Strikingly similar to T-Men, this is another Anthony Mann-John Alton unsung masterpiece. I am surprised Mann did not incite the wrath of HUAC. Like Blacklist victims Abraham Polonsky and Jules Dassin, Mann's movies idealize American law enforcement, in this case INS, as an extension of a state apparatus the filmmakers hoped could be wielded for progressive ends. This hope was, of course, a by-product of the New Deal, in which progressive American artists thought that a government that they fancied, not unreasonably at the time, might be on the way to becoming the agent of transformative reform. Now, particularly in the on-set of the Trump era, this movie feels right down militantly defiant. It depicts Mexican agricultural laborers, be they documented or not, as productive victims of an untenable bi- national arrangement. That agents of law and order come to set things aright in a world of shadow and painful death seems, within the film, not as a laughable misrepresentation of the state (even if that is what it actually was) but rather as a utopian grasp at salvation.

Mexican PJF investigator Pablo Rodriguez (Ricardo Montalban) and US immigration inspector Jack Bearnes (George Murphy) join forces to investigate the murders of illegals at the crossings. Pablo infiltrates illegals posing as a bracero or farmhand. He befriends bracero Juan. Pablo's soft hands almost give him away but he convinces them that while he's not a bracero. He's actually wanted by the police. Meanwhile Jack follows Pablo and then tries to infiltrate the other side of the transaction masterminded by farmer Owen Parkson.I like Montalban as he infiltrated the smuggling gang. George Murphy really sticks out like a sore thumb in Mexico. I also don't like his plan to infiltrate the other side of the border. It seems ill-conceived from the very start. I would rather not have Bearnes' side of the infiltration and just have him coordinate the police. The story ends up with too many coincidences and too many questionable moves by the bad guys. It's great to have this crime drama which is well done for the era and its genre.

Anthony Mann directed this still-timely drama that stars Ricardo Montalban as Mexican agent Pablo Rodriguez, who teams up with American agent Jack Bearnes(played by George Murphy) to tackle the problem of illegal Mexican Immigrant smuggling into California, which has seen many of them mysteriously murdered. Rancher Owen Parkson(played by Howard Da Silva) is chief suspect as the ringleader. Pablo goes undercover from the inside as an immigrant, while Jack investigates from the outside. The case will prove quite dangerous, more than either man realized... Fine drama with solid acting and direction, and an incisive script that wouldn't need much changing to work today, sadly.

A film older than I am and a top as fresh as the cable news this evening.This Anthony Mann directed film noir about those on both sides of the border who prey on illegal immigrants is deftly done with a director that has extensive experience in westerns and crime movies; his greatest achievement to come a decade later - El Cid.We lost Ricardo Montalban this year, but seeing him at 28 years old was a treat. he had a dozen and a half films by that time, and he was already a good actor.Not the usual film noir in dark alleys, but in the bright Mexican desert. The scene with the quicksand was especially heinous.