An interesting film from Orson Welles. The film contrasts two approaches to law and order along the U.S.–Mexico border. On one side, the Mexican authorities are represented by Charlton Heston’s character, an idealistic, procedure-bound official committed to doing things by the book. On the other side, the American side is run by Welles himself, playing a morally compromised but intuitive police captain who sometimes bends the law.
At first glance, the film appears to side with Heston’s clean-cut proceduralism. But perhaps a Straussian reading of the film may suggest that Welles’s character—despite his corruption—is the better lawman. After all, the American side of the border is under somewhat more control. The Grandi crime family controls the town on the Mexican side of the border. And don’t forget, Welles was right—Sanchez was in fact guilty. He wasn’t framing an innocent man. He was relying on instincts honed from decades of experience.
Recommended.