Borderline (1950)
Directed by William A. Seiter

Film Review

For a film that revolves heavily around a case (well, two cases) of mistaken identity, it is perhaps fitting that Borderline should itself suffer from a crisis of identity.  Unsure whether it is a comedy or straight thriller, the film flitters haphazardly between the two genres and, in doing so, ditches almost all of its credibility within the first ten minutes.  Fred MacMurray and Claire Trevor, both now known for playing tough film noir roles, form an unlikely pair in what is presumably intended to be a romantic comedy and neither looks entirely comfortable with the hotchpotch genre switching.  Borderline might conceivably have worked had it stuck to the more familiar noir thriller format; far from being amusing, the inept comic interludes merely stress the shortcomings of an unimaginative and totally predictable plot.

Film Synopsis

Madeleine Haley, an officer in the Los Angeles Police Department, volunteers to go undercover in Mexico to expose a drugs smuggling operation orchestrated by Pete Ritchie.  No sooner has Madeleine made contact with Ritchie's gang than she is abducted by Johnny Macklin, a hoodlum in the employ of a rival mobster.  Having stolen a large consignment of illegal narcotics from Ritchie, Johnny makes his way back to the United States, with Madeleine his unwilling accomplice...