Joe Stemme CROSSFIRE is an unusual film in that it is considered both a standard of the Noir genre, while also attaining mainstream success both critically and commercially, having been nominated for Five Oscars including Best Picture, Screenplay (John Paxton) and Director (Edward Dmytryk). Supporting performers Robert Ryan and Gloria Grahame were also nominated. The Academy Awards attention is more attributed to it's social consciousness than for its crime elements. Indeed, the Best Picture that very same year was the similarly themed GENTLEMEN'S AGREEMENT. The concept of a military murder has been the premise of a couple of later notable Academy Awards nominated pictures - Norman Jewison' A SOLDIER'S STORY and Rob Reiner's A FEW GOOD MEN. Make no mistake about it, topical subject matter or not, CROSSFIRE is a fine Noir - particularly the first hour or so which takes place over one long night. The set-up is simple enough as four friends, including Montgomery (Ryan) from military backgrounds go to a bar where they meet two strangers including Sam Levene (Joseph Samuels). As the bar scene winds down, a group of them split off and end up in a hotel apartment. One ends up dead. The police join the scene of the crime in the form of smooth detective Finlay (Robert Young). Questions are asked and not always directly answered. During the night, one of the soldiers Mitchell (George Cooper) wanders off and ends up in the arms of pay-per-dance bar girl Ginny (Grahame). Robert Mitchum plays Keeley, the roommate of the missing soldier, who also gets questioned. The long night sequence is Noir at its finest. Dark, smoky and full of a heavy atmosphere where the longueurs of the evening weigh heavily upon all the characters. Grahame's has a sort of admirer/stalker (Paul Kelly). He's not even given a name, just called "The Man" in the credits. But, Graham (in a star-making performance) and The Man are the kinds of peripheral characters that make great Noir so indelible. Bitter, despondent people with little to look forward to, let alone live for. When day breaks, a couple of problems arise with the film. The first is the long-held belief that the anti-Jewish motive for the killing is 'preachy'. One does have to keep in mind that prejudice was a touchy subject at the time. The novel (by acclaimed filmmaker Richard Brooks) the screenplay is based on actually had homosexuality as the motive - but, that was even more verboten a subject for the era. One can defend the prejudice angle while also wishing that it were presented more cinematically. As fine a performance as Young delivers, it does come off as speechifying. If screenwriter Paxton and Dmytryk had found a way to have woven that subplot into the the investigation scenes it would have flowed more organically and excitingly rather than just watching folks sitting in an office (plus, you have a fine actor like Mitchum basically just looking on and nodding - have him interact somehow). The even larger qualm is that the mystery to be solved isn't that thrilling. Brooks, Dmytryk et al. weren't trying to make the most intricate of murder plots, but, here, it's so obvious who did it that the last act of the movie drags a bit. Although, it must be noted that the final scene is quite well handled. Still, one can't help but feel that the spell cast by first hour of the film is broken by the daybreak (it would require a bit of a re-write, but, I'd love to see a version where the entire story takes place in that one night). Flaws aside, CROSSFIRE is still a fine film. There is a reason it has become a touchstone of the Noir genre as well as a Best Picture nominee that has endured for over 70 years - something which can't be said about a lot of fellow nominees over the decades.

JohnHowardReid "Crossfire" won the 1948 Edgar Award given by The Mystery Writers of America for Best Motion Picture. And at the 1947 Cannes Film Festival, "Crossfire" won the award for Best Film Dealing with Social Problems. COMMENT: Although we are never in any doubt as to the identity of the murderer, the thriller format is very effectively utilized here by director Edward Dmytryk. The excellent performances Dmytryk has drawn from his cast, plus the number and variety of striking camera set-ups, make it difficult to believe that the film was completed in only 22 days at the very moderate cost of $550,000. There is absolutely no sign of paring or budgetary constraints in the finished picture. Among the behind-the-camera technicians, J. Roy Hunt's high-contrast photography rates a special mention as it makes a major contribution to the picture's starkly noirish atmosphere. Crossfire is one of the few overt social challenge pictures of the 1940s which still holds up today. Other drum-beating movies, such as the strained and artificial Gentleman's Agreement, in which Gregory Peck, of all people, tries to persuade desk clerks, hotel managers and high society officialdom that, despite his ultra-WASPish appearance, he is actually Jewish, pale by comparison.

PimpinAinttEasy EDWARD DMYTRYCK was probably one of the best makers of noir in Hollywood. MURDER MY SWEET was awesome. CROSSFIRE is another great noir with some great gimmicks and cinematography while being slightly preachy on anti-semetism. But the film does suffer from a major drawback - you know who the killer is at the beginning itself, and after that it is only a matter of nailing him.ROBERT MITCHUM is sublime in this. with just a few expressions and tilts of the head, MITCHUM adds so much to the character. He is almost effortless. ROBERT RYAN was menacing and there was a raw physicality to his performance. GEORGE COOPER turns in a fine performance as a soldier who pines for his wife. GLORIA GRAHAME had too much make up on. I remember liking her a lot in IN A LONELY PLACE. She came across as phony in this film.(7/10)

Dalbert Pringle (Movie quote) - "Hate is like a loaded gun." Released in 1947 - Crossfire stars the 3 "Roberts" - That's Mitchum, Ryan & Young.Crossfire was probably the first Hollywood picture to actually explore racial bigotry - This time in the form of anti-Semitism.Crossfire also addresses post-WW2 issues of soldiers being released from military duty with no other training besides that of being servicemen.Set in Washington, DC - A kindly, soft-spoken man named Joseph Samuels is savagely beaten to death (in his own apartment) by a drunken, recently demobilized American soldier simply because he was Jewish.Due to some incriminating evidence, an innocent soldier is mistakenly blamed for the murder. When this soldier disappears, Detective Finlay, who's investigating the case, must carefully piece together all of the clues to establish the motive behind all of the apparent senselessness.In a series of well-timed flashbacks the whole truth behind the story finally unfolds, escalating to a most brilliant climax.Crossfire is an intelligent, well-crafted film with an excellent script and wonderful performances from a real top-notch cast, especially that of Robert Mitchum as Sargeant Keeley.