Crossfire
by Edward Dmytryk
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Gloria Grahame, Paul Kelly, Robert Mitchum, Robert Ryan, Robert YoungDirector: Edward Dmytryk
Brand: YOUNG,ROBERT
Cinematographer: J. Roy Hunt
Editor: Harry W. Gerstad
Producer: Adrian Scott
Writer: John Paxton
Writer: Richard Brooks
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 86 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-07-05
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Turner Home Ent
Movie Reviews of Crossfire
Movie Review: "No Jew is gonna tell me how to drink his stinking liquor!"
Summary: 5 Stars
Completed in only about 20 days of shooting, 1947's "Crossfire" was one of Hollywood's first attempts to make a movie focusing on anti-Semitism. Directed by Edward Dmytryk (Murder My Sweet, Cornered, The Sniper), it was filmed on a very low budget yet featured an amazing cast: Robert Young, Robert Ryan, Robert Mitchum, Gloria Grahame, Paul Kelly, Sam Levene, and Steve Brodie. To everyone's surprise, the movie (released shortly before the similarly-themed Gentlemen's Agreement) was a big hit and was nominated for five Academy Awards including best picture.
Joseph Samuels, a Jewish veteran who had survived World War Two has just been murdered, and the police are baffled. Captain Finlay (Robert Young) interrogates the last two people who saw him alive, Mitchell (George Cooper) and Montgomery (Robert Ryan). They are also veterans, but only Montgomery seems to have an alibi for the night of Joseph's murder, and Mitchell was too drunk that night to remember what really happened. Knowing that he's the police department's prime suspect in the case, Mitchell hides from the cops. Meanwhile, Mitchell's friend Sgt. Peter Keeley (Robert Mitchum) tries to help the police find the real killer, while clearing Mitchell.
As Finlay's investigation progresses, he learns that Montgomery was the only one who had any reason to kill Joseph. The motive: a burning hatred of all Jews. Also, the police find out that Mitchell was at Ginny Tremaine's (Gloria Grahame) apartment while the murder took place. But proving that Montgomery was the murderer will be very difficult, because Montgomery has a ready answer prepared for just about any question the police can ask him. Eventually, the police use Montgomery's own friend Floyd Bowers (Steve Brodie) to try to trick Montgomery into revealing himself as the killer.
Despite some badly dated scenes of Robert Young "preaching" about racism, "Crossfire" is a terrific film noir with an excellent cast and stylish, shadowy lighting that creates a very dark atmosphere for a story of hatred and murder. Gloria Grahame, who played a sexy nightclub girl (it is implied that she's also a prostitute), was nominated for a best supporting actress oscar for her brief but very memorable performance. And aside from Robert Ryan's outstanding and chilling portrayal of a racist killer, the second most interesting character IMO was Paul Kelly, who played Gloria Grahame's pimp (for lack of a better word).
The picture and sound quality of the Warner DVD of "Crossfire" is very satisfactory. Bonus features include commentary by film noir historians Alain Silver and James Ursini (which includes audio interview excerpts of director Edward Dmytryk), and a brief documentary "Crossfire: Hate is Like a Gun," which explains how difficult it was to get the movie made, and how the director had his career almost ruined by the communist "witch hunt" of the late 1940's that resulted in many people in Hollywood being wrongfully blacklisted. One minor error I noticed in the commentary: they state that "Crossfire" was Robert Young's only film noir credit. Actually, he made two other noir films: "They Won't Believe Me" and "The Second Woman." Other than that error, though, the commentary was very interesting. "Crossfire" is a wonderful example of how many late 1940's noir films had strong messages concerning social and moral issues. This dvd is a must-have for any film noir buff!
Summary of Crossfire
Detective Finlay investigates a group of soldiers who are accused of beating a man to death without an apparent motive.Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: NR
Release Date: 5-JUL-2005
Media Type: DVD
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