer / director Jerrold Freedman aren't completely insensitive to the plight of the good, honest, hard workers like Elena Morales (Karmin Murcelo) who feel they have no choice.The movie does benefit from giving its star, Charles Bronson (playing Jeb Maynard), a worthy adversary: a particularly ruthless and cold blooded smuggler named Hotchkiss (Ed Harris, in the role that "introduced" him), who sealed his fate when he killed Scooter Jackson (Wilford Brimley), one of Jebs' co-workers.
Jeb and Scooter are among those on Border Patrol detail, and when Scooter gets murdered, Jeb takes it upon himself to solve the case.
He doesn't trust the ignorant agents of the FBI, who think the whole case is about drugs.
Jeb must also break in a new employee, Jimmy Fante (Bruno Kirby), an eager beaver rookie sent from NY.What gives "Borderline" some stature today is its truly superior supporting cast.
Bronson does what he usually does (which, of course, he is very cool at doing), but it's Harris and others that truly bring this to life.
You can't go too wrong reading through this cast list: Bert Remsen, Michael Lerner, Kenneth McMillan, Norman Alden, John Ashton, Charles Cyphers, Virgil Frye, Luis Contreras, et al.
Although the environment is very much male-dominated, Ms. Murcelo is appealing and touching as the illegal alien who reluctantly provides Jeb with the assistance that he needs.This is worth noting for a striking music score by Gil Melle and cinematography by the consistently dependable Tak Fujimoto.
Murder on the Border.
Don't expect to see Chuck murder men by request, shoot punks or grow watermelons.
This time Bronson is Jeb Maynard, a tough and experienced chief border patrol officer investigating the cold-blooded murder of one of his men who is just two weeks away from retirement.With the aid of a newly transferred young officer from New York, Maynard tracks down the ruthless killer who is seemingly as elusive as the masterminds behind the crime.BORDERLINE, a lesser known and often forgotten Bronson's film (at least to me), plays like a pilot episode of a TV series.
Not much tension is delivered and not much action either, but this crime drama keeps viewers, especially fans, interested.
Unfortunately, the distinctively catchy music during the opening credits is underplayed, which renders some key scenes emotionally bland.Compared with other Bronson's films - Cold Sweat, White Buffalo, Love and Bullets - which are rather disappointing, BORDERLINE quite delivers the goods.
It's always a pleasure for Bronson's fans to see him take up a different role: here we see more of his acting and charisma while less of his machismo (Not saying that this side of Bronson's acting style is unwelcome) During his long acting career, Charles Bronson only had several memorable films which made him an iconic action star.
BORDERLINE is certainly not one of them.
For his fans, this minor entry is worth watching regardless..
This was the third turkey in a row for Charles Bronson, after "The White Buffalo" and "Love and Bullets".
There is little plot, no action, no emotion, no humor and generally nothing to engage your interest in any way; even the supporting characters are colorless.
One of the few feature films to have illegal aliens Borderline has Charles Bronson in charge of a border patrol station in Arizona.
It's a thankless task he has because as is made clear a lot of these illegals are just pursuing the American dream.
They read about the Statue Of Liberty and if they get to New York they see the lovely Ms. Liberty in our harbor with those words about "bring me your tired, your poor.....etc." But what Borderline says is that illegal smuggling is a more organized racket than we think and Bronson has no doubt that it was those smuggling illegals who murdered his partner Wilford Brimley and a young Mexican kid Panchito Gomez.
The FBI says it was drugs, Bronson says it was human smugglers.
Therein lies the story.Although he did some television and a few bits in some feature films, Borderline gives an 'introducing' credit to Ed Harris who plays a former Marine and killer of Brimley.
He's not at the top of the villainy food chain here, but his skills make him a dangerous foe for Bronson.
He's a coldblooded piece of work.Also note Bruno Kirby as a new trainee from New York as if that speech pattern would have him from anywhere else.One thing I didn't like was the business where Bronson goes undercover with a group of illegals using Karmin Murcelo the mother of the deceased boy as a guide because she is Spanish speaking of course.
In real life he would have taken her information and I'm sure the Border Patrol has any number of Spanish speaking female agents for such work.
Just ridiculous.It's a complex topic, but Borderline dealing with smuggling illegal aliens will find favor with Charles Bronson fans..
I can't understand why Bronson would choose to appear in such a low-key and predictable movie (unless it was for the money).
There's almost no action, there's almost no investigating of the mystery, and you can tell what's going to happen next in almost every part of the movie.
Even if you are a Bronson fan, you shouldn't bother with this entry in Bronson's filmography..
Passable actioner with fairly serious themes..
Borderline is a reasonably serious and sincere Charles Bronson movie, made at a time when the stone-faced actor was most commonly found in sleazy and violent potboilers (e.g Death Wish II, Ten To Midnight, The Evil That Men Do, etc.) There is little about Borderline that is violent or sleazy; in fact, it is probably the tamest film he made at that period of his career.
It takes its basis from the very real problem of illegal Mexican immigrants crossing the American border in search of a better life.
When the film was made, the number of aliens crossing into the US without authority was incredibly high and was a real issue of concern for the Border Patrol officers, so in some ways this is quite a topical movie.
However, it is made in a basic, workmanlike fashion by director Jerrold Freedman, and has neither the explosive action to satisfy the gung-ho crowd, nor the thematic weight and power to satisfy those looking for something more morally complex.Jeb Maynard (Charles Bronson) is the chief at a Border Patrol station some 20 miles east of San Diego.
Every day (and night) his small, overworked staff patrol an area of thousands of square miles looking for Mexican nationals who have illegally crossed the border in their sector.
One of Jeb's closest buddies is Scoot (A.
Wilford Brimley), an old, long-serving Border Patrolman.
On a dark evening, Scoot is unfortunate enough to pull over a truck full of illegal aliens being smuggled into the US by ex-Vietnam vet Hotchkiss (Ed Harris).
Hotchkiss works as part of a major smuggling operation which is making millions of dollars a year by helping paying immigrants across the border.
Scoot is shot dead by Hotchkiss, who also fatally wounds one of his aliens - a young boy - at the same time.
The FBI believe that Scoot and the kid were killed by drug smugglers, but Jeb is less convinced.
Aided by Elena, the dead boy's mother (Karmin Murcelo), he attempts to get to the bottom of his best friend's brutal murder.It's quite interesting to see Harris in his movie debut playing second fiddle to Bronson.
Harris went on to become a greatly-respected star, and even here in this simple and under-written role you can see his charisma trying to break through....
which contrasts markedly with Bronson's inexpressive, silent-man-of-action approach.
The story has the potential to be very powerful, but most opportunities are missed and the film plays out in a very ordinary and unremarkable manner.
Everything comes across as earnest and simplistic, and this approach seems rather too pat for a movie with such a topical theme.
Borderline is nothing special, but neither is it particularly terrible.
There are a thousand better and a thousand worse movies out there..
Great Bronson, again....
OK now what the hell is wrong with this great film, I've seen hell of a lot worse nowadays that make money too.
Bronson shines again with what he has to work off, i never really under-stud people slagging him off, rubbish actor....
No way, Charlie always proved he could act and he did action movies for big money, so why not, stick to what works.
We all remember Charlie and miss him now we have actors that ain't worth watching.
Its a little movie that deserves a nice DVD release, so why no one bother, cause they'd prefer to release rubbish instead.BRONSON 10/10.
Worthy and underrated Bronson vehicle.
Weary, but tough and dedicated border patrolman Jeb Maynard (a fine and credible performance by Charles Bronson) investigates the murder of his crusty partner Scooter Jackson (a pleasingly grumpy cameo by Wilford Brimley) at the hands of the ruthless Hotchkiss (Ed Harris, who's chilling and excellent in his first substantial film role), who makes his living smuggling illegal Mexican immigrants into America.Director Jerrold Freedman, who also co-wrote the taut and involving script with Steve Kline, grounds the topical premise in a plausible workaday reality, keeps the absorbing story moving along at a steady pace, makes nice use of dusty'n'desolate rural locations, maintains a gritty serious tone throughout, and handles the central issue of illegal immigration with taste and sensitivity (those exacting a typically trashy 80's Bronson schlockfest will be greatly disappointed, as this is probably one of Charlie's more earnest and less sensational pictures made in the 1980's).
Karmin Murcelo contributes a touching turn as helpful and distraught illegal Elena Morales while Bruno Kirby makes a likable impression as Jeb's eager new rookie partner Jimmy Fante.
Moreover, the sterling cast of reliable character actors gives this picture an extra lift: Bert Remsen as crooked rancher Carl J.
Richards, Michael Lerner as corrupt businessman Henry Lydell, Kenneth McMillan as sympathetic fed Malcolm Wallace, Norman Alden as the jolly Willie Lambert, Charles Cyphers and John Ashton as fellow border cops, and Luis Contreras as an odious bandit.
Tak Fujimoto's sharp cinematography provides an impressive polished look.
Some Stuff That Happened.
I love Charles Bronson, and I really wanted to love "Borderline," but it's about as exciting as a trip to the grocery store.It's the story of a criminal syndicate that smuggles Mexicans into the US like they were cattle, abusing and under-paying them as illegal laborers.
It seems that some shady companies will pay big bucks for employees they can treat like slaves, and as a Border Patrol Officer it's Bronson's job to stop the flow of immigrants at the source.Except no one seems to care.
None of the characters have any personality, there are no surprises and not really any action, either.
The actors move from scene to scene because the script tells them to...
The movie is filmed without any sense of the fantastic...
the Director seems to believe that it's all really happening, but the problem is he doesn't find any of it exciting in the least.Charles Bronson is almost invisible as the lead...
he's looks like he could barely keep from falling asleep.
Wilford Brimley, Bruno Kirby, and Ed Harris show up in supporting roles, but they too are in mellow comas, low-energy and reciting their lines quietly...
The cinematography is awful, and call me old-fashioned by I much prefer a beautiful girl to look at in a film than dozens and dozens of mustachioed Mexicans.
There are no women in the film.It's a good thing I wrote this review immediately after seeing the movie, because I can already feel it slipping from my memory like a daydream on a summer afternoon.
There's nothing to see here, even for Bronson die-hards.
This isn't a movie...
it's just some stuff that happened.GRADE: C-