Crossfire (1947)
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Crossfire Movie Review
Crossfire is a 1947 drama film directed by Edward Dmytryk and starring Robert Young, Robert Mitchum, Robert Ryan and Gloria Grahame. It’s a deeply flawed, but somewhat effective morality tale.
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“Nobody likes cops“
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A man is murdered, apparently by one of a group of soldiers just out of the army. Investigation reveals it was an anti-Semitic attack. This is one of the two big Oscar movies that dealt with the theme of anti-Semitism released in 1947, the other one being the Oscar-winning ‘Gentleman’s Agreement’. I prefer that film over this one as this drama is only sporadically effective.
First off, I would not call this movie a noir picture myself. That categorization is inadequate in this instance given that that noir atmosphere is not really present and the movie functions much more so as a regular drama with a strong message against prejudice. Although typically preachy for the time, this message needed to be heard, thus the film remains historically important.
Of the three Roberts that the cast is composed of, Robert Mitchum was reliably terrific and charismatic and Robert Ryan was very believable in the villainous role. Robert Young was less memorable, but his character was important for the story. Gloria Grahame was a fine female addition to the cast, delivering a wonderful performance as very charming Ginny.
Crossfire is at its best when it’s focusing on the friendship between the men that is at times rather homoerotic in its overtones. This homoeroticism stems from the fact the original source material the movie is based on was about homophobia, but it was changed to anti-Semitism due to the limitations of the Hays Code. It’s a shame because it would have been a much more interesting picture had it stuck with the original subject.
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So, the film was populated by strong personalities, solid dialogue and pretty good cinematography, score and directing. I just wished for better pacing and less exposition in the first act and less preachiness in the third act with the second act faring the best in both plot and characterization. It was nominated for five Oscars, but it ended up losing all five due to the director being investigated for his alleged communist activities.
Crossfire is a 40s social drama that deals with the subject of anti-Semitism, probably being the first of its kind. The film benefits from strong acting performances across the board, solid dialogue and particularly effective scenes where the men just conversed with each other. However, the pacing was problematic, the third act was too preachy and the movie was never as engaging or as atmospheric as it should have been. It’s a film that would have been much better off with the original source material’s subject intact.
My Rating – 3.5
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