Crossfire

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Camero W Classic film. Murder, suspense, and a little bit of sugar around the message Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/07/24 Full Review Matthew D A fiercely poignant condemnation of senseless hate crimes. Canadian-Ukrainian director Edward Dmytryk's film noir drama Crossfire (1947) is pretty enthralling. Dmytryk's direction bursts through the doors by opening with a murder and giving us three stories from witnesses. A perceptive audience member could certainly figure out the mysterious killer just from these testimonies, but it is how Dmytryk shows you how the cops and other witnesses deduce the murderer that is so fascinating. Crossfire is cool and certain to entertain! Author Richard Brooks comes up with a neat murder mystery full of very specific hardened character types from ruthless anti-semites to hardened cops and well meaning veterans. I Brooks' mystery story and how detailed his clues are to reveal the killer by subtle means of motive instead of where or when really. Screenwriter John Paxton is the real with a fiery script full of verbal poison doused down the audience's throats with a heavy handed message in defense of the Jewish people. Paxton condemns racist bigoted anti-Semites, who would seek to kill Jews for no other reason than pure seething hatred. There's a massive speech towards the end all about hate for the sake of hate and it is powerful to hear from 1947 actors speaking against the violent hate mongers they had just fought in WWII. I found Crossfire deeply affecting. Robert Young is amazing as Police Captain Finlay. His searing speech comparing the hate crimes the Irish faced coming to America with the violence and persecution that Jewish people faced then is strongly delivered with cold icy seriousness. Young feels intelligent as Captain Finlay, who figures out the real murder culprit quickly due to all the real clues as opposed to false stories. Young remains calm through all the lies and murder. Robert Mitchum is cool and collected as the shrewd and kindhearted Sergeant Peter Keeley. He feels like he really is trying to suss out the killer to protect his friends by interviewing witnesses himself. Mitchum is really awesome in Crossfire with a surprisingly nuanced performance that just observes and listens to each guy's narrative before concluding who the killer really is among the innocent. Robert Ryan's fearsome Montgomery is astounding with lethal words and quiet threats. His every word feels duplicitous from his initial tall tale. Sam Levene is friendly and unsuspecting as the nice victim Joseph Samuels, whom they call Sammy. Jacqueline White is pretty and sympathetic as Mitchell's worried wife Mary. Steve Brodie's panicked Floyd Bowers is as good as George Cooper's concerned Arthur Mitchell. William Phipps is fun as the Southern soldier Leroy. Gloria Grahame is absolutely gorgeous as the platinum blonde lady of the night Ginny Tremaine. I could not take my eyes off her eyes or sad gazes. Grahame sizzles as the sultry Ginny with a searing attitude and righteous fury at being dragged into this murderous mess. She is on fire. Gloria Grahame is underrated as an actress with her resplendent roles as an actress in Crossfire, In a Lonely Place, and The Big Heat. Editor Harry Gerstad keeps a fast pace and cuts sharply during conversations to each guy's reactions. I like that Crossfire is cut down to a slick 86 minutes long. Cinematographer J. Roy Hunt uses black shadows to envelop each character in the cop's office, while illuminating eyes and faces, so that we can see everything. Crossfire is magnificently lit and blocked with smooth panning shots too. Art direction from Alfred Herman and Albert S. D'Agostino looks grim and dark like a film noir should appear. Set decorators Darrell Silvera and John Sturtevant keep the set spaces open with little furniture, but tons of props for detail. Composer Roy Webb's dark and moody orchestral score gives Crossfire a serious tone. I liked his lovely music like sound designers Clem Portman and John E. Tribby crisp and clean voice recordings. The mix is so clean for these heart to heart conversations. Makeup artist Gordon Bau gives Gloria Grahame the most breathtaking platinum blonde waves in her hair with stunning lipstick and eyeshadow. She looks like a classic femme fatale. In all, Crossfire is supremely cool and contemporary with timeless themes that feel the need to speak against hate. It is brave and blunt with outstanding acting and a clever script. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 05/14/23 Full Review Bill T Very good, if not slightly confusing noir about a cop trying to figure out how a dude got killed. Suspicions turn to 3 soldiers who were hanging out with him that night. And, often in films like this, it takes an awful lot of interrogation and tough guy talk to get to the bottom of things. Fun seeing Robert Mitchum in this, because you KNOW he'll be trouble from the get go. Maybe that's all I'll say about that. A bit too much talky, some surprise elements that I've never seen Film Noir get into though. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 04/15/23 Full Review Leaburn O This film was fairly average 🤏 Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 04/09/23 Full Review Audience Member Three "Roberts" in this film and all share nearly equal screen time, so I suppose they all three headline it together. Young doesn't do much with his character, Mitchum is his usual polished self, and Ryan plays it up the most as an unbalanced anti Semite. Grahame does well enough although her character is unnecessary. This film could have been better as the pacing is hampered by a coupe of lengthy flashbacks. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Audience Member I generally enjoy these film noir movies even if I can't follow every twist and turn, but this one dragged so much that I had to ditch it about 30 minutes in. A pity, 'cuz Robert Mitchum seems wasted. Rated 0.5/5 Stars •  Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 01/12/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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