Telly Savalas showed in his career that he could play heroic roles as well as bad guys. He plays a good guy role here, and he does his best, but most of the rest of the movie erodes his efforts. After a passable action beginning (which boasts some impressive stunt work), the next half hour or so is a real bore, with practically NOTHING in this half hour advancing the plot. Eventually, things start moving again, though pretty slowly for the most part. But despite that, the movie remains pretty boring, with Savalas' character curiously offscreen for several sections of significant length. The movie ends on an odd note, as if the filmmakers ran out of money and weren't able to film an ending that would have been really satisfying. Apart from the opening sequence, the only other part of the movie that will have viewers alert is a scene in a slaughterhouse, which shows the (real) slaughter of cattle that will disgust most viewers.

A film sensitive to the plight of Mexican immigrants coming to the US for a better life.Savalas plays a border agent with a compassionate heart. Savalas is really great in this role, and the production/writing nearly rises to his level. When he's not on-screen, the film is two dimensional. The other agents are hateful Americans, the immigrants are sentimentalized heroes. I like the heartfelt understanding, but I wish it wasn't so "good guy/bad guy". Savalas somehow makes it all credible, but he's not always the focus. When he is, good flick.

Chesty gringo Telly Savalas (as Frank Cooper) is a US-Mexico "Border Cop". He serves as a father figure to young immigrant Danny De La Paz (as Benny Romero), who wants Mr. Savalas to be best man at his impending wedding. Savalas is tough, but boss Eddie Albert (as Commander Moffat) may be tougher. Tough is what you need to stop smuggler Michael V. Gazzo (as Chico Suarez). Alliances may be in flux.If you find the possibility of hearing "Kojak" and "Oliver Douglas" uttering expletives to be repulsive, you ought to steer clear of "The Border". If not, you may not have the stomach for the "realistic" cow slaughtering scene. Although it doesn't end up being worth much, Mr. De La Paz and Cecilia Camacho (as Leina) steal the show. ** The Border (1979) Tony Richardson ~ Telly Savalas, Danny De La Paz, Eddie Albert

This little mediocrity is an attempt to show the misery of illegal immigration between the U.S. and Mexico (well, where else?: is there any misery between the U.S. and Canadian border?) But this attempt is a sad misfire. I have a feeling Charles Bronson was offered the part and turned it down since Savalas is all wrong as a tired, miserable, mostly friendless, near-retirement, border enforcement cop. Bronson or Rod Steiger, maybe, but Savalas is far too cool and commanding a presence to play such a loser role. Then again, the filmmakers can't seem to figure out if he's just another cop or some powerful hombre who is not to be messed with (Eddie Albert, as his superior, alternatively barks at him and cowers, looking for help from villain Michael Gazzo to stop Savalas since Albert is seemingly helpless). As it is, Savalas saunters through the film growling at everyone and making sure to keep his shirt split open to offer his lady fans plenty of Telly cleavage (probably a requirement he forced on the producers --written into his contract as the 'Open Shirt Clause.') Otherwise, you get a solid performance from Michael Gazzo as the smuggler king, and the sight of a little cutie named Cecelia Camacho. The film's "claim to fame" such as it is will be found in the rather gruesome slaughterhouse scene where no CGI, puppets, stand-ins or make-up effects were used: just good ol' fashioned cow slaughter. Never a pleasant sight to see where our meat meets its maker (although on a personal level I find Telly's cleavage slightly more gruesome). Lastly, there is the ridiculous finale where Savalas has the option to avoid a confrontation with his superior Albert and smuggler Gazzo, taking his pals De La Paz and Camacho to safety... but instead decides it would be more productive to seemingly kill himself and the two people he just saved in order to ram his beloved camper through the border gate and run over Gazzo inside the security office. And to top it off we don't find out exactly what happened afterward. Sheesh!