Criss CrossLoosely based upon a novel by Don Tracy, Criss Cross sees the reuniting of director Robert Siodmak (Phantom Lady, The Spiral Staircase, Cry of the City) and lead man Burt Lancaster after their classic version of Ernest Hemmingway’s The Killers (1946) three years earlier. Steve Thompson (Lancaster) returns to his family home in Los Angeles to find his ex-wife Anna Dundee (best known for her role as Lily Munster) and rekindles an ill-fated (and unwise) love affair. Although she fully encourages the affair, Anna stands up Steve on their first date to skip town to marry mobster Slim Dundee (Dan Duryea of Scarlet Street, Black Angel, Too Late for Tears and Woman in the Window ). When returning to town, the manipulating Anna continues their affair, but is almost uncovered by Dundee. As a deflection Steve proposes the robbery of an armoured-truck - with him working as an inside man against the company he’s employed by, only to find himself “criss crossed” by Dundee and his gang when the crime is executed. Criss Cross is a noir that when originally released met with mixed reviews, yet has since gained status as a classic example of the noir style - even if it still continues to split audiences opinions. While the plotting may be a little hit and miss at times (Siodmak and writer Daniel Fuchs reworking the original novel’s “racetrack heist” ala The Killing into an ultimately fatal love triangle - something which at the time was apparently criticised by Lancaster), it still has enough momentum to make it an engrossing ride through until the tensely executed and downbeat, if somewhat predictable third act. While Siodmak and Fuchs may have fumbled the ball slightly, the primary strong point of the film (which makes it of true merit) is its cast; Lancaster putting in a strong performance as always and De Carlo making an alluring femme fatale - again after having worked together previously on Jules Dassin’s Brute Force (1947), they make for a great pairing. Dan Duryea is also great as always, playing a bad guy you simply love to hate. Cinephiles will also want to note a small un-credited cameo from Tony Curtis, in a brief pre-fame role (his first on-screen appearance) as a gigolo dancing with Yvonne De Carlo. Furthermore the film has some great cinematography from Frank Planer which makes Criss Cross so prominently Noir-World. This is backed up by a first rate score from composer Miklós Rózsa (The Killers, Brute Force, The Lost Weekend, The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, Spellbound ). While maybe not the very first film I would recommend to those uninitiated to the world of Film Noir, Criss Cross is a film I personally still love, as it has so many of the great qualities that make that era of Hollywood such compulsive viewing. Its gritty, downbeat and cynical approach to a telling a tell of obsession and betrayal, while retaining an air of style and golden era class, make it a must see for fans of 1940s Hollywood.
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