In Civil War time, officer of the South Joel McCrea shows up in Zona Libre, a "neutral" territory ruled by a suave-slimy Mexican general, offering gold in exchange for guns and supplies. The general agrees....and not much more happens for the rest of the movie. While the political machinations of the plot give it some interest, there just isn't enough drive in it. McCrea and Yvonne De Carlo (exceptionally beautiful in a succession of dresses that cover nearly all the colors of the rainbow!) have some interesting discussions, but mostly go through the motions; Perdo Armendariz gives the most entertaining performance as the general. On the whole, apart from a scene of McCrea trying to pull his horse out of a quicksand pit, a quite forgettable film. ** out of 4.
Review of Border River
