Directed by:
Edward DmytrykScreenplay:
John PaxtonCinematography:
J. Roy HuntComposer:
Roy WebbCast:
Robert Young, Robert Mitchum, Robert Ryan, Gloria Grahame, Paul Kelly, Sam Levene, Jacqueline White, Steve Brodie, George Cooper, Richard Benedict, Tom Keene (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
Years of police work have taught Detective Finlay that where there's crime, there's motive. But he finds no usual motive when investigating a man's death by beating. The man was killed because he was a Jew. "Hate", Finlay says, "is like a gun". Robert Young portrays Finlay, Robert Mitchum is a laconic army sergeant assisting in the investigation of G.I. suspects, and Robert Ryan plays a vicious bigot in a landmark film noir nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Edward Dmytryk directs, draping the genre's stylistic backdrops and flourishes around a topic rarely before explored in films: anti-Semitism in the U.S. Here, Hollywood takes aim at injustice... and catches bigotry in a Crossfire. (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment)
(more)Reviews (1)
Crossfire shows all the signs of when it was made. America in 1947 was shocked by the footage captured by film cameras depicting prisoners in concentration camps and newspaper articles about gas chambers in Auschwitz. It was also filled with a guilty conscience because the Jews during World War II did not receive the necessary help. Evaluated by today's standards, the anti-racist message of the film is very simplistic and straightforward, but at the time, it had its justification. It was an educational film and even earned a few Oscars. At the same time, the Ku Klux Klan was "civilizing" African Americans in America, and no one thought about making critical films about it... As a detective story, Crossfire is too simple, and not very functional for lovers of the genre. It is simply a typical film in the noir style, characteristic of the time, but with a good cast. Overall impression: 55%.
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Gallery (22)
Photo © RKO Radio Pictures
