Pour toi j'ai tué

It was only fitting that Robert Siodmak directed Criss Cross, as he had also directed the film's star, Burt Lancaster, in his first film three years earlier, and this one is Burt's farewell to noir and city suits, as he was about to begin his swashbuckling phase, and after that would don military uniforms and cowboy gear.

Criss Cross is basically a "big heist" movie, full of people double crossing one another with alarming frequency, and to such a degree that the story is often hard to follow. Yvonne De Carlo is the love interest, and Dan Duryea is an exceptionally nasty bad guy even for noir. The setting is L.A., and there is much excellent location photography that makes the movie a treat for people who want to see what the city looked like before half of it was bulldozed to make way for the highways.

There's nothing startling or especially new about this movie. It has a fine and somewhat eclectic supporting cast which includes Alan Napier and Richard Long, Steve McNally and Percy Helton. As in The Killers, there's a strong air of fatalism in the movie, more oppressive here, with a darker tone, and a more Germanic, almost Langian feeling of hopelessness.

Wow! Criss Cross was a blind purchase for me. I really had never read much about it until I decided to give it a try. While I was hoping to be entertained, I wasn't expecting to enjoy it this much. Burt Lancaster has never been a favorite of mine. In fact, other than The Killers, I can't think of another role of his that I've so completely enjoyed. He's wonderful in this movie. As for Yvonne De Carlo, the only other thing I remember seeing her in was the television show "The Munsters". And, while she may not be the greatest actress of all time, she's very good here. I never pictured Lily looking like this. As for Dan Duryea, he's a great baddie. Mannerisms, speech, and the rest of the package just ooze with sleaze. Together, and with the help of an excellent supporting cast, they're great.

As for the movie, it's a very entertaining noir with plenty of twists and turns along the way. Lancaster is the kind of man who drinks too much, De Carlo is the kind of woman who uses men to get what she wants, and Duryea is the kind of man who would as soon shoot you as look at you. It's gritty, sometimes violent, and always entertaining. The film is expertly directed by Robert Siodmak, whose work I've always enjoyed. The script is exceptional with more double-crosses in the final half than one movie has a right to. No one is above double-crossing anyone else. It makes for a very entertaining hour and a half. The movie also features a nice look at Los Angeles in the 40s. The scenes of middle-class, single-family neighborhoods are quite different from the city of today.

While Criss Cross may not be the best film noir I've seen, I would place it somewhere on a list of my ten favorite noirs. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to fans of the genre.

Good solid noir, with Burt Lancaster possibly running a little below best but Yvonne DeCarlo as the supreme femme fatale is in stomping form and more than makes up for any lapses from others. Gets going immediately and the aerial shot makes us well aware that this is going to be a beautifully shot movie, which it certainly is. Really great camera movement, especially during a stunning dance sequence, that includes an unaccredited Tony Curtis, and the heist itself with the surprising element designed to catch out Mr Lancaster. Good all the way through and if Lancaster sometimes appears a little lame it is probably because of the sheer ruthlessness of Dan Duryea as the chief baddie and the aforementioned DeCarlo who seems to be able to run rings round them all. Oh and what an ending!

As usual in a movie directed by Robert Siodmark there are striking compositions and some really tense moments in this sombre tale of cross, double-cross and revenge in a botched armored car robbery.Some convincing location scenes give us an authentic look at 1940's Los Angeles.

Burt Lancaster more or less reprises his role in THE KILLERS as an honest guy led astray by a beautiful woman. Yvonne DeCarlo doesn't quite hack it as the femme fatale but Siodmark makes the most of her looks and there is a well edited sequence of her dancing in a night club. (An un-billed Tony Curtis is her partner).Minor characters, the hoods, bartenders etc are well cast and there are good performances by those two stalwarts of 1940's movies Stephen Mcnally and Dan Duryea.

The story line is rather ragged and there are a few plot loop holes but the action when it comes is well handled.

Doesn't rank with THE KILLERS but it's an interesting look at a heist movie before they became cliches. You can see harbingers of future similar movies like THE ASPHALT JUNGLE, THE KILLING, RIFIFI etc.

This film looks great - a classic noir - but the story is dull and predictable. I'm sure this frustrated Robert Siodmak as he can never really make the film fire in the way that he did "The Killers". The other weak link is Yvonne De Carlo, who looks great but is never really convincing. Much better is Burt Lancaster, also looking great, but very convincing as the love-sick fool hero. And the supporting cast of hoods and odd-balls is interesting. Worthwhile, but not great - with an excellent finale.