Law of the Border (1966), written by director Lütfi Akad and popular Turkish actor Yilmaz Güney, was an important film in the history of Turkish cinema. It tells the story of a man who makes a living smuggling sheep across the Turkish/Syrian border, but who wants to build a better future for his young son. He befriends the local police commander, and lobbies for his village to be the first in the area to construct a schoolhouse. He wants to retire from smuggling but is under pressure from his gang and others in the village to continue the profitable business.
Because of the film's focus on the poverty of the villagers and their resistance to authority, it was suppressed following the 1980 military coup in Türkiye, and all copies were destroyed except for one damaged print saved by the producer's daughter. In 2011, the film was restored from that print and released on disc (110K JPEG) through The Criterion Collection as part of Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project.
The action takes place in and around a village near the border with Syria. A new Lieutenant is arriving to command the local police detachment.
The police CJ-3Bs in this 1966 film are undoubtedly Turkish-built Jeeps, probably on loan from the Army. Türk Willys Overland had built 1,600 3Bs for the Army by 1960, and continued turning them out into the 1970s, at their plant in Tuzla (see Tuzla Jeeps in Türkiye.) The Jeep in this shot carries the stencilled number and the shovel, axe and pickaxe often seen on the front bumper of Turkish Army vehicles (see The Last Turkish Army CJ-3Bs.)
Lt. Zeki is a central character in the film. His Jeep here has the same bumper number as in the scene above, but in this shot it no longer has the tools on the bumper, and is now labelled Jandarma ("Gendarmes" or "Police".)
Other central characters are Hidir, leader of a local smuggling gang (Yilmaz Güney) and Miss Ayse the village schoolteacher (Pervin Par.)
Hidir's gang gets around on horseback (130K JPEG). The only vehicle we see in the film other than the police Jeeps is a brief appearance by this 1962 Mercury which belongs to a rich, corrupt landowner.
Some of the Jeeps have a pair of jerry cans mounted on the tailgate. The taillights are similar to the NACO lights used in the USA in the 1940s, but the Tuzla plant later moved to blackout lights on their military 3Bs.
For some reaspon, not all the Jeeps have a spare tire, but when there is one it's mounted on the side, as was the case with all the Turkish Army 3Bs.
Lt. Zeki (Atilla Ergün) tries to help get the village school built, and tries unsuccessfully to stop Hidir from smuggling another herd of sheep.
A gunfight breaks out between rival gangs as the sheep run through a minefield on the border. Explosions are going off (see a slightly exaggerated version on the poster, 200K JPEG) and it makes you wonder if the filmmakers would have been able to claim "no sheep were harmed."
Despite several, slightly different CJ-3Bs being used in the production, I think this is the the only time where two appear in the same scene.
Production was apparently an on-again, off-again process due to being stopped by government censors, which is probably the reason for the lack of consistency in the details of the Jeeps.
When the second Jeep in this scene pulls up close to the camera, the WILLYS stamping on the radiator guard is visible. The stamping appeared on Tuzla Jeeps right into the 1970s (see The Last Turkish Army CJ-3Bs.)
It's not clear whether the tape on the windshield is a faded Jandarma label or if it's covering up some other identification.
After the lengthy gunfight that moves through the streets of the village, the Jandarma close in on Hidir, and he flees through the minefield.
Thanks to Federico Cavedo for finding another interesting film. It is available with subtitles on YouTube. -- Derek Redmond
See more Tuzla Jeeps in Türkiye on CJ3B.info, and Turkish Jeeps in Army Service.
Return to The CJ-3B in the Movies.
Visit CJ3B.info on Facebook.
CJ3B Home | Contents | Search | Links | 3A and 3B Community
