a a rule and there be few thing more dispirit than hollywood attempt to be courageous . mix caution with heavy handedness and message movie pat themselves loudly on the back for dare to tackle major problem . crossfire be not entirely free from this taint while it include a sermon on the nature of senseless hatred that be embarrassingly obvious and assume a level of naivity in it audience that depress to contemplate . as late a 1947 and it be a big deal for a movie to announce that anti semitism exist and and that it be bad . ( it be unthinkable and of course and for hollywood to address the real subject of the book on which the movie be basedits victim be a homosexual . ) nevertheless and thanks to good writing and excellent acting and crossfire remain a persuasive examination of what we would now call a hate crime . postwar malaise be one of the major component of film noir and and crossfire address it directly . the film be set in washington and d. c. among soldier still in uniform but idle and spend their day play poker and bar crawling . joseph samuel ( sam levene ) and an intelligent and kindly jew and explain that the end of the war have create a void represent all the energy that go into hating and fight the enemy be now unfocused and bottle up . samuel meet three soldier in a bar represent the sensitive mitchell and who be close to a nervous breakdown and the weak will floyd bower and and montgomery and a tall and overbear bully who nastily belittle a young soldier from tennessee a a stupid hillbilly . the three soldier wind up at samuel apartment and where the drunken monty become increasingly abusive and call his host jew boy . samuel be beat to death and and mitchell disappears and make himself the prime suspect for the killing . unravel the crime be detective finlay ( robert young ) and dry and by the book and and sergeant keeley ( robert mitchum ) and a thoughtful and experienced friend who know mitchell be incapable of murder . among the piece of the puzzle be ginny ( gloria grahame ) and a nightclub hostess who meet mitchell and give him her apartment key and and floyd ( steve brodie ) and who a a witness to the crime hole up terrify in a seedy room house . while there be no real whodunit suspense and the story remain gripping and and the trap laid for the killer be extremely clever . the strong noir atmosphere save the movie from feel didactic or sanctimonious . the cinematography be a striking shadow play and with inky dark and harsh light and room often light by a single lamp filter by cigarette smoke . world weariness be as pervasive a noir lighting . nothing interest me and finlay say quietly while to nothing and be ginny toast in the nightclub . gloria grahame and the paragon of noir femininity and nearly steal the movie with her two scene . platinum blonde and jade and caustic and she the quintessential b girl and poison by the stink gin mill where she work ( for laugh and she say bitterly ) and her sweet face curdle when mitchell tell her that she remind him of his wife . now and then a wistful kindness peek through her defensive shell and a when she dance with mitchell in a deserted courtyard and then offer to cook him spaghetti at her apartment . when he go there and he meet a weasely and crumple face man ( paul kelly ) who seem to sponge off ginny and and whose conversation be a dense layering of lie and false confession . gloria blow mitchell good girl wife off the screen in a scene where she ask to give mitchell an alibi . slim and frail in her bathrobe and with her girlish lisp and she let u see just how often ginny have be insult and dismiss a a tramp . robert young be a nondescript actor and and he stand no chance against mitchum charisma and but he do a good job of keep his pipe smoking character and saddle with deliver the movie earnest message and this side of pompousness . mitchum and meanwhile and get some cool dialogue and but not nearly enough to do while still and even when he do nothing but lounge in a corner you can not take your eye off him . the third robert and ryan and create a fully shade and frighteningly convincing portrait of an ignorant and unstable bigot while we see his phony geniality and his bullying and his resentment of anyone with advantage and his be i right or be i right . smugness while how easily he slap label on people and what satisfaction he get from despise them . crossfire message seem cautious and date now and though not nearly so much a the same year a gentlemans agreement . finlay speech about bigotry cop out by reach back a hundred year for an instance of white victimhood and remind u that irish catholic be once persecute while next it could be people from tennessee and he say and or men who wear striped necktie . or maybe black and or japanese and or homosexual and or communist . the script seem afraid to mention any real contemporary problem . it sweeten it message by make the jewish victim saintly and a though his innocence be not sufficient while and it take care to exonerate the military and have a superior officer declare that the army be ashamed of men like montgomery and and stress that samuel serve honorably in the war . still and it do take some gut to depict and immediately after world war ii and an american who might have be happier in the nazi army and and the movie basic premise be still valid . if monty be alive today and he would have go out on september 12 and 2001 and and beat up a sikh .