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Edward Dmytryk's Crossfire is a memorable Noir for two major reasons. The first is that it deals with anti-Semitism (the source material was originally about homophobia, but the Hays Code wouldn't allow this as a theme due to it being considered a "perversion") in a genre context. It takes a firm stance against hatred and wraps it up within typical Noir conventions of hard-boiled dialogue and mysterious B&W photography. The second is that the cast is practically untouchable. Robert Young, Robert Mitchum, and Robert Ryan. The three Roberts. Not to mention Gloria Grahame! This is an excellent cast working in unison to deliver a tough-minded whodunnit on the nature of anti-Semitism. It has all the hallmarks of a traditional…

The post-war homecoming reverberates hate through empty rooms of un-welcoming in “Crossfire.” 

Director Edward Dmytryk turned in one of the more visually experimental early noir entries in “Murder, My Sweet,” and returned to the genre three years later - this time, putting his daring deeds in his work’s sensitive thematics. 

With a cast of ‘the three Roberts:’ Mitchum, Ryan, and Young, Dmytryk makes little effort to tangle viewers in the web of his murder mystery yarn. The killer is evident from just moments in. The agony —comes from watching and waiting for the police to catch on. 

With the ‘support our troops’ nationalism no longer necessary after the close of the Second World War, Dmytryk and other noir directors were…

'Ignorant men always laugh at things that are different. [. . .] They're afraid of things they don't understand. They end up hating them.'

Crossfire is teeming with so many A-list stars that its gravest shortcoming is not being long enough to fit in all of them in equal measure. By all means, I cherished Robert Mitchum's scenes where he would stand about calmly with a brashly nonchalant expression as emotions were soaring high and everyone was having an anxious outburst of some sort, but, truth be told, his role was inessential to the plot. I likewise didn't get enough of Gloria Grahame's eyebrows and 'Oh, brother!'s, and although her character had one of the most intriguing arcs, her story…

Gloria Grahame! Gloria Grahame? Gloria Grahame. Who else could saunter into a fine-diced slice of shifty noir pie and steal the show, our hearts, this whole game, all in a cool 10-ish minutes of all-too-scanty screen time — and throw it right back into our faces — like Ms. Gloria Grahame?

That first shot fading from total darkness into her lit-up face alone breathed new life into a film I was already in the tank for. And when you consider the certifiable titans who she's up against... Well, it’s about time to ask ourselves if there really existed anyone better. Close your eyes, listen to that voice and tell me I’m wrong.

The movie itself... well, it’s your typical who-dun-it…

Sometimes it's the unheralded films that make a difference. In the summer of 1947 RKO released Crossfire, a tight murder thriller attacking Semitic prejudice, which also happens to be the first film in which the word "Jew" was uttered on the American screen. It was a hit both critically and financially. At the end of that year, 20th Century Fox released Gentleman's Agreement, a more sober, lengthy and worthy treatment of the same topic. Despite five Oscar nominations (including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Supporting Actress), Crossfire was totally shut out of awards the following spring, due to the catastrophic entanglement of its producer and director, Adrian Scott and Edward Dmytryk, with the House Un-American Activities Committee. Gentleman's Agreement…

That's history, Leroy. They don't teach it in school. But it's real American history just the same.
-Finlay

A film-noir drama that is almost more interesting for what was going on outside the movie, then in it.

First thing I find fascinating about American history in film is looking back at movies like this that cover a subject matter that is all but ignored 70 years later because it's an ugly part of history that everyone would rather just forget. Here it's anti-semitism during and immediately after World War II by American citizens and soldiers.

Even more interesting is the fact that this movie was based off the novel The Brick Foxhole where it was actually homophobia that was tackled…

Crossfire is a very heavy-handed message film, but it is well made and solidly put together. The staging is excellent, with the few locations blocked in dramatic ways to create striking compositions. The story centres on murder, and there's a melodramatic intensity to the villainy presented. As a film of investigation the same story is repeated many times and new details slowly emerge. The mystery plot isn't that deep but the execution is engaging. A big theme of the film of anti-Semitism, and there's a long dialogue scene that pushes anti-hate and anti-racism sentiments. It is very clunky, but the message is strong. The film also centres on post-war living, of soldiers home and without purpose. These social issues were…

Despite my fondness for noir, I had seen Crossfire only once, finding it too preachy on my first viewing. I prefer my noir dark, dirty, and sexy, without any overt messages. This time I saw and appreciated its noir quality better.

In adapting Richard Brooks’ novel, screenwriter John Paxton had to change the victim from a homosexual to a Jew because according to the Hayes Office homosexuals didn’t exist. Still, Samuels (Sam Levene) seems especially fond of Mitchell (George Cooper). I wonder if that was Levene’s choice or the filmmakers. Regardless, we have ourselves a hate crime. Just to make sure we understand that Montgomery (Robert Ryan) is not just anti-Semetic, he makes fun of Leroy (William Phipps) as a…