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Robert Young, Robert Mitchum, Robert Ryan, Gloria Grahame, Paul Kelly ... see more see more... , Sam Levene , Jacqueline White , Steve Brodie , Richard Benedict , William Phipps , Lex Barker , Marlo Dwyer , Robert Bray , Carl Faulkner , Harry Harvey , Tom Keene , Kenneth MacDonald , George Meader , Philip Morris , Jay Norris , Richard Powers , George Turner , George A. Cooper , Allan Ray , Don Cadell , Bill Nind , Richard Norton , Michael Meyer , Daniel Dietrich , Eric Hahn , Wren T. Brown , Don Pemrick , Stephen Young , George Cooper

This drama was one of the first major-studio efforts to confront anti-Semitism (beating the Oscar-winning Gentleman's Agreement by several months), and it features a standout performance from Robert R... read more read more...yan as a bigoted soldier on the run. Monty Montogomery (Ryan) is a violent and unstable soldier who, while out on a pass, goes on a drinking spree with three buddies, Floyd (Steve Brodie), Arthur (George A. Cooper), and Leroy (William Phipps). While boozing it up in a tavern, the four men meet Joseph Samuels (Sam Levene), and end up at his apartment for a party. Monty, however, has a fierce hatred of Jews, and he later goes into a drunken rage in which he beats Joseph to death. Monty's friends can barely remember the incident through their liquor-shrouded memories, but they recall just enough to make themselves scarce when police detective Capt. Finlay (Robert Young) begins making the rounds looking for information on Joseph's murder. Sgt. Kelly (Robert Mitchum), a soldier who knows the four men, begins to suspect that something is up, and he works with Leroy's wife and Finlay to help ferret out the killer in his ranks, while Monty kills Floyd when he becomes convinced that he's going to talk to the authorities. While director Edward Dmytryk showed real bravery in bringing this story to the screen, it had greater repercussions than he might have expected; the film's controversial themes led to Dmytryk's denunciation by the House Un-American Activities Committee during the McCarthy-era investigations of the 1950s. Luckily, unlike other filmmakers who suffered similar accusations by HUAC, Dmytryk continued to work steadily through the '50s and '60s. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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73% liked it

1,715 ratings

Critics

77% liked it

13 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 26 min.

Directed by: Edward Dmytryk, Anthony Maharaj

Release Date: January 1, 1947

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DVD Release Date: July 5, 2005

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Stats: 106 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (106)

  • garyX
    August 16, 2011
    garyX
    When a Jewish man is beaten to death in a hate crime, police detective Robert Young finds his suspicions as to the culprit difficult to prove. Although it has many of the visual trappings of Film Noir, Crossfire is more of an examination of prejudice and its repercussions in soci... read moreety. The crux of the film is Young's "hate is a gun" speech that highlights the dangers of blind hatred, and as such it's a very well meaning as well as well written film. Young gives a solid performance as the sardonic cop, as does Robert Mitchum as a soldier caught up in events although his dominating presence is a little too thin on the ground. The ever reliable Gloria Grahame also appears as a bitter vamp and Paul Kelly is an interesting supporting character but it's Robert Ryan's show all the way whose chilling portrayal of a racist psychopath was nominated for an Oscar. Perhaps lacking a focal character, Crossfire is still a very interesting and thoughtful detective story with a timeless message.
  • webalina
    September 11, 2009
    webalina
    A man is found beaten to death in his apartment. The last people he was seen with were four soliders. One of them did it, but which one? Robert Young as a police detective, in a better performance than I would normally expect out of him, wants to find out. Even though it's pretty... read more obvious who the killer is early on, I won't give it away here. This film about prejudice and Anti-Semitism should remind all of us how dangerous intolerance like that can be if taken to the extreme.
  • DrBenway
    June 25, 2008
    DrBenway
    A social commentary that pretends to be a murder mystery. Crossfire's main purpose is explaining prejudice or hatred of somebody just because they are a member of a certain group. For that emphasis, it's a very interesting movie and sets it apart from most films in its' time, bu... read moret its minor storyline is more compelling.
  • mjgildea
    November 2, 2006
    mjgildea
    It's not quite noir but Robert Ryan as an anti-semetic psycho is worth the viewing
  • Dracula787
    July 5, 2008
    Dracula787
    Clearly antisemitism was a major issue in 1947, as two of the five Best Picture nominees from that year were explicitly about the subject. This and Gentleman's Agreement are both preachy but this is clearly the lesser of the two. A boring, uninspired military mystery about invest... read moreigating a hate crime against a Jewish officer. Admittedly, audiences in the late forties probably needed a less subtle message than we do today. Still this just felt like an after school special. The whole thing made a little more sense when I checked the wikipedia page and learned that in the book this was based on the victim was not Jewish, but a homosexual. The production code made them change it, if they stuck with the original story this would have been a much more interesting movie than it is.
  • michaeltoddbackus
    April 13, 2008
    michaeltoddbackus
    This picture is to slow and not very creative. The acting solid but not exceptional and the movie felt like it was telling you the story instead of pulling you in to live it. It does let a few punches go, but that is only to allow for the films over bearing message.
  • revkev2
    May 25, 2007
    revkev2
    A bit dated and talky for my likes. Although it is one of the first films to deal with racism (anti-Semitism), it is a bit clunky.

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Critic Reviews

April 8, 2008
Variety

Producer Dore Schary, in association with Adrian Scott, has pulled no punches. Full Review

Dave Kehr
April 8, 2008
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

While the film remains a respectable thriller, only Ryan's crafty, quietly deranged performance lifts it out of the ordinary. Full Review

Bosley Crowther
May 20, 2003
Bosley Crowther, New York Times

A thematically articulate film. Full Review

Pablo Villaca
December 30, 2011
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena

Sutil como um touro numa loja de porcelana, soa implausível em sua trama e tolo na maneira com que prega o óbvio. Com isso, suas válidas intenções morais se tornam apenas infantis.

April 8, 2008
TV Guide's Movie Guide

A classic. Full Review

June 24, 2006
Time Out

This ultra-low-budget thriller did what all great B movies do: it broached a subject that 'respectable' movies wouldn't touch. Full Review

Emanuel Levy
June 6, 2006
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

Dealing with racial bigotry, this tense thriller combines a message drama with the stylistics of film noir, resulting in one of the best films of the 1940s, with top notch work from Robert Mitchum and... Full Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson
August 8, 2005
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid

It has a very strong and powerful message against anti-Semitism. Full Review

Christopher Null
January 27, 2004
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com

a drawn-out hour of investigation that looks like a schoolyard game of C.S.I. Full Review

May 24, 2003
Film4

Brave and impressive stuff. Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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