Review of Crossfire (1947) by Burt M — 25 Apr 2009

A noir murder thriller. Like "Gentleman's Agreement", this one also takes on the issue of anti-Semitism. A Jew was murdered and the principles retrace their steps to prove their innocence. Unlike GA, this story was based off a book where the victim was not Jewish, but homosexual. You could see the points of the script where they basically just changed it from a hate-crime against gays to one against Jews instead. Of course, they're not going to make THAT movie in 1947.

Beyond the social relevance though, is just a well made movie with a great script and great acting. One of my favorite parts included a character with no name. He tells three different stories about who he is and after each one, says he's lying. It was very David-Lynch-y bizarre. And while the "mystery" of the plot disappears before too long, it never stops being suspenseful.