Colibel Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Cristal The movie really just wants to entertain people.

wes-connors In Los Angeles, poor Mexican-American mechanic Paul Muni (as Johnny Ramirez) studies hard to become a lawyer. After losing his first case, an ill-tempered Mr. Muni punches out the opposing attorney. Disbarred, and carrying a chip on his shoulder, Muni goes to work as strong-arm manager for gravelly-voiced Eugene Palette (as Charlie Roark) in a Mexican "Bordertown". Business booms and Muni is made a partner. However, Muni must fend off bosomy blonde bombshell Bette Davis (as Marie), Mr. Palette' s trophy wife. Muni prefers pretty socialite Margaret Lindsay (as Dale Elwell)...Eventually, Muni finds himself on the wrong side of the law...The main problem with "Bordertown" is that the message is to stay in your own "place," and with your own "class" of people. You will see the characters who venture outside their own "kind" are punished. Also, Muni and Ms. Davis were both capable of scratching the edges of their acting range, which sometimes resulted in great performances - but sometimes not. Early in the running, Muni's hot-tempered Spanish youth is too much of a stretch. He gets better as Davis slowly begins to chew the scenery. Both would end the year with better roles, and "Academy Award" winning performances.***** Bordertown (1/23/35) Archie Mayo ~ Paul Muni, Bette Davis, Margaret Lindsay, Eugene Palette

sol1218 (There are Spoilers) Having studied for five years to get his law degree self-confident in his ability in to practice law Johnny Ramirez, Paul Muni, gets the shock of his short professional career as a small time lawyer when he ends up belting defense lawyer Brook Manville, Gavin Gordon, on his first case. Manville's client he filthy rich and beautifully bread Dale Elwell, Margaret Lindsey, was charged with drunk driving in her demolishing Johnny's friend's Manuel Deago, Arthur Stone, pick-up truck. Made to look like a fool by Manville, with his staling and double-talk tactics, Johnny realized, after clobbering the snide and condescending Manville, that law wasn't his cup of tea and checked out of town,L.A, looking for a new profession. It didn't take long for Johnny to find employment at the Silver Slipper Casino on the Mexican/US border as a bouncer and later manager of the gambling establishment.Feeling that he's worth a lot more then what his boss Charlie Roak, Eugene Palette, is paying him Johnny ends up owning 25% of the gambling joint with Charlie more then willing to give it to him. As things turn out Charlie's scheming wife Marie, Bette Davis, sees in Johnny a meal ticket and tries to make a play for him. Not falling for Marie's poor little girl, who's needs a lot of lovin', act Johnny is very keen to Marie and refuses to betray his partner Charlie in having an illicit affair with her. It may also be that Johnny wasn't all that attracted to Marie in how cheaply she handled herself as well as how unstable she was.One evening at the Silver Slipper when Charlie is dead drunk Marie drives him homes and in a flash see the golden opportunity that she's been looking for. Locking the drunk and unconscious Charlie in the garage Marie leaves the motor running which results in,from carbon monoxide poisoning, Charlie's untimely death but in reality cold blooded murder on Marie's part! With Johnny now in complete charge the Silver Slipper really takes off and eventually expands into the new and high class La Rueda nightclub. On opening night at the La Rueda Dale just happens to show up and Johnny being secretly in love with her starts to make a play for Dale. This all doesn't go too well with the jealous and spiteful Marie who, in a fit of total madness, tries to pin her husband Charlie's death on Johnny not as an accident, as the local court declared, but murder! A murder that Marie, not Johnny, committed!***SPOILERS*** Johnny was in for the fight of him life in defending himself against Marie's charges but in the end it was her not Johnny who cracked under the pressure. Completely failing apart on the witness stand Marie ended up looking like she was hit by four ten ton trucks, from different directions, as she was trying to cross a busy intersection! Now a free man and wanting to marry his one and only love Dale Johnny gets the surprise of his life. Not only isn't the blue-blooded Dale Elwell interested in the non Waspy Mexican/American johnny Ramariz she also feels that he's in no way good enough for her and the crowd that she hangs with! Finally seeing the light, this after another major shock hits him, Johnny goes back home to L.A to practice law for his own people, Mexican/Americans, who both appreciates both him and the services that he, sometimes free of charge, provides for them.

edwagreen Two films that Bette Davis and Paul Muni did together evolved around Spanish heritage-this one and 1939's "Juarez."When I saw this film, I began to think of "They Drive By Night," which came several years later and had Ida Lupino and Humphrey Bogard in similar roles where a spurned Lupino, who had killed her husband in the same way that Davis did in the Eugene Palette character, goes berserk when Bogart ignores her.Lupino's outburst in the court that the doors made her do it was much more effective than Davis's insanity scene.Nonetheless, we have an excellent film here with the element of class identity and racism added to the mix.Muni as Johnny Ramirez is perfect. He desires the American dream, but even a law degree can't save him from a poor performance in court, a terrible temper which will lead to his expulsion from practicing the law. Ramirez finds success another way, by opening a nightclub after he formed a partnership with Palette and met Palette's bored, lust filled Davis.In a supporting performance, Margaret Lindsay is effective as the high class society spoiled woman who turned the tables on attorney Ramirez in court, only to meet him some time later, when he is a success, but only to reject him again.Remember Rita Moreno's statement in "West Side Story?" Stick to your own kind, stay with your own kind. Ramirez repeats this at the end of the film. 1935 or 1961, this was the prevailing time of racism.

Michael Morrison Paul Muni was an East European Jew, so naturally he was cast as a Hispanic Californian.Well, heck, to name just one, Leo Carrillo, a native Hispanic Californian, was cast as everything from Greek to French to Italian to Latino, and so many other "ethnic" actors played various nationalities besides their own heritages.Muni apparently wore dark makeup for this role, but it wasn't a stereotype; it was, in fact, a very sympathetic character.Bette Davis never looked lovelier. For years, I have tried to spread my conspiracy theory that she was not made up, but made down, that she was, in fact, a very lovely lady and the Westmore family apparently had it in for her and put the make-up on in such a way that her looks were coarsened, and she was aged long before her time.She was such a great actress that her looks didn't matter, but she was very attractive and I find it a shame she wasn't allowed to show her natural beauty.The female, though, who stole this movie, both in looks and in animated characterization, was Margaret Lindsay. She was absolutely fascinating in this role as spoiled rich girl, an almost good guy. In fact, she made this movie worth seeing.The presence of a genuine Hispanic, Soledad Jiménez, gives one pause to wonder why more genuine Hispanics weren't cast in movies like this. She was just great.The ending was rather puzzling, perhaps a sop to somebody's nativism, but the story was a good one, the acting was generally great, and all of that, with Archie Mayo's directing, make this one worthwhile.