''Crossroads'' is a 1942

mystery film A mystery film is a genre of film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur Detective, sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means ...

noir directed by Jack Conway, starring

William Powell William Horatio Powell (July 29, 1892 – March 5, 1984) was an American actor. A major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he was paired with Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the ''The Thin Man (film), Thin Man'' series based on the Nick and Nora Cha ...

Hedy Lamarr Hedy Lamarr (; born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler; November 9, 1914 January 19, 2000) was an Austrian-born American film actress and inventor. A film star during Hollywood's golden age, Lamarr has been described as one of the greatest movie actresse ...

Claire Trevor Claire Trevor ( Wemlinger; March 8, 1910April 8, 2000) was an American actress. She appeared in 65 feature films from 1933 to 1982, winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in ''Key Largo'' (1948), and received nomina ...

and

Basil Rathbone Philip St. John Basil Rathbone MC (13 June 1892 – 21 July 1967) was a South African-born English actor. He rose to prominence in the United Kingdom as a Shakespearean stage actor and went on to appear in more than 70 films, primarily costume ...

. Powell plays a diplomat whose amnesia about his past subjects him to back-to-back blackmail schemes, which threaten his reputation, job, marriage, and future. The film was inspired by the 1938 French film ''

Crossroads Crossroads, crossroad, cross road or similar may refer to: * Crossroads (junction), where four roads meet Film and television Films * ''Crossroads'' (1928 film), a 1928 Japanese film by Teinosuke Kinugasa * ''Cross Roads'' (film), a 1930 Brit ...

'' which had also had a British remake '' Dead Man's Shoes'' in 1940.

Plot

In 1935, rising French diplomat David Talbot (

) and his beautiful much younger bride Lucienne (

) are celebrating their third month of marriage. They are interrupted by a note from the mysterious Carlos Le Duc (

Vladimir Sokoloff Vladimir Aleksandrovich Sokoloff (russian: Влади́мир Алекса́ндрович Соколо́в; December 26, 1889 – February 15, 1962) was a Russian-American character actor of stage and screen. After studying theatre in Moscow, ...

) demanding $1 million francs from David. Failure to make good will force Le Duc to reveal Talbot's identity to the police as a welsher. Pretending to cooperate, Talbot appears at the ransom drop, leaves a package of wrapped paper in lieu of the banknotes, and Le Duc is apprehended by hidden gendarmes. During the trial which follows, Le Duc’s defense is that he was seeking repayment of a legitimate debt owed by a former business associate, incurred in 1922. Talbot is accused of being that man, career thief Jean Pelletier. The prosecution denies that Talbot is Pelletier, and charges that Le Duc is guilty of extortion. Talbot maintains that he suffered from amnesia following the devastating train accident that same year, prevents him from remembering anything from that time. Talbot's identity is affirmed by the psychologist who treated him following the wreck, Dr. Tessier (

Felix Bressart Felix Bressart (March 2, 1892 – March 17, 1949) was a German-American actor of stage and screen. Life and career Bressart (pronounced "BRESS-ert") was born in East Prussia, Germany (now part of Russia). His acting debut came in 1914 as Malvol ...

), ever since becoming a family friend. Talbot's strategy is foiled by a psychologist for the defense, Dr. Alex Dubroc (

Sig Ruman Siegfried Carl Alban Rumann (October 11, 1884 – February 14, 1967), billed as Sig Ruman and Sig Rumann, was a German-American character actor known for his portrayals of pompous and often stereotypically Teutonic officials or villains in ...

), who tricks Tessier into conceding the unreliability of a diagnosis of amnesia. He suggests that Talbot fabricated the story after riding on the train, in hopes to hide his true identity. At present, no one really knows, because after these two similar looking men boarded the train, only one survived. Was it Pelletier or Talbot? A glamorous night club chanteuse is introduced on behalf of the defense, Michelle Allaine (

). She maintains she has never seen Talbot before, until, at mere arm's length, their gazes lock, and she spontaneously gasps a longing ''“Jean”...!'' The implication to everyone is that they were former lovers. A surprise witness then appears, who volunteers to testify on Talbot‘s behalf, Henri Sarrou (

). Claiming to know Talbot before his injuries he convinces the court David's identity is genuine, in spite of the previous romantic imprecation. Le Duc is convicted. Shortly after, Sarrou cavalierly appears unannounced at the Talbot home in mid-''soiree'', where he privately demands the same million francs as Le Duc had done. Sarrou claims that Pelletier, himself, and Le Duc were cohorts in a two million franc robbery. Sarrou tells Talbot that he is Pelletier, and that he took all the cash, after shooting and killing the man carrying the money on his way to the bank. Sarrou demands half of the loot, one million francs. Talbot orders him out of his home for being a scoundrel. Not long after, Michelle Allaine makes a second surprise appearance at the Talbot home in their study, shorter after pretending to apologize to him for her implicating sigh at the trial at his office, but she is really there to coyly reveal for just a fleeting moment a locket holding a cameo of the pair in smiling embrace. She's also there to lure him, just after the visit with his wife, hoping to raise more suspicion of prior intimacy and future infidelity. Shaken by what has just transpired, Talbot begins to become ever more convinced that he's Pelletier, and becomes further determined to keep his writhings from Lucienne. Anxious to see Allaine again and draw her out further, Talbot later slips off and visits her at the nightclub where she works. She haughtily upbraids him for masquerading as an eminent diplomat, rumored shortly to be France's next ambassador to Brazil, living lavishly while abandoning his aged peasant mother to penury. She dares him to go see for himself, then gives him the address. He goes there to meet her. He asks her if he could be her son, which upsets her. She tells him she's an old woman and asks him to leave, pleading that she needs her rest. He is riven to his core, by the sad old woman who recognizes him, but refuses his charity. He returns home, offering Lucienne an alibi to his whereabouts. Worried about David, Lucienne visits Dr. Tessier the following day, explaining that if David was really Pelletier, she would still love him. She suspects that Sarrou is a blackmailer, and considers handing over her own jewels and money to make he go away. The following day, Sarrou shows up at David's club, demanding his receives his money that very evening, or he will contact the police. Later, David asks Lucienne to attend a party that evening at Deval's alone, claiming he needs to help a colleague. After she departs, Sarrou phones David, telling him he knows about a Saigon ticket he bought in a feeble attempt to escape, and threatens him again. He races back to the club to find Sarrou and Allaine together. Sarrou gives him a deadline to pay the million francs. Talbot returns home, sneaks his passport out of a wall safe while just dodging his wife, then makes reservations the next day to flee alone to the Far East. Before he can Sarrou chastises him, recounting his every furtive move. He is cornered and must pay. Where to get the money? He wouldn't have enough even if he sold his house. Why ''raid his office safe'', where he keeps a cache of millions of the nation's francs to make unrecorded payments in sensitive diplomatic matters. He speaks the daring idea aloud as it dawns on him. Sarrou jumps at the opportunity to accompany him and immediately seize his ransom. The pair sneak past the guards at the foreign ministry. Talbot turns over the cash. Seeking to thwart her husband's self-destruction Lucienne appears, too late to prevent the crime. Just then flashlights appear - it's the police! Everyone's caught red-handed. Disaster! No, they're there to arrest Sarrou. Talbot had alerted them ahead of time - just as he had with Le Duc - having realized when looking incidentally at his passport photo that his hair had been parted on the same side in the cameo in Allaine's locket. ''Impossible'', as a scar from the rail accident had forced him to switch. The photo with his "lover" taken before the wreck had to have been a ''forgery'', impelling his surreptitious set-up of the sting. Caught up in the meltdown Allaine confesses the deceit, and the bottle-loving former actress who played Madame Pelletier (

Margaret Wycherly Margaret De Wolfe Wycherly (born Margaret De Wolfe, 26 October 1881 – 6 June 1956) was an English stage and film actress. She spent many years in the United States and is best remembered for her Broadway roles and Hollywood character parts. On ...

) implicates herself. With all four blackmailers behind bars Talbot is cleared, his marriage saved, and ambassadorial honors lie dead ahead.

Cast

as David Talbot *

as Lucienne Talbot *

as Michelle Allaine *

as Henri Sarrou *

as Madame Pelletier *

as Dr. Andre Tessier *

as Dr. Alex Dubroc *

H. B. Warner Henry Byron Warner (born Henry Byron Lickfold, 26 October 1876 – 21 December 1958) was an English film and theatre actor. He was popular during the silent era and played Jesus Christ in '' The King of Kings''. In later years, he successfu ...

as the Prosecuting Attorney *

Philip Merivale Philip Merivale (2 November 1886 – 12 March 1946) was an English film and stage actor and screenwriter. Life and career Merivale was born in Rehutia, Manickpur, India, to railway engineer Walter Merivale (1855–1902) and Emma Magda ...

as the Commissaire *

as Carlos Le Duc *

Anna Q. Nilsson Anna Quirentia Nilsson (March 30, 1888 – February 11, 1974) was a Swedish-American actress who achieved success in American silent movies. Early life Nilsson was born in Ystad, Sweden in 1888. Her middle name Quirentia is derived from her ...

as Madame Deval *

Bertram Marburgh Bertram Marburgh (1875–1956) was an American stage and film actor. Rainey p.67 He appeared as a character actor in around thirty five films between 1915 and 1945. Selected filmography * '' After Dark'' (1915) * '' The Stolen Voice'' (1915) * ' ...

as Pierre *

John Mylong John Mylong (September 27, 1892 – September 8, 1975), also known as Jack Mylong-Münz, born Adolf Heinrich Münz, was an Austrian actor who later settled in the United States. Selected filmography * ''Der heilige Hass, 1. Teil'' (1921) - Rabo ...

as Baron De Lorrain * James Rennie Monsieur Charles Martin *

Alphonse Martell Alphonse Martell (1890 - 1976) was a French actor who wrote and directed ''Gigolettes of Paris'' (1933). He portrayed a director in the 1934 film '' I'll Be Suing You''. He often portrayed a waiter as in the 1946 film '' Falcon's Alibi'', in which ...

as Headwaiter *

Guy Bates Post Guy Bates Post (September 22, 1875 – January 16, 1968) was an American character actor who appeared in at least twenty-one Broadway plays and twenty-five Hollywood films over a career that spanned more than fifty years. He was perhaps best rem ...

as President of the Court *

Gibson Gowland Gibson Gowland (4 January 1877 – 9 September 1951) was an English film actor. Biography Gowland was born in Spennymoor, County Durham. He started work as a sailor and later became the mate on a ship. For several years from the age of 25 he ...

as Reporter *

Louis Natheaux Louis Natheaux (born ''Louis F. Natho''; December 10, 1894 – August 23, 1942) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than eighty films between 1919 and 1942. Born in Danville, Illinois, Natheaux performed in vaudeville and in a C ...

as Reporter *

Ellinor Vanderveer Ellinor Vanderveer (August 5, 1886 – May 27, 1976), was an American actress who usually played dowagers, high class society matrons or party guests. She appeared in 111 films between 1924 and 1953, including several Laurel and Hardy come ...

as Cafe Patron

Reception

Box office

According to MGM records, the film cost $846,000 to make, and earned $1,523,000 in the US and Canada and $798,000 elsewhere, for a total of $2,231,000, making the studio a profit of $1,473,000, or 175% of its production costs.

Critical response

When the film was released, the staff at ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' magazine praised it, writing "This is a Grade A whodunit, with a superlative cast. The novel story line, which would do credit to an

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

thriller, has the added potency of Hedy Lamarr and William Powell ... It’s good, escapist drama, without a hint of the war despite its Parisian locale, circa 1935, and evidences excellent casting and good direction. The script likewise well turned out, though better pace would have put the film in the smash class. Its only fault is a perceptible slowness at times, although the running time is a reasonable 82 minutes, caused by a plenitude of talk."

Adaptation

The film was adapted for a

Lux Radio Theatre ''Lux Radio Theatre'', sometimes spelled ''Lux Radio Theater'', a classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the NBC Blue Network (1934–35) (owned by the National Broadcasting Company, later predecessor of American Broadcasting Company ...

broadcast on March 29, 1943, starring

Jean-Pierre Aumont Jean-Pierre Aumont (born Jean-Pierre Philippe Salomons; 5 January 1911 – 30 January 2001) was a French actor, and holder of the Légion d'Honneur and the Croix de guerre 1939–1945, Croix de Guerre for his World War II military service. Ea ...

and

Lana Turner Lana Turner ( ; born Julia Jean Turner; February 8, 1921June 29, 1995) was an American actress. Over the course of her nearly 50-year career, she achieved fame as both a pin-up model and a film actress, as well as for her highly publicized per ...

.Audio Classic Archive
"Radio Broadcast Log Of: Lux Radio Theatre", last updated July 12, 2012. Accessed: July 25, 2013.

References

External links

* * * *

information site and DVD review at DVD Beaver (includes images) *

Streaming audio

''Crossroads''
on

: March 29, 1943 {{Authority control 1942 films 1942 mystery films American black-and-white films American mystery films American remakes of French films 1940s English-language films Film noir Films about amnesia Films directed by Jack Conway Films scored by Bronisław Kaper Films set in 1935 Films set in Paris Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films 1940s American films