FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Catangro After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Isbel A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Joe Stemme CROSSFIRE is an unusual film in that it is considered both a standard of the Noir genre, while also attaining mainstream success both critically and commercially, having been nominated for Five Oscars including Best Picture, Screenplay (John Paxton) and Director (Edward Dmytryk). Supporting performers Robert Ryan and Gloria Grahame were also nominated. The Academy Awards attention is more attributed to it's social consciousness than for its crime elements. Indeed, the Best Picture that very same year was the similarly themed GENTLEMEN'S AGREEMENT. The concept of a military murder has been the premise of a couple of later notable Academy Awards nominated pictures - Norman Jewison' A SOLDIER'S STORY and Rob Reiner's A FEW GOOD MEN. Make no mistake about it, topical subject matter or not, CROSSFIRE is a fine Noir - particularly the first hour or so which takes place over one long night. The set-up is simple enough as four friends, including Montgomery (Ryan) from military backgrounds go to a bar where they meet two strangers including Sam Levene (Joseph Samuels). As the bar scene winds down, a group of them split off and end up in a hotel apartment. One ends up dead. The police join the scene of the crime in the form of smooth detective Finlay (Robert Young). Questions are asked and not always directly answered. During the night, one of the soldiers Mitchell (George Cooper) wanders off and ends up in the arms of pay-per-dance bar girl Ginny (Grahame). Robert Mitchum plays Keeley, the roommate of the missing soldier, who also gets questioned. The long night sequence is Noir at its finest. Dark, smoky and full of a heavy atmosphere where the longueurs of the evening weigh heavily upon all the characters. Grahame's has a sort of admirer/stalker (Paul Kelly). He's not even given a name, just called "The Man" in the credits. But, Graham (in a star-making performance) and The Man are the kinds of peripheral characters that make great Noir so indelible. Bitter, despondent people with little to look forward to, let alone live for. When day breaks, a couple of problems arise with the film. The first is the long-held belief that the anti-Jewish motive for the killing is 'preachy'. One does have to keep in mind that prejudice was a touchy subject at the time. The novel (by acclaimed filmmaker Richard Brooks) the screenplay is based on actually had homosexuality as the motive - but, that was even more verboten a subject for the era. One can defend the prejudice angle while also wishing that it were presented more cinematically. As fine a performance as Young delivers, it does come off as speechifying. If screenwriter Paxton and Dmytryk had found a way to have woven that subplot into the the investigation scenes it would have flowed more organically and excitingly rather than just watching folks sitting in an office (plus, you have a fine actor like Mitchum basically just looking on and nodding - have him interact somehow). The even larger qualm is that the mystery to be solved isn't that thrilling. Brooks, Dmytryk et al. weren't trying to make the most intricate of murder plots, but, here, it's so obvious who did it that the last act of the movie drags a bit. Although, it must be noted that the final scene is quite well handled. Still, one can't help but feel that the spell cast by first hour of the film is broken by the daybreak (it would require a bit of a re-write, but, I'd love to see a version where the entire story takes place in that one night). Flaws aside, CROSSFIRE is still a fine film. There is a reason it has become a touchstone of the Noir genre as well as a Best Picture nominee that has endured for over 70 years - something which can't be said about a lot of fellow nominees over the decades.

Alex da Silva .a little more action please" sang Elvis Presley. Obviously, no-one had listened to this song before making this film. If only they had, we might have had a little more action. It's a very talky affair and whilst the message is strong, the overall experience is laborious. The film is way too dark – can we have some light, please? – which gives it a film-noir feel and fits with the dark subject matter. But, how about some light once in a while? We also get all the dialogue delivered by every character in a gloomy low-key manner. It reminded me of Eastenders. Who knows, the cast may well have been using this film as an audition piece for that crass soap opera? The actors are all good but the tone of the film never changes and this makes it a ploddingly dull affair and scenes drag on. Soldier Robert Ryan (Montgomery) is a great bigot, he is a scary bully and is the standout in the cast. The film almost gets interesting at the end but at the final denouement slips back into more talking and then things end very conveniently and quickly. It's a film that is way over-rated by people who think a film is good if the message is sound. They forget that the primary purpose of a film is to be entertaining. Hail the wisdom of Elvis.

Leofwine_draca CROSSFIRE is an interesting little mystery-cum-film noir production that reminded me a little of a proto RASHOMON. A man is murdered by his peers and a detective and his allies must figure out who's the killer and what exactly happened during the events leading up to the killing. They undercover a hotbed of racial hatred as the motives become clear...Edward Dmytryk's movie is well shot, well lit, and tells an interesting, unusual storyline that's a far cry from the typical film noir production involving gumshoes, femme fatales, and criminal bosses. At the same time, he employs the talent of a number of actors familiar from those films: Robert Mitchum, Robert Ryan, and Gloria Grahame can all be relied upon to give effective performances and they help to make this film an intriguing and timely viewing experience.

AaronCapenBanner Edward Dmytryk directed this landmark film noir about the brutal murder of a Jewish man that points to the guilt of one of a group of soldiers. Robert Young plays Homicide detective Finlay, who believes the murder to be anti-Semitic in motive, though can't understand why. Robert Mitchum plays an army sergeant who conducts his own investigation, that leads to a disturbed and hate-filled soldier played by Robert Ryan, though another soldier is also suspected, and the detective and sergeant try to prove his innocence, and trick Ryan into a confession. Intriguing and bold thriller has fine direction and writing, with equally good acting by the lead actors(all named Robert!)