Crossfire (1947)

A man is murdered, apparently by one of a group of demobilized soldiers he met in a bar. But which one? And why?

Director:

Edward Dmytryk

Writers:

John Paxton (screenplay), Richard Brooks (adapted from a novel by)

Stars:

Robert Young, Robert Mitchum, Robert Ryan

Nominated for 5 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 3 nominations.

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 army Sgt. Keeley investigates on his own, trying to clear 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:

murder | hate crime | beating | beaten to death | investigation | 

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Taglines:

Murder Without Motive!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 August 1947 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cradle of Fear

Filming Locations:

RKO Studios - 780 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, 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

Thanks to cinematographer J. Roy Hunt, the film's atmospheric low-key lighting was accomplished quickly and efficiently. This explains why it only took 24 days to shoot. It also resulted in what many considered to be one of the most visually impressive films noir ever made.

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Goofs

When Leroy bends down to pick up the address paper that Montgomery drops, the reverse angle of Montgomery shows the room ceiling above him. The "ceiling" appears to be fabric (badly) stretched over a frame because it has several large wrinkles in it.

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Quotes

Leroy: [referring to Montgomery] Captain, is he dead?
Finlay: He was dead for a long time. He just didn't know it.
Leroy: I guess I did the right thing?
Finlay: The rightest thing you ever did, soldier.

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Alternate Versions

Also available in a computer colorized version.

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Connections

References Cornered (1945)

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Soundtracks

Shine
(uncredited)
Written by Cecil Mack, Lew Brown, and Ford Dabney
Performed Kid Ory's Creole Jazz Band
Played in Red Dragon dance hall when Mitchell first meets Ginny

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.