User Reviews

..And some of those "B"s are far better than some of the "A"s of today. Macdonald Carey is at his best here as an editor who slowly becomes involved in the conditions and prejudices against the California fruit pickers. this movie is way ahead of its time in how it depicts a small city in the grip of discrimination and fear. Gail Russell, though never a great lead, is luminous here and utterly convincing as Mac's opposite - the editor or a Mexican newspaper. I was completely caught up in and the ending is quite nerve-wracking, you cannot predict which way it is going to go. The supporting cast is also terrific and the crowd scenes and slow panning action for the dance in the country and the street scenes is amazing. I understand the director was a victim of the McCarthy witchhunt and lived out his days in England where he directed "Dirk Bogarde" in "the Servant" another great movie. Highly recommended, an 8 out of 10.

Tightly paced social problem programmer is well directed by Losey. Carey was never the strongest of leading men and perhaps the film would have been better served by an actor with more gravitas in the lead but he turns in an acceptable performance. Gail Russell is fine in the limited screen time she has but her role isn't really noteworthy. The person who is underutilized is Lee Patrick as an out of town reporter, whenever she's on screen the other actors recede into the background so sharp is her presence, the mark of a truly outstanding supporting performer. The story is sadly relevant even today, how people can be swayed by mob rule and unreasoning prejudice.

Santa Marta is a small agricultural town in California. Mexicans are the fruit pickers and there is tension between the races. Paul Rodriguez and his friend Lopo Chavez are pickers. They get into a car accident and fight with a couple of local white boys. The two locals keep a grudge and spread discontent. Paul's friend Sunny Garcia works at a small Spanish-language newspaper. She meets Larry Wilder at a dance. He's the new editor of the bigger white newspaper. A fight breaks out at the dance and an unscrupulous reporter builds it up to be a riot. Paul steals an ice cream truck and becomes a fugitive after a series of incidents.

This is trying to tackle the theme of ingrained racism. It's interesting that there are differing elements within the community, both good and bad. The initial meeting with a cop is an interesting one. It's a little shocking to have a good cop dealing with these kids like human beings. There are good cops and bad cops. There are good parents and bad parents. Even the lead character is not an ally for most of the movie until he turns into a hero. The movie is not doing the easy hit. More than anything, it shows how irresponsible media can fire up the baser instincts. The movie is showing how civility can be easily lost and the ugliness bubble up.

When commenting about "The Lawless" (from 1950) - I know one thing for certain - It's very rare to come across a Hollywood production from that one's era that actually dared to make such a bold and adverse statement regarding serious racial discrimination in "Smalltown, USA".

Set in and around the seemingly quiet town of Santa Marta, California - "The Lawless" was certainly a tough, little social drama (once things finally got cooking) that clearly pitted the privileged whites against the "near-poverty-level" Mexican fruit-pickers of Sleepy Hollow.

I think it's interesting to note that this low-budget production was one of the very last Hollywood pictures to be directed by Joseph Losey.

In 1951 Losey was, indeed, blacklisted (for his apparent Communist ties). And with his directing career in Tinseltown now completely ruined by those self-righteous witch-hunters - He had fled to Europe where he attempted to continue his present occupation over there.

Pretty impressive description of the culture struggles between the white bread caucasians and Mexican workers in 1950. Right from the start, we see a confrontation between the young upper class Joe Ferguson (John Sands... where did he go, anyway...?) and the blue-collar worker Lopo Chavez (Maurice Jara in his first role.), trying to make ends meet Also in his first role is 20 year old Tab Hunter as "Frank". Nice performance by the attractive 25-year- old Gail Russell as the lead Sunny Garcia; unfortunately Russell died before 40 from a heart attack and alleged alcoholism. The story is that when reporter Jonas Creel (Herb Anderson) meets up with Sunny at a dance, he turns in a story on the fight that breaks out, and the poop hits the fan. Macdonald Carey is the union rep "Wilder" caught in the middle, along with Creel, the reporter. Then we see the fathers and sons discussing who gets what punishment, and the chase is on for one of the workers Paul Rodriguez (Lalo Rios) who may or may not have committed a serious crime. Good story. Many of these same issues are still hot-button issues today in southern California, and all along the U.S. border.

Today is so easy touch in this neuralgic matter at southwest American territory when it were fulfilled by Mexican's family workers who crossed the border to living into self-called American dream of life, on post war on fifties all America were in economic boom, needing those hard workers on the crops due strong demand, they living segregated on peripheral low profile neighborhoods, as shows at Sleepy Hollow community, even they were born on the American soil weren't recognized as such.

Joseph Losey has a never to put it on a picture, aside it doesn't has a great cinematography, the story overcame it on plenty, exposes on hard way a sad story about a teenager Paul Rodriguez (Lalo Rios) a son of Mexican immigrants that was born at America, after a small car's accident at street with his friend coming from an exhaustive working day picking tomatoes on the fields, the victims are two white fancy boys, followed a little quarrel stopped at once for the Police, later it's triggers a tragic events, these white boys going to at Sleepy Hollow's dancing party looking for trouble, soon starts a scuffle between them, the localo police intervenes quickly, on the thuggery Paul punchs accidentally a police officer, seeing the mistake the scared boy sneaks there, the policeman follows him, the boy stolen two cars on the run and hiding in a quarry.

Meanwhile appears there a newspaper's editor Larry Wilder (MacDonald Carey) who witnessed the scuffle, in same time a strong police squad arrives, Larry figures out the boy certainly will killed by those angry men, he finds the boy cornered at mainstay of river's bridge, under massive gunshots, under police's hands another arguing in the police car results in a crash, under the fire once more the boy escapes and try hidden in farm where a little girl hits her head at timber beam, later she misinform struck by the boy, at last the boy is caught.

Larry Wilder aided by a Mexican newspaper Sunny Garcia (Gail Russell) looking around and testifying the massacre of the news, television, radio broadcasting already blaming the boy without any fair judgment, he employs a fundraising campaign through his newspaper in order to pay the best defense attorney allowed on Santa Martha, it's unleash a riot on his newspaper tearing up the place and also at police precinct to get the boy to make justice for their own hands.

Apart the small budge presentation the movie rocks, in a period of time utterly impossible to talk about in this issue, it's an independent movie implied by the bold Losey with fortitude, thus he enters in the blacklist soon, pay attention on Martha Hyer on smallest role, almost in a twinkling of one eye, the upcoming Goddess of the cinema.

Thanks for reading.

Resume: First watch: 2021 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7.5.

THE DIVIDING LINE originally called THE LAWLESS in the States is a brilliant film from Joseph Losey. I suppose the American title may have sounded like a Western film so they changed it for England. What it is, is a indictment of the racial emotions and fears of the 1950's in America. The cast is superb. MacDonald Carey has never been better and he has always been an under rated performer in films. Also Gail Russell gives a performance of such honesty and naturalness that you feel you are seeing her for the first time. She was always a great beauty and good leading lady but here she proves that her early death is even more tragic because of what we know she was capable of. The film is unmissable.

After watching The Lawless I've come to feel there is a back story in the making of this film. First of all it comes from Paramount which was not a studio known for making socially significant films. But secondly with director Joseph Losey, a man who would shortly leave the USA never to work on our soil again, the producers were Paramount's Dollar Bills as they were known.

This is a Pine-Thomas Production and they supplied all the B films it seemed for Paramount in about 15 years from World War I until Bill Pine's death. The usual run of films for these two were decent action adventure, western, or occasionally a noir film. But this one is a real odd fish in their credits. Not to say it isn't good, because it's good and powerful. Timely too, coming out right around the time Joe McCarthy was telling he had lists of varying amounts as to how many Communists there were employed in our government.

Times like those give way to people's primal fears. The Lawless deals with the mob mentality of a southern California town when a young Mexican kid, Lalos Rios, gets himself in a jackpot during a brawl that breaks out at a dance. During his flight he gets even more problems when the cop driving the car that picked him up crashes after the driver loses control and is killed. The reason it crashes because the cop in the back seat starts pounding on him.

Ihe Lawless is about fear and people lose their trust in the law when fear steps in. Young Rios is afraid of what the mob will do and the mob of whites who were comfortably in the majority are afraid of the growing numbers of these darker and different people.

Standing up for law and order in its best sense is the editor of the local newspaper MacDonald Carey. He pays big time for going against the mob. As did director Joseph Losey and many others at that time.

Elements of They Won't Forget and Fury are found in this film and later on MGM put a lot more dollars into Trial, a film about the same issues addressed here.

Besides Carey and Rios, you'll see some outstanding performances by Gail Russell as the Mexican American love interest for Carey and by an old flame of Carey's Lee Patrick who plays a right wing reporter slanting the story against Rios for all its worth. Watch Patrick's facial expressions as she's dictating copy, they're frightening and unforgettable.

Made on the shoestring Pine-Thomas budget that Paramount normally allotted for them, The Lawless is an uncomfortable reminder of past times with very much relevance for the present.

Plot-- A normal American farming town is split racially apart as a Latino boy is blamed for a number of offenses against town whites. In the process, the town newspaper only makes the situation worse as the new publisher shies away from digging out facts that might relieve the situation.

There were a number of social-conscience movies made in the late-40's and early-50's; that is, before the Cold War and McCarthy froze them out. This is one of them, more obscure, however, than most. Though the 83-minutes contains elements of first-rate expose, it fails to rank among the best of that period, e.g. The Well (1951), Lost Boundaries (1949), No Way Out (1950). Now, I'm not saying it's not a good or worthwhile movie of its kind. On the contrary, it is. However, I don't think it' as memorable as the best of the period, and that's surprising given the film's outstanding writer (Mainwaring) and director (Losey).

What I think the results lack most noticeably is an intense core. Usually this is supplied by a cast principal. Here, however, the concept of publisher Wilder (Carey) is much too laid-back to supply the needed intensity. His flaw in the face of community conflict is not greed or power, but apathetic retreat after a lifetime of hard-driving journalism. Apathy is a good point to make since it allows the racial rivalry to worsen. Given the overall lack of an intense core, however, the concept comes at a price. At the same time, it's hard to see how Carey's Wilder could ever have been intense. Then too, there's Gail Russell's educated Hispanic, who could be a forceful voice for her community. But she's more a pretty presence than a factor. I'm not sure whether her retreat lies with the writer, director, or actress, or a combination thereof. However, coupling her with the laid-back Wilder creates a soft center that fails to catalyze the more incendiary elements and weakens the film as a whole. Even the angry mob provides more spectacle than either needed fear or tension.

On the positive side is a fine performance by Maurice Jara as Lopo, the hapless victim of circumstances. His anguish really comes across during the breakdown scene as the posse closes in. And I certainly agree with the reviewer who singles out Lee Patrick's sharp performance as the ethically challenged reporter Jan Dawson. It's really she who shows a seedy side of journalism by sacrificing facts for increased circulation. And catch perennial villain John Hoyt cast against type as a wealthy liberal (Ferguson) who does what he can to dampen animosities. Note too how his upper-class standing finesses class issues that might otherwise become a factor.

There are a number of topical touches that make the movie still relevant to today's audiences. Note how one of the cops roughs up Lopo with apparent impunity, though the script turns suddenly cautious by having another cop reprimand him. Note too, how whites and Latinos mix amicably at the dance, until hot-headed teens start defending their honor. The suggestion here is that it is possible for racial groups to get along socially, despite adversities. And speaking of teens, bobby-sox idol Johnny Sands is featured as hot-headed Joe Ferguson, ever ready to make a bad situation worse. Still, I can hear even now the girls of the time swooning over him.

The movie gets a big leg up by filming on location, especially in seedy surroundings that reflect rural hard work. I don't know where they went for those miles and miles of rolling rock mounds, but they're like frozen ocean waves. Plus, they aptly symbolize the desolate situation Lopo finds himself in. Given the movie's many outstanding features, I'm just sorry they don't get the cohesive impact needed to lift results into the front rank of social protest films. Nonetheless, the production is still well worth catching up with despite the relative obscurity.

Made shortly before its director was forced by the blacklist to remove to England, where he went on to artistic and commercial success (it can be argued that HUAC actually did Joseph Losey a favor, but that is a subject for another review), this is an intense and hard hitting drama of anti Latinx racism that would have been considerably more hard hitting, in my opinion, if it was focused more on the Mexican American victim and less on the guilt of the white liberal savior. Don't know about you but I for one was a lot more interested in the literal fate of Paul Rodriguez (as in, Would he get the death penalty or go free or something in between?) than I was in whether Larry Wilder would stay in a small town or go to NYC. That I never found out what happened to Rodriguez while the film ends with Wilder, happy with Gail Russell and editing a racist town's paper, gave me the same sense of general letdown that I felt with "Mississippi Burning", another well intentioned as hell film that told the wrong story. Of course, Alan Parker's misguided work was made in 1988 while this work was shot in 1950 when Chicanos in Hollywood were pretty much relegated to leaning up against cacti so I'll cut Losey some slack both for making Rodriguez an intelligent, articulate character and casting an actual Latinx actor, Lalo Rios, to play him. Woulda been nice if Losey's progressivism had extended to the role filled by the very un Mexican Gail Russell but, hey, small steps and all that sort of thing. Give it a B.

One of the best things about Joseph Losey is that he often made socially-conscious films. This is certainly no different. The premise to this film is good, but the execution is just a bit short. The story is about a Mexican youth in a border town who gets up caught in a violent situation that leads to a manhunt for him. The white part of town and the brown part of town are at odds here. There is a different kind of twist in the film that doesn't make both sides simply good and bad. Gail Russell plays a Mexican newspaper editor. Uh-huh. It's very far-fetched. MacDonald Carey plays the big-shot editor of the big paper in town. It's a middling film but with a daring message for its time.

A Mexican-American fruit picker gets in a little trouble that becomes a tempest in a teapot. Losey's film appeals to my liberal sensibilities with its condemnation of mob justice, media hysteria and racial intolerance. It's an engaging story. However, it's not very elegant in its execution. The performances are very flat, no one in the entire cast stands out as particularly good or memorable. The photography and score are serviceable at best, only a few shots are interesting. And it's all handled rather clumsily, you can hear the nails being struck as the points are hammered home. I like where the film's heart is at, but similar themes are done better elsewhere. It did make me wonder when was the final instance of someone putting "Extra, extra, read all about it!" in a script unironically.