Crossroads

I was drawn to this by the presence in the cast of William Powell, an actor whose graceful charm always lent class to any movie he appeared in. His work in this surprisingly good story of mystery and blackmail, lives up to expectations. The plot manages to surprise one throughout and keeps one's interest going right to the end. Good script, good direction, and a nice setting in 1920's France. Basil Rathbone turns in a nice bit as a villainous character from the past. Worth seeing.

I don't think that's redundant. Think of how many mysteries in which the culprit/villain/murderer is known from the beginning of the film (for instance, "Sleuth"). Those are 'cat-and-mouse' stories, and it's a matter of time before the perp is found out.

"Crossroads", however, remains mysterious until the very end, and the mystery deepens as the film unfolds. William Powell, at his urbane best, is the amnesia victim who may or may not have been a criminal before his accident. Hedy LaMarr is his devoted wife and is gorgeous but with little else to do. Basil Rathbone is in one of his patented Loathsome Villain roles and gives the picture the rating I gave it.

The picture is extremely well written and holds the interest throughout its 84 minutes, which in this case fly by - no chance to check your watch in this one. Don't know if it was an 'A' or a 'B' at the time, but "Crossroads" is one of the best unheralded movies ever made.

WILLIAM POWELL and the gorgeous HEDY LAMARR co-star in a tale of an amnesiac who can't recall what happened to him when a train wreck wipes out part of his memory. Two very cunning crooks (BASIL RATHBONE and CLAIRE TREVOR) take advantage of him by posing as people who want to help him and then plotting to extort money from the wealthy French diplomat and his wife in order to hush up the crime they say he actually did commit.

While the story itself seems far-fetched at points, it does make for an intriguing tale and it's played to the hilt by a very competent cast--although Powell as a French diplomat is a bit hard to swallow.

The sinister overtones are well played by Rathbone and Trevor, both of whom always excelled at playing shady characters in films of the '40s, with Rathbone shifting from his Sherlock Holmes roles to those of the villain. They do much to give the film a flavor of film noir, as does the B&W cinematography.

It's a clever tale, well directed by Jack Conway, and gives Powell and Lamarr a much better chance to emote than they would have two years later in a misguided comedy called THE HEAVENLY BODY.

This is a good, keep-you-guessing mystery. William Powell plays a man who doesn't remember anything of his life beyond 13 years ago. Circumstances begin to make him doubt himself and wonder what he had done before an accident caused him to have amnesia. He is very much in love with his wife (the beautiful Hedy Lamarr), and it is riveting to watch his self-assurance crumble as clues begin to reveal a possible shady past. Also starring Claire Trevor and Basil Rathbone. Good movie, especially if you are a William Powell ("The Thin Man") and/or Hedy Lamarr fan.

Enjoyed viewing this film on late night television starring William Powell, (David Talbot) a very successful man working for the French Government and happily married to a very beautiful woman named Lucienne Talbot, (Hedy Lamarr). Every thing is going great for this couple until David has an accident and develops amnesia and cannot remember a period of his life for 13 years. Henri Sarrou, (Basil Rathbone) meets up with David Talbot and blackmail's him for a crime he committed under the name of Jean Pelletier several years ago. Henri also has a woman named Michelle Allaine, (Claire Trevor) who also confirms that David is guilt of this crime and seeks thousands of dollars to keep everything quite. This is a great mystery story starring great classic veteran actors.