Where to watch Crossfire online

Storyline

A man is murdered, apparently by one of a group of soldiers just out of the army. But which one? And why?

Released

1947-08-15
Revenue

$1,300,000
Budget

$250,000
Runtime

1hr 26m
Genre

Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Status

Released
Language

English
7.3
Production

RKO Radio Pictures

Crew

Edward Dmytryk

Director

John Paxton

Screenplay

Adrian Scott

Producer

Keywords:

army film noir anti-semitism soldier

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Cast

Videos and Photos

Movie Reviews

Reviews for Crossfire

A Review by John Chard 8

Written by John Chard on 2019-09-24

Cradle Of Fear. A man by the name of Joseph Samuels is found brutally murdered in his apartment. It would appear that Samuels was visited... read more

Cradle Of Fear. A man by the name of Joseph Samuels is found brutally murdered in his apartment. It would appear that Samuels was visited by a group of drunken soldiers the previous evening, and with one of them seemingly missing, the evidence certainly implicates the missing soldier. But as detective Finlay digs deeper into the case he finds that they could be barking up the wrong tree, and that this crime is dealing with something desperately sad and vile - anti-Semitism. Crossfire was born out of the novel written by Richard Brooks, adapted by John Paxton and directed by the shrewdly excellent Edward Dmtryk. Crossfire (originaly titled "Cradle Of Fear") is a taut and gripping picture that boldly tackles anti-Semitism. Though the makers were forced to tone down the story from the original source, the novel is about homosexual hatred as opposed to anti-Semitism, what remains, largely due to RKO supremo Dore Schary and producer Adrian Scott, is a sort of creeping unease that drips with noirish style. The cast features three Bob's, Young, Mitchum and Ryan, with noir darling Gloria Grahame adding the emotional female heart. Though only third billed, it's Robert Ryan's picture all the way, his portrayal as the bullying, conniving Montgomery is right from the top draw and perfectly showcases the talent that he had in abundance. Ryan had good cause to give Montgomery some of is best work for he had served in the Marine's with Richard Brooks himself, both men having discussed the possibility that if the novel was to be made into a film, then Ryan wanted in and to play Montgomery. Thus the genesis of Ryan's career as weasel types was well and truly born! Gloria Grahame also puts in a wonderful and heartfelt turn, which is all the more remarkable since she was being plagued by her abusive husband at the time, one Stanley Clements. He was known to be violent towards her and his constant presence around the set irked other members of the cast, but Grahame, probably channelling real life emotion, became the character of Ginny and shone very bright indeed. Both Bob Mitchum and Bob Young come out with flying colours as well, to really seal the deal on what proves to be a smartly acted picture. Crossfire was released before the other 1947 anti-Semitic picture, "Gentleman's Agreement", and raking in over a million and a quarter dollars at the box office, some of its thunder was stolen by the Academy Award winning picture from Fox Studio. Nominated for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Ryan), Best Supporting Actress (Grahame), Best Director and Best Screenplay, it won nothing. Yet critics of the time hailed it as a brilliant shift in American Cinema, and today it stands tall, proud and dark as a bold and excellent piece of work. 8.5/10

A Review by Geronimo1967 7

Written by Geronimo1967 on 2022-07-07

When a man is found savagely beaten to death, it falls to local police captain "Finlay" (Robert Young) to track down the perpetrators. His a... read more

Read Full Review (The thoughts and opinions expressed here are solely those of the reviewer.)

A Review by John Chard

A Review by John Chard 8

Written by John Chard on 2019-09-24

A Review by Geronimo1967 7

Written by Geronimo1967 on 2022-07-07

When a man is found savagely beaten to death, it falls to local police captain "Finlay" (Robert Young) to track down the perpetrators. His attention is soon drawn to a group of recently demobbed soldi...