Sua Excia. o Réu

David Talbot (William Powell) is in the diplomatic corps of France about to be named ambassador to Brazil. He has recently married a beautiful woman (Hedy Lamarr as Lucienne), and did I mention he has no memory of his life prior to 13 years ago (present day is 1935) when he was badly injured in a train wreck? He has attempted to find out his history, but he hit nothing but dead ends and eventually gave up trying.

Then one day he gets a note demanding one million francs to be left at a specified drop point or else he will reveal Talbot's identity to the police as a "welcher"? Was this ever actually a crime in France? Our prisons would be full in America if that were a crime here. Talbot alerts the police, cooperates, and the blackmailer is caught. At the trial the accused says that Talbot is in fact career thief Jean Pelletier. Also at the trial a woman (Claire Trevor as Michelle) swoons when she sees him, recognizing him from years ago. But another witness steps forward (Basil Rathbone as Sarrou) who says that said Jean Peltier died years ago, that he was present at his death, and that he confessed his many crimes before he died. The blackmailer is convicted and gets a year.

But it turns out that Sarrou was lying and he tells Talbot that he actually is Pelletier and that he is also a murderer in a robbery that netted two million francs. Sarrou now wants half the loot from that robbery as he was also one of the robbers. Talbot at first dismisses this claim, but as both Michelle and Sarrou slowly bring forth evidence indicating that he could be this horrible person, he begins to wonder, and worse he is hiding this entire situation from his wife.

The problem watching this today is that there are far too many scammers in this internet age to not figure out what is going on almost immediately. And there are a few plot holes which I will leave to you to see for yourself. This is a well done film though, with good acting by all involved. It's too bad Hedy Lamarr isn't given more to do than just look beautful and be supportive.

An interesting aside - Of course most classic film fans know that Basil Rathbone played Sherlock Holmes in a series of films in the 1930s and 1940s. You may not know that William Powell's first film role was in the 1922 silent version of Sherlock Holmes with John Barrymore in the title role. An interesting "crossroads" indeed.

William Powell is a rising diplomat whose past may - or may not - have come back to haunt him in "Crossroads," also starring Hedy Lamarr, Basil Rathbone, and Claire Trevor.

Powell plays David Talbot, a successful man with the French government, who is happily married to Lucienne (Lamarr) when he is accused of being a criminal named Jean Pelletier.

He is blackmailed by the slimy Sarrou (Rathbone) and the flashy Michelle (Trevor). In fact, Talbot has amnesia and doesn't remember anything before the last 13 years. Is he Pelletier or isn't he?

This is an interesting story with a huge hole in it, but nevertheless, the cast is talented and the story intriguing enough to keep the viewer interested.

Powell is excellent in a serious role, which by this time had become somewhat unusual for him, and Lamarr is lovely as his wife and looks beautiful. No surprise there. Rathbone and Trevor make a neat pair of crooks.

"Crossroads" makes for fun watching. Just don't think about it too much.

William Powell plays David Talbot, a French diplomat. When he receives a cryptic letter seeming to ask him for repayment of an old debt, he involves the police, who capture the apparent blackmailer. When the mysterious apprehended man goes on trial for extortion, the story of David Talbot develops. He was in an accident 13 years prior, leaving him with no memory of the previous years. Because he cannot absolutely deny things attributed to him before the accident, we are not sure of the truth. It would have been interesting to see how Hitchcock might handle this story.

We wonder if Talbot, the man with he dubious past, really suffers from amnesia. The evidence, as it is revealed, pulls us back and forth. Is Talbot's behavior due to his confusion? Is he angry at the charges leveled against him? Or is he feigning forgetfulness? Perhaps every new development is bringing his memory back to him?

It is William Powell's acting that creates the ambiguity that keeps this story interesting. Hedy Lamarr, Basil Rathbone and Claire Trevor perform admirably in their supporting roles.

It's a simple premise. But the action develops the story in such a way that the viewer's interest is always engaged. Clues--at least what we think are clues--are parceled out cleverly. Powell's reactions are well-studied, always maintaining the veil that clouds his intentions. It is totally believable because we know that Talbot is probably confused too. This is a mystery worth watching.

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.