Crossfire (1947) 1080p BluRay x265 HEVC AAC-SARTRE

This drama was one of the first major-studio efforts to confront anti-Semitism (beating the Oscar-winning Gentleman's Agreement by several months), and it features a standout performance from Robert Ryan as a bigoted soldier on the run. Monty Montogomery (Ryan) is a violent and unstable soldier who, while out on a pass, goes on a drinking spree with three buddies, Floyd (Steve Brodie), Arthur (George A. Cooper), and Leroy (William Phipps). While boozing it up in a tavern, the four men meet Joseph Samuels (Sam Levene), and end up at his apartment for a party. Monty, however, has a fierce hatred of Jews, and he later goes into a drunken rage in which he beats Joseph to death. Monty's friends can barely remember the incident through their liquor-shrouded memories, but they recall just enough to make themselves scarce when police detective Capt. Finlay (Robert Young) begins making the rounds looking for information on Joseph's murder. Sgt. Kelly (Robert Mitchum), a soldier who knows the four men, begins to suspect that something is up, and he works with Leroy's wife and Finlay to help ferret out the killer in his ranks, while Monty kills Floyd when he becomes convinced that he's going to talk to the authorities. While director Edward Dmytryk showed real bravery in bringing this story to the screen, it had greater repercussions than he might have expected; the film's controversial themes led to Dmytryk's denunciation by the House Un-American Activities Committee during the McCarthy-era investigations of the 1950s. Luckily, unlike other filmmakers who suffered similar accusations by HUAC, Dmytryk continued to work steadily through the '50s and '60s.

Extras

• Audio Commentary - This track, originally recorded for WB's 2005 DVD edition, pairs up film historians Alain Silver and James Ursini; they're occasionally "joined" by director Edward Dmytryk, thanks to a few shrewdly cut-and-pasted archival audio interview clips. It's an engaging commentary that picks up steam as it goes in, with all three participants shedding some light on the film's anti-anti-Semitic message and fallout from the House Un-American Activities Committee with its infamous blacklist practices, Dmytryk's escape to England and his later film Christ in Concrete, 1940s politics, and more traditional behind-the-scenes topics such as cinematography, staging, the script, and much more. This one's certainly worth a listen if you haven't heard it yet.

• Hate is Like a Gun (8:47) - Another 2005 piece, this short but informative featurette further examines Crossfire's moral themes and quick production while adding in a few behind-the-scenes stills, some featuring Dmytryk and the three leads. As an unintentional bonus, clips from the finished film are almost VHS-grade quality so you'll appreciate Warner Archive's outstanding new restoration even more.

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