Captain Finlay, a police detective, is called in to investigate the murder of a man named Joseph Samuels, who has been found dead at his home. There is no obvious motive for the crime, but Finlay suspects that the murderer may be one a group of soldiers seen drinking with Samuels in a bar.
"Crossfire" was based on the 1945 novel "The Brick Foxhole" by Richard Brooks, better known as a Hollywood screenwriter, director and producer. There is, however, one major difference between the novel and the film. In the novel, the victim was gay and the motive for his killing was prejudice against homosexuals. In 1947 the Production Code, which prohibited any mention of homosexuality, was in full force, so Brooks's theme of homophobia was changed to anti-Semitism. Samuels was Jewish, and Finlay comes to believe that the murderer may have been motivated by hatred of Jews.
The film was nominated for an Academy Award for "Best Picture" but lost out to "Gentleman's Agreement", which also dealt with the theme of anti-Semitism. This was a controversial theme in 1947 only two years after the end of the war; Americans preferred to believe that anti-Semitism was something confined to Nazi Germany and did not want to admit that it was still a problem in their own country.
In terms of its visual style, the film is made in the expressionist film noir style, with strong contrasts between light and dark. Most scenes are filmed indoors, often at night, and the film has that standard noir fixture, a sultry blonde played by Gloria Grahame. (Most sultry noir blondes were played either by Grahame or by Lizabeth Scott). There is a fine performance from Robert Ryan as Montgomery, the soldier whom Finlay suspects (rightly, as it turns out) of being the killer. In his private life Ryan was well-known for his liberal political views, but he was often cast as (in his own words) "the kind of character that in real life he found totally despicable"- prejudiced individuals, capable of both verbal and physical violence, and the hate-filled Montgomery is a fine example. Ryan received an Oscar nomination for "Best Supporting Actor", the only nomination of his career. Grahame was nominated for "Best Supporting Actress". There is another good performance from Robert Young as Finlay, at first calm and dispassionate but who later becomes more emotionally involved in the search for the killer when he realises what the motive for the murder was. This is connected with his own family history; they are Irish Catholics and have suffered from anti-Catholic bigotry. (All three leading male actors are called Robert, the third being Robert Mitchum as another soldier).
The film may be a crime drama, but in another respect it is not typical of noir, a genre which usually involved a considerable degree of moral ambiguity. Because of its subject-matter it is a "message film", and moral ambiguity is a luxury which film-makers cannot afford if they want to convey a social, political or moral message. The moral distinctions in this film are much more black-and-white than in most noirs, with few shades of grey. There is no point making a film about anti-Semitism or some other form of racial prejudice if the message which comes across is "Well, I'm not supporting racism, but on the other hand I'm not condemning it either. I just don't want to be judgemental".
I would not myself have voted for "Crossfire" as Best Picture; in my opinion the best film of 1947 was the British-made "Brighton Rock", and my favourite among the nominees that year would have been another British picture, David Lean's "Great Expectations". (That film was actually made in 1946, but not released in America until the following year). It is, however, a lot better than the dull, overlong, talky and preachy "Gentleman's Agreement", a prime candidate for the "Worst Picture ever to win Best Picture" award and one of a number of examples which prove that it is possible to make a bad film in support of a good cause. Director Edward Dmytryk seems to have remembered something which Elia Kazan evidently forgot while making "Gentleman's Agreement", namely that if you are going to preach to your audience you need to entertain them as well. 7/10.
"Crossfire" was based on the 1945 novel "The Brick Foxhole" by Richard Brooks, better known as a Hollywood screenwriter, director and producer. There is, however, one major difference between the novel and the film. In the novel, the victim was gay and the motive for his killing was prejudice against homosexuals. In 1947 the Production Code, which prohibited any mention of homosexuality, was in full force, so Brooks's theme of homophobia was changed to anti-Semitism. Samuels was Jewish, and Finlay comes to believe that the murderer may have been motivated by hatred of Jews.
The film was nominated for an Academy Award for "Best Picture" but lost out to "Gentleman's Agreement", which also dealt with the theme of anti-Semitism. This was a controversial theme in 1947 only two years after the end of the war; Americans preferred to believe that anti-Semitism was something confined to Nazi Germany and did not want to admit that it was still a problem in their own country.
In terms of its visual style, the film is made in the expressionist film noir style, with strong contrasts between light and dark. Most scenes are filmed indoors, often at night, and the film has that standard noir fixture, a sultry blonde played by Gloria Grahame. (Most sultry noir blondes were played either by Grahame or by Lizabeth Scott). There is a fine performance from Robert Ryan as Montgomery, the soldier whom Finlay suspects (rightly, as it turns out) of being the killer. In his private life Ryan was well-known for his liberal political views, but he was often cast as (in his own words) "the kind of character that in real life he found totally despicable"- prejudiced individuals, capable of both verbal and physical violence, and the hate-filled Montgomery is a fine example. Ryan received an Oscar nomination for "Best Supporting Actor", the only nomination of his career. Grahame was nominated for "Best Supporting Actress". There is another good performance from Robert Young as Finlay, at first calm and dispassionate but who later becomes more emotionally involved in the search for the killer when he realises what the motive for the murder was. This is connected with his own family history; they are Irish Catholics and have suffered from anti-Catholic bigotry. (All three leading male actors are called Robert, the third being Robert Mitchum as another soldier).
The film may be a crime drama, but in another respect it is not typical of noir, a genre which usually involved a considerable degree of moral ambiguity. Because of its subject-matter it is a "message film", and moral ambiguity is a luxury which film-makers cannot afford if they want to convey a social, political or moral message. The moral distinctions in this film are much more black-and-white than in most noirs, with few shades of grey. There is no point making a film about anti-Semitism or some other form of racial prejudice if the message which comes across is "Well, I'm not supporting racism, but on the other hand I'm not condemning it either. I just don't want to be judgemental".
I would not myself have voted for "Crossfire" as Best Picture; in my opinion the best film of 1947 was the British-made "Brighton Rock", and my favourite among the nominees that year would have been another British picture, David Lean's "Great Expectations". (That film was actually made in 1946, but not released in America until the following year). It is, however, a lot better than the dull, overlong, talky and preachy "Gentleman's Agreement", a prime candidate for the "Worst Picture ever to win Best Picture" award and one of a number of examples which prove that it is possible to make a bad film in support of a good cause. Director Edward Dmytryk seems to have remembered something which Elia Kazan evidently forgot while making "Gentleman's Agreement", namely that if you are going to preach to your audience you need to entertain them as well. 7/10.