crossfire remembered much fact three stars first name robert one first hollywood films deal antisemitismbr br the story opens murder silhouette man later learn jewish man named joseph samuels sam levene pipe smoking police captain finlay robert young assigned case exsoldier montgomery robert ryan comes upon murder scene learn flashback met samuels bar along soldiers process mustered service following wwiibr br according montgomery pal floyd bowers steve brodie followed samuels cpl arthur mitchell george cooper samuels apartment drinks montgomery tells finlay mitchell left apartment first floyd followed soon samuels still alive wellbr br unable locate mitchell finlay suspects murder enlists sgt peter keeley robert mitchum help locate mitchell mitchell meanwhile wondering streets dazed state meets prostitute ginny gloria grahame bar strikes friendship gives key apartment goes rest unexpectedly man paul kelly turns looking ginny mitchell still daze leaves goes back meet keeley pals keeley manages keep police hides night movie housebr br from mitchells perspective learn montgomery hates jews probably killer finlay begins focus investigation montgomery trying prove guilt arrangers one soldiers kid named leroy william phipps set trap mongomerybr br crossfire considered one best film noire genre fact garnered several academy award nominations including ryan grahame best supporting actors made modest budget three weeksbr br it elements classic film noire shadows low key lighting story playing mostly night requisite femme fatale piece grahames ginny plays minor role nonetheless classic femme fatale unnamed character played paul kelly in excellent bit chewed spit ginny mitchellbr br robert ryan steals picture brutal montgomery although would type cast similar roles years come robert young makes good low key detective robert mitchum little befriend mitchell character others cast jacqueline white mitchells wife lex barker who would go following year play tarzan one mitchums soldier pals richard powers who previously known tom keene finlays assistantbr br director edward dmytryk would shortly run afoul house unamerican committee communist affiliations spend couple years jail