We open in Paris, 1935, where life's been good to David Talbot (William Powell). He's a distinguished French diplomat whose career is on the rise, and he's newly married to Lucienne (Hedy Lamarr), and the two of them are devoted to each other. He's also unable to remember anything about his life since before a railway accident in 1922. Unfortunately for Talbot, someone who claims to know the truth about his past attempts to blackmail him for one million francs. Talbot pretends to play along, but sets a trap for his blackmailer, with the help of the police. The blackmailer, Carlos Le Duc (Vladimir Sokoloff) is put on trial, which becomes quite the sensation when Le Duc apparently reveals Talbot's true identity - Jean Pelletier, a crook with an extensive rap sheet. However, the matter seems to be settled when businessman Henri Sarreau (Basil Rathbone) turns up in court, confirming Pelletier's death in Africa four years ago. But now it's Sarreau's turn to blackmail Talbot, claiming he's Pelettier after all. He claims that the two of them were partners in a robbery back in 1922, during which Pelletier killed a guy and made off with Sarreau's share. Now Sarreau wants what he's owed, or he'll expose Talbot. The devoted Lucienne stands by her husband, even as he keeps her in the dark about all this, but she can't help growing suspicious. The kindly Dr. Tessier (Felix Bressart), who treated Talbot after the accident, has faith in Talbot's true nature. However, as the web of deception is further spun, who - if anybody - is telling the truth?
A diplomat is targeted by blackmailers, leading to some shocking discoveries about his past in Crossroads, a taut noir thriller. During the heyday of the studio system, cranking out films on time and under budget was often the top priority. While some directors chafed under such stringency, others like MGM's Jack Conway (1887 - 1952) simply made the best of it. Born Hugh Ryan Conway, he was a native of Graceville, Minnesota, and dropped out of high school to join a theater group. After a stint as a railroad worker, he decided to make a go of a professional acting career in the movies, making his debut in a short film adaptation of The Scarlet Letter (1908). Conway racking up over a hundred film appearances over his career as an actor, mostly in Westerns. In 1912, he somehow transitioned to directing, helming the short film Her Indian Hero (1912), which he also starred in, for the Nestor Film Company. A year later, he directed his first feature-length film, The Old Armchair, and while he still made appearances on-screen, including a supporting role in Macbeth (1916), directing seemed to be his main focus from here on out. Conway transitioned to various studios before settling down at MGM in 1926. Under Irving Thalberg and Louis B. Meyer, the studio insisted on a streamlined filmmaking process, refusing to indulge their directors in creating any sense of a personal artistic style. To them, such indulgences meant overblown budgets and production schedules. However, this didn't stop the studio from producing high-quality films that made big bucks, including Conway's work. Conway made his mark at MGM by directing its first sound picture, Alias Jimmy Valentine (1928), and he remained with the studio until his retirement from filmmaking in 1948. While at MGM, Conway directed a number of successful films, including three of Clark Gable's. However, Conway could deliver in other ways than profits; while not a financial success, the Pancho Villa biopic Viva Villa! (1934) was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Conway's crowning glory was A Tale of Two Cities (1935), an elaborate production that in one scene utilized over 17,000 extras and was an enormous critical and commercial success - to this day, it's still considered the definitive adaptation of Dickens's epic novel. Crossroads was made during the twilight years of his career - having directed over 100 films by this point, he would only direct six more after this one before retiring in 1948. A Tale of Two Cities (1935) WARNING: Here be spoilers! Read further at your own risk! We open in Paris, 1935, where life's been good to David Talbot (William Powell). He's a distinguished French diplomat whose career is on the rise, and he's newly married to Lucienne (Hedy Lamarr), and the two of them are devoted to each other. He's also unable to remember anything about his life since before a railway accident in 1922. Unfortunately for Talbot, someone who claims to know the truth about his past attempts to blackmail him for one million francs. Talbot pretends to play along, but sets a trap for his blackmailer, with the help of the police. The blackmailer, Carlos Le Duc (Vladimir Sokoloff) is put on trial, which becomes quite the sensation when Le Duc apparently reveals Talbot's true identity - Jean Pelletier, a crook with an extensive rap sheet. However, the matter seems to be settled when businessman Henri Sarreau (Basil Rathbone) turns up in court, confirming Pelletier's death in Africa four years ago. But now it's Sarreau's turn to blackmail Talbot, claiming he's Pelettier after all. He claims that the two of them were partners in a robbery back in 1922, during which Pelletier killed a guy and made off with Sarreau's share. Now Sarreau wants what he's owed, or he'll expose Talbot. The devoted Lucienne stands by her husband, even as he keeps her in the dark about all this, but she can't help growing suspicious. The kindly Dr. Tessier (Felix Bressart), who treated Talbot after the accident, has faith in Talbot's true nature. However, as the web of deception is further spun, who - if anybody - is telling the truth? The cast alone, a talented bunch all around, makes this movie worth seeing, and they all give excellent performances. I've always liked William Powell in everything else I've seen him in, and aside from a brief appearance in Sherlock Holmes (1922) as one of Moriarty's underlings, this is the first time I've seen him play a possibly shady character. It's a great performance from Powell, and a reminder of how versatile an actor he was (although his attempt at a French accent noticeably disappears early in the film, never to return). Hedy Lamarr, a talented actress and co-inventor of frequency hopping (a key component in modern-day telecommunications), has great chemistry with Powell, and we feel for her as she tries to stick by her husband even as she wrestles with her emerging doubts. And, of course, there's Basil Rathbone, who always makes a great villain, and Crossroads is no exception. Charming one moment and ruthlessly cold-blooded the next, Sarreau as played by Rathbone is an imposing antagonist. If I found anything truly disappointing about this film, it's that Rathbone didn't get more screentime. (Conway had previously directed Rathbone in A Tale of Two Cities.) Felix Bressart as Dr. Tessier is the most over the top, thanks to an exaggerated accent, but even he makes his character engaging by the virtue of Tessier's kindly nature. Margaret Wycherly has a small role as Pelletier's mother, and I can't say too much about it without giving away spoilers - suffice to say, it's a jaw-dropper I didn't see coming. (Wycherly would later play Ma Jarrett opposite James Cagney in the classic 1949 gangster drama White Heat.) Clocking in at 83 minutes, Crossroads moves along at a moderate pace, taking its time to set everything up, but I don't think it drags anywhere, thanks not only to the cast's strong performances, but a solid script that develops the characters well and has good dialogue throughout. For a noir thriller, like the performances, it's technically subtle in the way it's shot and lit - I'm not sure if the subtlety is intentional, or just part of MGM's "crank 'em out quick" mindset, but it works. There's only scene in the film that indulges in some of the more overt cinematic flourishes of the noir genre. It's a well-crafted scene of Talbot contemplating suicide on a bridge, staring at the water as the music builds to a tormented crescendo before an organ grinder happens by and shakes him out of it. However, it's so different from what's come before and what follows, to the point that it actually feels out of place. The ending also wraps things up a little too tidily for many people's tastes, most likely, but not badly enough to spoil what's come before or my viewing experience overall. There were even a couple of great plot twists here and there that I did not see coming, and it made the film difficult to predict - which is fine by me. I like it when a movie can surprise me and keep me guessing. Crossroads was yet another box office hit for Conway, and the film was well-received by critics upon its release, one even comparing it favorably to Hitchcock's work. There were some complaints that it was too talky and suffered from pacing issues, although I personally don't agree. While it's not held up as a classic, it's gotten praise from more contemporary critics, and it was released on DVD as part of the Warner Archives line. (Warner Bros. acquired MGM's classic film library some time ago.) If I think about it too much, I'm sure I can find more stuff to nitpick about, but while I was watching Crossroads, I was drawn in by the characters and the story, and completely entertained. It did the job it was supposed to do. Noir and thriller fans are sure to like Crossroads, thanks to its talented cast and clever set-up. I enjoyed watching this one, and you hopefully will also.
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