Crossfire

"Soldiers don't have anywhere to go unless you tell 'em where to go. When they're off duty they go crawling, or they go crazy"

This quote is one of many memorably worded exchanges that sum up the heavy subtext of Crossfire; the idea that the soldier recently returned from war will become dangerous now that his purpose has been taken away. This film noir starts with a murderous brawl in a darkened apartment, a transgressive act that puts the 'displaced soldier' outside of social norms right from the outset. The film goes for a mystery angle (as opposed to the usual 'desperate anti-hero' trope that a lot of film noirs build off), and the audience investigates this obscured murder alongside a police detective (Robert Young) as he wades into a purgatory-like world of G.I.s who have just undergone demobilisation after WWII.

Crossfire holds the distinction of being the first 'B-movie' to get an Oscar nomination for Best Picture. It didn't win, but watching the film you can see how it uses its B-movie status to really sink its teeth into some controversial topics... a bigger film from this era wouldn't dare take such a blase attitude. The film noir genre was built around an exploration of morality that often clashed with what wasn't allowed on the screen in America (as determined by the Hays Code)... these were low budget films that snuck certain messages under the radar whilst playing by the rules in a very clever manner. For instance, the character of Ginny (Gloria Grahame) is clearly a prostitute, but the script gets around this by stating things ambiguously. When she's asked repeatedly what her job is, she evenly replies "I work for a living". Furthermore, the film's more outright condemnation of anti-semitism starts out by lightly alluding to "Guys with funny names".

"He couldn't kill anybody"
"Could you?"
"I have"
"Where?"
"Where you get medals for it"

So when you get a society with a heightened code of ethics, like America in the '40s, it's only natural that a few double-standards would begin to emerge after WWII. Thousands of American soldiers have just been sent overseas and asked to kill for their country, yet how does this square with the idea of murder back in the U.S.? Plus there's the added question of what happens to all these guys now that the war is over. We have cynical intellectuals like Keeley (Robert Mitchum), seemingly burnt out after the hypocrisy of their war experiences, and then we have more dangerous types like Montgomery (Robert Ryan, in a memorably Lee Marvinesque big-mouth role).

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

The source material for Crossfire actually used homophobia as the subtext, but due to the ongoing influence of the Hays Code this was changed to anti-semitism. I guess bending the Code could only go so far, but it would be interesting to see a '40s film noir along these lines that tackled homosexuality (not that such a thing neccessarily exists). The anti-semitism isn't explored too deeply but it does offer an interesting shade to the story's climax, and Crossfire stands out overall as a densely plotted film noir (with all the requisite twists and red herrings) that combines all the sleaziness of a '40s B-movie with the big emerging social issues of the time. Watch it also for a great supporting performance from Robert Ryan.

DIRECTOR: Edward Dmytryk
WRITER/SOURCE: Script by John Paxton, based on a novel by Richard Brooks.
KEY ACTORS: Robert Mitchum, Robert Young, Robery Ryan, Gloria Grahame, Paul Kelly, Sam Levene

RELATED TEXTS:
- The 1945 novel The Brick Foxhole by Richard Brooks.
- Other films about anti-semitism: Gentleman's Agreement, School Ties, Focus and The Believer.
- The idea of the displaced returned soldier was also explored in The Best Years of Our Lives, Jacknife, Coming Home, The Men and The Deer Hunter.

AWARDS
Academy Awards - nominated for Best Film, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Robert Ryan), Best Supporting Actress (Gloria Grahame) and Best Writing.
BAFTAs - nominated for Best Film.
Cannes Film Festival - won Best Social Film.