Review of Cross-Up

Cross-Up (1954)
8/10
There is nothing more dangerous than a willing lonesome lady in a night club
21 April 2023
The action is fast, the drama tends to constantly accelerate, the villains are unpleasant enough, one of them appropriately sadistic and stupid at that, the murders tend to multiply, the car chases tend to constantly involve more cars, both the ladies are attractive and lovable enough, although one gets killed and the other gets out of any trouble without a scratch, the plot is thick enough and constantly gets thicker, while we never learn anything about the "committee" which all the villains seem frightened to death of, so the main intrigue is actually missing, suggesting some monkey business in counterfeit money and laundry. Lisa Daniely as the first lady in the parade actually cautions Larry Sparks not to ask any questions, while he commits the mistake of insisting on getting something out of her, which triggers all the problems and plunges him into a gruesome mess of unpleasantness. Larry Parks as the journalist is actually very much reminding of Jack Lemmon, they are the same type, and there is a lot of humour refreshing this film. Larry Parks was actually one of those many exiles from the US during the McCarthy witch-hunts, and like so many others he did better in British films than at home.
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