Criss Cross (1949)

Directed by Robert Siodmak. Starring Burt Lancaster, Yvonne De Carlo, Dan Duryea, Stephen McNally, Percy Helton, Tom Pedi, Joan Miller, Alan Napier, Robert Osterloh.

Lancaster’s lovelorn tough guy haunts this dour crime noir, one of the better examples of the sub-genre during its most fruitful period. Still carrying a torch for his ex-wife (now married to heartless gangster Duryea), Lancaster plots an armored truck robbery while carrying on an affair, but the title makes it clear that not everything is going to go according to plan. Stylish direction from Siodmak (re-teaming with the star after they scored a few years earlier with The Killers), moody black-and-white photography from Franz Planer; even more cynical than expected of the type, talky at times, with a tendency toward redundancy during the set-up scenes, but leads to a memorably fatalistic finale. Lancaster is an odd choice for someone bordering on sadsack status, but he excels at hardboiled presentation throughout and sweating during a suspenseful hospital scene; De Carlo is a middling fit as the femme fatale, though—more insensitive than calculating, she does little to inspire so much obsession. In his dialogue-free feature film debut, Tony Curtis can briefly be spotted dancing with the female lead.

75/100