A powerful and atmospheric noir about hatred
Hold on to your seats, because “Crossfire” is a brisk, atmospheric thriller that takes viewers on a turbulent ride through a world of mystery and suspense. A superb low-budget film noir, it proves that great entertainment doesn’t need a big bankroll to dazzle. A fantastic script, motley crew of dynamic characters, glorious visual style, and sustained edge of your seat suspense made it a critical and box-office success and the first B movie to be nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award (one five nominations). It also served as a breakthrough for several of its actors and was Hollywood's first film to deal directly with anti-Semitism. As groundbreaking as it is tantalizing, “Crossfire” is for anyone who loves gripping, high-voltage entertainment.
Although “Crossfire” continues to be riveting on second, third, and even tenth viewings, because it starts out as a murder mystery and continues to unfold with unexpected twists and turns, if you haven’t seen it and want to be fully surprised I recommend reading the rest of this post after you watch the movie. While I'll do my best not to ruin any major surprises, there’s just no way to discuss this film or its characters without giving away some of its unforeseen events and plot points. So be forewarned, this post will contain spoilers.
Heart-pounding music plays over the opening credits before “Crossfire” begins with the sound of two men fighting as we see their shadows wrestle along the wall of a dark, lamplit apartment. The lamp gets knocked over, and there's complete blackness. We hear a scuffle and one last punch before everything goes silent. The lamp gets turned back on and we see a dead man on the floor and two men fleeing the apartment in the shadows. How's that for an exciting opening! The murdered man is “Joseph Samuels”, and the rest of “Crossfire” is the unraveling of the crime and its motive.
Homicide detective "Captain Finlay” heads the investigation and learns that just before "Samuels'" brutal death, he was visited by three GI’s: “Private ‘Monty’ Montgomery" (a former cop just two weeks out of the service); "Floyd Bowers” (also recently out of the service); and "Corporal Arthur 'Mitch' Mitchell" (whose wallet was found in the cushion of a chair in "Samuels'" apartment). "Mitch" has gone missing, and according to “Monty”, was the last person with “Samuels” before his death.
As the investigation unfolds, we are graced by additional lost souls, including: “Sergeant Peter Keeley” (“Mitch’s” roommate, best friend, and fellow soldier); “Ginny Tremaine” (a prostitute who “Mitch” met the night of the crime); “Leroy” (a young serviceman from Tennessee); “Mary Mitchell” (“Mitch’s” worried wife); and a mysterious and strange unnamed man who appears in “Ginny’s” apartment. All of the film's intoxicating characters have so much life and personality, they make “Crossfire” utterly compelling.
The chilling opening foreshadows just how dynamic this entire film is going to be, and “Crossfire” doesn’t disappoint for a second. Its looming shadows, low-key lighting, and extreme camera angles have it recognized as one of Hollywood’s most visually stunning and influential crime dramas, and its hard boiled detective, flashbacks, tough women, dark streets, seedy rooms, danger, and theme of anti-Semitism have kept it one of cinema’s best and most important film noirs.
“Crossfire” was based on the 1945 novel “The Brick Foxhole”, about a marine who murders a homosexual out of homophobia, written by screenwriter and film director Richard Brooks while he was a sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps. RKO producer Adrian Scott optioned the book to be his next film with screenwriter John Paxton and director Edward Dmytryk. The three previously collaborated on two successful film noirs ("Murder, My Sweet” and "Cornered"), and Scott presented “The Brick Foxhole” to RKO's new head of production, Dore Schary. But because of the subject matter, it took a lot of convincing to get Schary to agree to make the film.
Adapting the book into a film was nearly impossible because the Motion Picture Production Code (which I explain in my “Red Dust” post) was in full force and deemed the book "thoroughly and completely unacceptable” because it strictly forbid any depictions or references to homosexuality in Hollywood films. So Saxon changed the homosexual character to a Jew, and the Code’s office okayed the film with a caution – that absolutely all references to homosexuality be eliminated. Saxon complied and the film was now a go.
Though homosexuality was "removed" from the film, there remain dubious homoerotic moments and elements. “Mitch's” connection with “Samuels” seems oddly close, as if there were something deep and unsaid between them. And when “Samuels” talks about post-War disillusionment and says to “Mitch”, "A guy like you maybe starts hating himself”, it’s questionable as to what he means by “a guy like you”. “Mitch” is described as a “sensitive” and “artistic type” who couldn’t kill anyone (“sensitive” and “artistic” were often codes for gay), and the true reason behind “Mitch’s” angst remains somewhat of a mystery (it's not too farfetched to think he might be secretly grappling with his sexuality).
It's also interesting how “Mitch” has more tenderness and chemistry with “Keeley” than with the prostitute “Ginny” (he seems to want her for companionship rather than sex) or even his wife “Mary”. Though blatant homosexual elements in the original story were changed, faint remnants seem to linger. Sad that everything gay was forbidden in Hollywood movies. If it hadn't been, the world would surely be a different place.
In addition to being at the mercy of the Production Code, it's meaningful to remember that “Crossfire” was made just after the end of World War II, as post war disenchantment, insecurities, and Cold War paranoias were finding their ways onto the silver screen. The escapism of prewar films was being extinguished by a desire for a new level of unflinching realism, and films with social themes began to surface. It was the rise of what became known as the “message film” (movies that entertained while delivering a message or ideal about society), and “Crossfire” was one of the best.
Switching the theme to anti-Semitism was still a risky and courageous choice at the time. Jews had almost all but been excluded from being portrayed in Hollywood films except for some scattered stereotypical and a few antisemitic portrayals (especially in silent films). With the Nazis' intended genocide and mass murder of six million Jews during WWII recently coming to light and the rampant anti-Semitism in the US and abroad that was never talked about or addressed in movies, there were fears from some Jews and nonJews that a film about anti-Semitism would only stir things up and make matters worse. It may sound ridiculous today, but in 1947, a movie about anti-Semitism was boldly shocking.
At the same time “Crossfire” was in production, 20th Century Fox happened to also be making a film about anti-Semitism titled “Gentlemen’s Agreement”. It was an A list film with a big budget and major stars, and Fox head Darryl F. Zanuck reportedly asked Shary not to make “Crossfire”, for he thought it would threaten his own film. Because “Crossfire” was shot in just twenty days, it beat “Gentlemen’s Agreement” to theaters by several months and is considered the first Hollywood film to deal with anti-Semitism (“Gentlemen’s Agreement” was the first major film to do so). Both films were hits at the box office and nominated for multiple Oscars – "Crossfire" for five and "Gentlemen's Agreement" for eight. "Gentlemen's Agreement" won three, beating "Crossfire" for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actress. The films are quite different in their approach to anti-Semitism – “Gentlemen’s Agreement” explores it deeper, while “Crossfire” packs more of a brutal wallop. You can read more about “Gentlemen’s Agreement” in my post on that classic. Just click on the film title to open it.
“Crossfire” was made as a message film, which director Dmytryk likened to “a little bit of medicine in a sugar pill so that a baby can swallow it and enjoy it, and yet it’s doing them good… The murder mystery was really the sugar around our message”. While the film uses anti-Semitism to illustrate how hatred is born out of ignorance and can lead to violence, this insightful movie also speaks to how prejudice can be pointed at anyone, how the most ordinary of us is capable of doing evil, and how courage is needed to stand against hatred. It also alludes to post-War bewilderment and no longer knowing your place in the world.
My description may make the film sound heavy handed, but other than a short speech about hate by "Finlay" (which remains completely relevant), it's not. Dmytryk made sure the film’s sugar coating was just as tasty as the power of its message, and his artistry creates potent entertainment, message or not.
Dmytryk weaves his camera around characters as they move about, adding a dynamic energy to this perilous world. Take the remainder of the opening scene as an example. After the murder, Dmytryk shows a closeup of the murder victim, moves the camera to a closeup of the coroner, then shifts to a closeup of "Finlay". As "Finally" rises, we see his first witness appear behind him and Dymtryk soon cuts to a two shot of both of them. As people come and go and move about the room, the camera ever so slightly tracks, pans, gets close and far from them. It's fabulous camera work that increases the excitement and terror while navigating this claustrophobic world.
Dmytryk also does a beautiful job using dissolves, flashbacks, and gently taking us from place to place. He also creates a wonderful musical dissolve during “Mitch’s” flashback, when he leaves the apartment disoriented and goes down the stairs to the outside world. And just before that, the visually stirring distortion effects of “Monty”, “Samuels”, and "Floyd" denoting “Mitch's” confusion are highly effective. Use of high and low camera angles and some slightly out of focus closeups also aid in forming a solid world of isolation and mystery. Dmytryk's innovative and outstanding storytelling earned him a Best Director Academy Award nomination.
As a boy, Canadian-born Edward Dmytryk moved to San Francisco and then Los Angeles. In high school he began working as a messenger at Famous Players–Lasky, one of the biggest film companies of the silent era (which soon became Paramount Pictures). Working his way up the ranks from projectionist and film editor, he directed his first film, "The Hawk", in 1935. In 1939, after a return to editing, Dmytryk focused on directing. In 1941, he left Paramount to direct B movies for Columbia, such as "Under Age" and "Confessions of Boston Blackie”, before directing B movies at RKO starting with 1942’s "Seven Miles from Alcatraz". His first big hit was 1943's "Hitler's Children", and after a few more films he was promoted to direct some A films starting with the 1943 hit "Tender Comrade" starring Ginger Rogers, and others like "Back to Bataan" with John Wayne and "Till the End of Time" with Dorothy McGuire. It was during this period Dmytryk made the classic noirs "Murder, My Sweet” and “Cornered” with Paxton and Scott, followed by “Crossfire” (which, along with Dmytryk's Best Director Oscar nomination, earned Paxton one for Best Screenplay). The three worked together one final time on "So Well Remembered", which was made after but released before “Crossfire".
At this point in history, the US and Soviet Union found themselves at odds in what became the Cold War, with democracy pitted against communism. A House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) was formed in 1938 to investigate people in the US thought to be security threats to democracy, which morphed into a witch-hunt by ultra-conservatives, primarily targeting and accusing homosexuals, liberals, Jews, and other minorities as being communists, often with no proof they were security threats, ruining many innocent lives and careers in the process.
The government turned its eye to Hollywood (many feel to gain publicity), and in October of 1947, ten movie producers, directors, and screenwriters (who became known as The Hollywood Ten) were called to testify before HUAC about communists in the movie industry. On the basis of the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of speech and freedom of association, the Hollywood Ten collectively refused to testify or name names of other supposed communists and were all charged with contempt of Congress and sentenced to one year in prison. Dmytryk and Scott were among them.
Because the anti-Semitic character of “Monty” in “Crossfire” was a pro-American serviceman, the FBI looked at the film as communist propaganda, which hurt Dmytryk and Scott, who were both fired from RKO. Dmytryk fled with his family to England where he made two films, including 1949's "Give Us This Day”. With an expired US passport, Dmytryk returned to the US and was sent to prison. To salvage his career, end his blacklist, and be able to work again in Hollywood, after just over four months in prison, Dmytryk agreed to be a “friendly witness” and cooperate with HUAC. He distanced himself from the other nine, answered all of HUAC’s questions, admitted he had briefly been a former Communist Party member, and furnished HUAC with the names of 26 other former Party members. Having proved to HUAC he was a “changed” man, Dmytryk was able to resume his Hollywood directing career, though many in the industry never forgave him for what he did.
Dmytryk’s first post-blacklist Hollywood film was 1952's “Mutiny”, and though he directed over two dozen more films, the bulk were mediocre, with exceptions being "The Caine Mutiny", "The Young Lions", "Mirage", "Broken Lance", and "Raintree County". He directed over fifty films in his career, many highlighting social issues and featuring complex characters. His final feature was 1975's "The 'Human' Factor", and in 1979 he directed the short film "Not Only Strangers". In the 1980s, Dmytryk taught film directing at the University of Texas and the University of Southern California, wrote several books on filmmaking (“On Film Editing", "On Screen Writing", and "On Screen Directing”), and two autobiographies (“It's a hell of a life, but not a bad living" and "Odd Man Out: A Memoir of the Holllywood Ten”). He was married twice, including his marriage to actress Jean Porter which lasted over fifty years until his death. Edward Dmytryk died in 1999 at the age of 90.
Dmytryk decided to spend the bulk of “Crossfire’s” budget (just over $500,000) on the actors rather than lighting, sets, and so forth. He approached veteran cinematographer J. Roy Hunt, who agreed to shoot the film in the cheaper film noir style of lighting. In addition to his smooth camera work, Hunt’s imaginative use of light and shadows makes bald walls and minimalistic sets come alive. His work generates an electrifying atmosphere.
West Virginia-born J. Roy Hunt was cinematographer on just over 200 films, from 1916's "A Daughter of the Gods" through 1953's "The Juggler", including silents such as "Beau Geste", "The Lone Wolf", and "Smilin' Through", and sound films such as "Room Service", "The Virginian", "I Walked with a Zombie", "In Name Only", and "Flying Down to Rio". Hunt also reportedly had a passion for radio and recreation vehicles, invented an amateur radio system and his own Hunt House Car RV which he lived in during his travels. Hunt died in 1972 at the age of 88.
Starring in “Crossfire” is Robert Young as “Captain Finlay”, head of the murder investigation. Young is a natural, smoking his pipe, rubbing his tired eyes, reclining back in his chair, and bringing a refreshing amount of weary calm and forceful frankness to all the mayhem. He has no patience and wastes no time. As “Finlay” tells “Keeley”: “Nothing interests me anymore. It used to but not anymore. I’ve been at this job too long. I go about it the only way I know how. I collect all the facts possible, most of them useless”. As beaten down as he may be, “Finlay” is quietly determined to find and capture the killer, and Young does a wonderful job portraying a forthright guy with a distinct nature. “Crossfire” came near the end of Young’s film career, but just before he found his greatest fame…
Chicago-born Robert Young moved with his family to Los Angeles, were he began his show business journey on stage at the Pasadena Playhouse while also appearing in bit parts in a couple of silent films. Noticed by an MGM talent scout, Young was signed to MGM and began steady work in films starting in 1931, quickly becoming a leading man or second lead in mostly lackluster B movies, also costarring opposite many of the biggest stars at the time, such as Norma Shearer and Clark Gable in "Strange Interlude", Katharine Hepburn in "Spitfire", Joan Crawford and Gary Cooper in "Today We Live", Spencer Tracy in "Northwest Passage", and Hedy Lamar in "H.M. Pulham, Esq.". He also appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1936 British espionage thriller "Secret Agent”. Upon leaving MGM in 1943, Young began to get more varied and interesting parts starting with "Claudia", and including "The Enchanted Cottage", "That Forsyte Woman", "Sitting Pretty", and a handful of noirs such as "They Won't Believe Me” and “Crossfire".
After starring in 1954's "Secret of the Incas" opposite Charlton Heston, Young left the big screen for television and never looked back. He starred in the classic series "Father Knows Best", which ran from 1954 until 1960 and earned Young two Emmy Awards and four nominations. After many other TV appearances, Young hit it big again, becoming TV's most famous doctor as the title character in "Marcus Welby, M.D.", which ran for seven seasons beginning in 1969, earning Young another four Emmy Award nominations with one win, and secured his place as a TV icon. Working on TV through the 1980s, his final role was starring in the 1988 TV movie "Marcus Welby, M.D.: A Holiday Affair". Young became famous playing happy and composed characters, but behind the scenes, he suffered from depression and alcoholism, and attempted suicide in 1991. He later became an advocate for mental health, and the Robert Young Community Mental Health Centers in Illinois and Iowa are named for him. He was married once for over sixty years until his death. His brother was actor Roger Moore, who appeared in over 200 films (not the same Roger Moore of "James Bond" fame). Robert Young died in 1998 at the age of 91.
Also starring in “Crossfire” is Robert Mitchum who is superb as “Sargent Peter Keeley”, a demobilized veteran who is loyal to his men as well as his best friend “Mitch” who he says “couldn’t kill anybody”. The calm and cool “Keeley” accepts life for what it is, telling “Finlay”: "This sort of life doesn't bother some soldiers. Doesn't bother me much. Haven't seen my wife for two years. When I do maybe we'll pick up again, I don't know, maybe we won't. But I don't worry about it now”. He is also the kind of guy who doesn’t let trouble get to him, as he explains: “The snakes are loose. Anybody can get them. I get them myself but they’re friends of mine”. Mitchum is entirely convincing as this strong, uncomplaining man.
An inconspicuously great actor, one must pay attention to Mitchum to truly appreciate his immense talent, for he effortlessly rattles off dialogue with such naturalism, he makes it look like he’s not acting. But behind his eyes one sees an actor who is present, listening, and feeling. Watch how he looks at and hears “Mitch” when they talk in the movie theater. Mitchum does so with an extraordinary matter of fact tenderness. He's a man who truly cares. And his banter with "Finlay" is fabulous, as Mitchum and Young have great rapport listening and reacting to one another in very understated ways, turning simple questioning into an absorbing event. Mitchum is the king of restraint and a "big screen" actor if there ever was one. If you ever get the chance to see his movies in a theater, you'll clearly witness all the glorious details in his work.
"Crossfire" came as Mitchum was moving up the ranks towards becoming a full-fledged movie star. After over two dozen films, he earned a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award nomination for 1945's "G.I. Joe". That film was followed by a string of lead and supporting roles, including a few noirs such as "Pursued",“Undercurrent", and "Crossfire". Film noir fit Mitchum's strong, reserved, and smoldering antihero presence like a glove, and though he appeared in well over 100 films of many different types in his fifty plus years onscreen, he is often regarded as one of the icons of film noir. The American Film Institute voted him the 23rd Greatest Male American Screen Legend of All-Time. You can read more about the life and career of Robert Mitchum in two of my previous posts, “The Night of the Hunter” and “Out of the Past”. Just click the film titles to open those posts.
The third name above the title in “Crossfire” is yet another Robert, Robert Ryan, who plays “‘Monty' Montgomery” in a career defining role. Ryan plays this imposing, hot tempered, opinionated character with such chilling everyman authenticity, his performance alone drives home the point that everyday people are capable of evil. "Monty" appears concerned and genial when we first meet him at the crime scene or when questioned by "Finlay", but we get hints along the way at the evil lurking below. And when he becomes completely terrifying in a scene with “Floyd”, Ryan is still believably real. This powerful performance made Ryan a star and earned him a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award nomination.
Chicago-born Robert Ryan went to Dartmouth College intending to be a writer. Graduating during the Great Depression and not finding work, he took odd jobs such as a laborer, a stoker on a freighter, and herding horses in Montana before trying acting at a theater company. In 1938, he moved to Hollywood to study acting at the Max Reinhardt Workshop, and was spotted in a play by a Paramount talent scout which lead to a six-month contract and five film appearances in 1940 (among them, his first credited film role in "Golden Gloves", directed by Dmytryk). After Paramount dropped him, Ryan made his Broadway debut in 1941 in "Clash by Night", which led to a longterm contract with RKO. He appeared in six films in 1943, including two more by Dmytryk (“Behind the Rising Sun" and his first starring role in "Tender Comrade”). Ryan enlisted into the marines during WWII where he became friends with Brooks, and reportedly told Brooks that if his book "The Brick Foxhole" was ever made into a film, he wanted to play "Monty". After his discharge from the service, Ryan returned to RKO and made two films before getting his wish.
Ryan’s tremendous success in "Crossfire" was a mixed blessing. Being so convincing, it brought stardom and his only Oscar nomination, but it also pigeonholed him into villainous roles for years, such as in "Beware, My Lovely", "The Naked Spur", and "Bad Day at Black Rock”. Though thought of as a villain, Ryan didn’t always play the bad guy, and of the 70+ films he made, other titles include "The Wild Bunch", "The Longest Day", "The Set-Up", "Caught", "The Iceman Cometh", "On Dangerous Ground", and the 1952 film adaptation of "Clash by Night". He also appeared in over a dozen TV shows. By all accounts, Ryan was the opposite of his bigoted, sadistic, violent onscreen image, and found many of the characters he played despicable. Offscreen, he was a pacifist, civil rights activist, and vocally anti-HUAC, among other political leanings. He was married once for over thirty years until his wife's death. Robert Ryan died the following year in 1973 at the age of 63.
Another of the film’s tremendous performances comes from Gloria Grahame as “Ginny Tremaine”, a thinly veiled prostitute who “Mitch” meets at a bar where she works called the “Red Dragon”. “Ginny” is another jaded, no-nonsense character, and Grahame makes her vulnerable, angry, tough, sad, lonely, and filled with longing all at the same time. This is one sexy and intriguing woman. There’s the way she looks at “Mitch” with bafflement turning to hope while they dance, or her sarcastic humor when “Finlay” and “Mary” come to visit. It’s a rich and impressive performance that deservedly earned Grahame a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award nomination.
Los Angeles-born Gloria Grahame began appearing in movies in 1944 with "Blonde Fever", and gained attention with a small role in her fifth film, "It's a Wonderful Life". She'd been under contract to MGM, who didn't know how to cast her, so they sold her contract to RKO who had the foresight to put her in noirs, starting with "Crossfire". Along with earning her first Oscar nomination, “Crossfire" afforded Grahame the opportunity to show her brilliance at portraying edgy, dangerous, vulnerable, often tarnished women. It began the best years of her career, with juicy roles in films that include "In a Lonely Place", "A Woman's Secret", "Sudden Fear", "The Big Heat", the musical "Oklahoma!", and "The Bad and the Beautiful” (for which her nine minute appearance won her a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award). You can read more about the fascinating life and career of Gloria Grahame in my post on "It's a Wonderful Life". Be sure to check it out.
In his film debut, George Cooper plays "Corporal Arthur 'Mitch' Mitchell”, the man accused of murder. Another lost soul going through some sort of emotional breakdown, Cooper makes us feel for "Mitch" and his predicament. One can’t help but sympathize when he’s filled with nerves while talking with "Keeley" in the theater, yearning to connect with "Ginny", or feeling the familiar relief of being with “Mary”.
The Brooklyn-born George Cooper moved to Hollywood when he was nine months old. He was the son of prolific stage and film actor George Cooper Sr. who appeared in 210 films from 1911 through 1940. After serving in the Navy during WWII, Cooper Jr. began studying acting at The Ben Bard Players, and was soon signed to RKO as a contract player. "Crossfire" was his first film and it remains his most famous role. Over the course of 36 years, Cooper appeared in 18 films and 14 TV shows. His films include 1948's "Blood on the Moon" (with Mitchum), 1949's "Roughshod", an uncredited bit part in 1954's "Brigadoon", 1977's "The Greatest", and his final, 1983's "Star Chamber". He appeared on TV shows that include "Falcon Crest", "Dallas", "Wonder Woman", and "Lou Grant". He was also a fine artist specializing in painting maritime themed paintings. Though Cooper battled with alcohol, he remained sober the last 44 years of his life. He married once. George Cooper died in 2015 at the age of 95.
In addition to Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Screenplay, "Crossfire" also won the 1947 Cannes Film Festival's Prix du Meilleur Film Social (Best Social Film Award).
Get set to enter a shadowy world where lonely, fascinating people reside, and truth and lies commingle. It's one powerful and exciting film. Enjoy “Crossfire”!
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