Crossfire (1947)

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

Director:

Edward Dmytryk

Writers:

John Paxton (screenplay), Richard Brooks (novel)

Stars:

Robert Young, Robert Mitchum, Robert Ryan

Nominated for 5 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Robert Young	...	Finlay
Robert Mitchum	...	Keeley
Robert Ryan	...	Montgomery
Gloria Grahame	...	Ginny
Paul Kelly	...	The Man
Sam Levene	...	Samuels
Jacqueline White	...	Mary Mitchell
Steve Brodie	...	Floyd
George Cooper	...	Mitchell
Richard Benedict	...	Bill
Tom Keene	...	Detective (as Richard Powers)
William Phipps	...	Leroy
Lex Barker	...	Harry
Marlo Dwyer	...	Miss Lewis

Storyline

Homicide Capt. Finlay finds evidence that one or more of a group of demobilized soldiers is involved in the death of Joseph Samuels. In flashbacks, we see the night's events from different viewpoints as Sergeant Keeley investigates on his own, trying to clear his friend Mitchell, to whom circumstantial evidence points. Then the real, ugly motive for the killing begins to dawn on both Finlay and Keeley...

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Plot Keywords:

apartment | soldier | murder | time | bar | 

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Taglines:

Hate Is Like A Loaded Gun!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 July 1947 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cradle of Fear

Filming Locations:

RKO Encino Ranch - Balboa Boulevard & Burbank Boulevard, Encino, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$250,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Robert Ryan and Richard Brooks, the author of the book this film was based on, served together in the US Marine Corps. Ryan asked Brooks if his book ever became accepted by Hollywood to consider him for the unsympathetic role of Montgomery.

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Goofs

As Finlay breaks the window with his gun, large pieces of broken glass are still visibly hanging in the window frame. In every subsequent shot of Finlay at the window, there is no broken glass hanging from the window frame.

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Quotes

Police Captain Finlay: The murderer's hate is like a gun. He had to be someone who could hate Samuels without knowing him. It had to be inside the killer.

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Connections

Referenced in Watching the Detectives (2007)

User Reviews

Fascinating Noir with a dynamite cast.

'Crossfire' is a very interesting movie. It begins like a murder mystery, but it becomes obvious very quickly who the murderer is, and the plot becomes more concerned with his motive. And it is his motive which makes the movie so interesting. 'Crossfire' is a "message" movie but it is also a cracking good drama, and that's what I enjoyed about it. Plus the cast is dynamite - Roberts Preston, Mitchum and Ryan, and the beautiful Gloria Grahame ('In A Lonely Place'). Mitchum doesn't have a big a role as you might expect (the movie was released the same year as 'Out Of The Past' in which he gives a much more substantial performance), but he's always great to watch, and Robert Ryan ('The Wild Bunch') steals the movie as a very nasty piece of work. I find many 1940s romance and comedy movies to be too corny for my taste, but the crime movies are much more to my liking. They are usually grittier and more realistic, and 'Crossfire' is a great example of this. Highly recommended.