Bordertown

There are elements of Bordertown that would end up being recycled for the better-known George Raft/Humphrey Bogart film They Drive By Night. That film, however, is a more straightforward telling of murder and obsession whereas Bordertown tries to insert commentary about racism, classism, and what it means to try and escape your heritage and rise above your humble background. This message, though, is muddled and not a very positive one because it can be seen as justification for being embarrassed of your roots and your people, especially early on in this story. The finale would also suggest that it is better to know your place and not try to rise out of it. This is a depressing message to be championing and one not entirely worth the journey to get to. 

Mexican American Johnny Ramirez (Paul Muni), in an attempt to make more of his life, attends Pacific Night Law School to become a lawyer. But he loses his first case because he is unprepared and callow. The more polished and educated opposing attorney harasses him after the trial and Johnny loses his temper, striking the man. This leads to Johnny getting disbarred. From here, he journeys to a small town south of the border where he finds work as a bouncer in a run-down casino owned by Charlie Roark (Eugene Pallette). With Johnny’s help, he transforms the casino into a first-class nightclub called The Silver Slipper that attracts a more upper-class clientele. For his efforts, Johnny is rewarded with a partnership in the business. But in the background is Charlie’s unhappy wife, Marie (Bette Davis), who has fallen for Johnny and wants out of her marriage. But Johnny isn’t in love with her and spurns her advances, driving Marie to take more drastic measures to get him. 

This is a very early film in Bette Davis’ career, before she had fully developed her brand. She is not bad in it, but there is still a ways for her to go before she would become the name people were going to the theater specifically to see. She is going for a more subtle performance than we are used to seeing from her, right up until her final breakdown when she suddenly goes big. In some ways this is a better performance than what Ida Lupino gave us in They Drive by Night, but it is also not as compelling. In both cases, the court scene where the character has her breakdown, is the weakest moment, showcasing actresses overselling the moment. 

But the most frustrating part of this picture is the message that we should stick with our “people”, as if all this trouble came simply because Johnny tried to better his situation and leave all that behind. This is an outdated message that needs to be put firmly in the past. When Johnny initially returns home to his family, he tries to propose to a woman; she rejects him on the grounds of ethnic and economic incompatibility. She is then immediately killed, struck by a car while trying to get away from him like some divine judgment. 

Paul Muni is a chameleon. He absolutely disappears into his roles. But just because he is good at doing it doesn’t mean we can ignore the obvious. He is not Hispanic. It’s an unfortunate reality of films from this era where a white performer was cast in an ethnic part. He would also go on to play Asian in The Good Earth, utilizing a lot of makeup to transform himself. It’s important to keep in mind that these were different times when watching a film such as this. For his part, he treats the character and race with respect and dignity, though there are times when the accent is very inconsistent. 

Overall, this is a film that is muddled. The plot starts out one way, then takes a dramatic shift in the second act, leaving behind most of the setup in favor of an entirely different setup. For most of this picture those two halves don’t seem related much. Only in the final act does it come back together in some way. It needed to be trimmed by about ten minutes, especially in the second act when it spends too much time treading water. 1935 - 90 minutes