Crossfire (1947)

Robert Young plays a police detective trying to solve a man's murder. All the clues seem to point to a young soldier (George Cooper) who has been having issues lately and was drinking heavily the night of the murder. But the soldier's friend (Robert Mitchum) doesn't believe he's guilty so he investigates as well. Through a series of flashbacks we see what happened and discover the real murderer is an anti-Semitic soldier played by Robert Ryan.Gritty and powerful film noir with a wonderful cast. The Roberts (Young, Mitchum, Ryan) are all extraordinary, although Mitchum much less so. That isn't a slam on him. It's just the part isn't as interesting as the other two. Nice support from Gloria Grahame, Steve Brodie, Sam Levene, and Paul Kelly. George Cooper is a little too fidgety for my tastes, though. This was his only major film role. I've seen other types of performances like this in older films and it's a personal peeve of mine that can make it hard for me to enjoy the film sometimes. What I mean is a guy (usually dark-haired for some reason) who seems sweaty, nervous, and does little things like gulping a lot or making weird faces to show you how conflicted he is. Five or ten years later he would probably be heralded as a method actor. Personally I hate it. This is possibly why I gave the film a slightly lower rating the first time I saw it years ago. But upon rewatching, it didn't bother me as much and I enjoyed the film even more. It's a beautifully shot film noir with a terrific script and excellent acting. Definitely a classic everybody should see.

You can Insert any Class of People into the Open Ended Sentence...I hate ____. Because that is Really what the Movie is about Hate or Bigotry. The Film's Source Material was Homosexuality, the Film Inserted Jews into that Blank Above.When Robert Young's Detective gives His now Famous Speech, He says it All, even Ending with, "...once You Continue Hating, where will it Go, "...to people with striped neckties." This is a Daring and Dark Excursion, via Film-Noir into the Twisted Mind of a Hater, a Bigot that Loses Control and Murders in a Drunken Rage.There is a an Off-Kilter Ambiance to the Whole Film with Distortions and Dream-Like (drunken) Sequences Shot with Odd Lenses and Sharp Shadows and Soft, Out of Focus Scenes, and High-Contrast and Low Lighting. It Really is Film-Noir, not Only in the Look but with the Returning and Confused Soldiers Hastily Re-inserted into Public-Life, some Faring Better than Others.Paul Kelly makes an Odd Appearance as a Completely Whacked Ex-Lover of B-Girl Ginny and it is Another Example of just How out of Sync Things were at War's End. It Becomes Slightly Surreal and He and Ginny are a Civilian-Military Counterpoint to Film-Noir's Take on an Out of Orbit Society that had yet to Settle into a Superficial, but Embraced, Post-War America.It is a Powerful Film and One of the Few Noirs to get Recognition from the Academy. It didn't Win any but had Several Nominations Including, Picture, Director, Script, Robert Ryan, and Gloria Grahame.

The movie dramatizes an important subject: anti-Semitism. The problem is that it does not generate the outrage and indignation that the subject warrants. This happens partly because the subject is treated in the context of a conventional Hollywood crime drama which further dilutes and distracts attention away from the theme. Furthermore, the principal character, an Army veteran just discharged from the service, is not a completely unsympathetic character; he has legitimate issues too which could be distorting his thoughts. In short, the movie is to be commended for taking on the topic of bigotry but does not go far enough in driving home the subject. Robert Ryan is excellent as the army veteran who is an anti-Semite and the rest of cast is excellent too. Yet the movie does not leave one with a feeling of social injustice. Rather, it leaves one feeling glad that a murderer has been caught but with no resolution of the larger political and social questions which although addressed remain unanswered.

Before, during and after every war, we confront the men who have done most of the fighting for us. What they fight for and what we believe they fought for are often two different things. In this movie directed by Edward Dmytryk and written by Richard Brooks is entitled " Crossfire " we see one of the finest actors playing a character he so often detested himself. Robert Ryan plays a hate filled soldier named Montgomery, who with sundry other WWII soldiers just discharged from the service, gather in a hotel to have some fun and enjoy a few drinks. What they didn't count on is, that somewhere in the night hours, playtime becomes a bit rough and a civilian named Samuels (Sam Levene) is killed. Now it's up to Capt. Finlay (Robert Young) and the police to discover who and why the man was murdered. Among the prime suspects is Sargant Keeley (Robert Mitchum) a platoon Sgt. who wants very much to help apprehend the guilty soldier. The Black and White film is filled with black shadows, dark motives and should have garnered several awards for it's effort to expose Bigotry, racism and anti-Semitism. But we can readily understand the reasons when we become aware of the Red Scare during the 1940-50's. Ryan is at his very best in the film as is Mitchum. Excellent tour De force. ****