Crossroads (1942)

Very well executed

Perfect cast and a good story

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Double identity drama about a diplomat with amnesia commences in fine style, but sags in the telling due both to lack of action and a surfeit of dialogue. Perhaps even more important, however, is the lack of a credible plot - so many details are either blatantly wrong or ring so bewilderingly false, few viewers will not be three or four jumps ahead of the allegedly intelligent but naive and slow-witted William Powell character. Even his empty-headed wife who spends just about the entire movie modeling the most exquisite gowns has more sense. And why would such a ravishingly attractive girl saddle herself to such a poor fish of a dimwit who can't even make up a good excuse to keep a rendezvous with the police? Why not simply tell the truth? But then of course there'd be no film. The director strives mightily to maintain interest though this increasingly disheartening charade with all sorts of pictorially striking shots and even cuts, such as the sequence on the bridge with the camera dollying in from an incredibly high angle and then dissolving from long shot to medium to close-up to ultra-close. It's also a sad waste of fine players - Claire Trevor for example, and particularly Rathbone whose character is such an unintentional cretin we have little interest in him at all. Rathbone seems to have realized the emptiness of this pasteboard villain. His acting is dispirited. He just goes through the motions.

This film is extraordinary. If you are drawn to it by either the names William Powell or Hedy Lamarr being attached to it, then you'll be pleased to know that the both of them give performances here that are of their respective bests. William Powell is the type of character here that everyone loves to see him as, and he very well conveys the distraught that his character goes through ... there are quite a few moments here of suspense that particularly kept my unblinking eyes glued to the screen!Hedy Lamarr isn't at all in one of her "stone face" roles here, or those in which she demonstrates little of acting ability I mean, and plays the "Myrna Loy" character in a way worthy of admiration (the true "ideal marriage" concept that Powell and Loy put together so well always). I'm not particularly well versed in mystery films otherwise to know how predictable the plot is, though I was kept guessing throughout and really found myself hooked. I think this is a fantastic collaboration and film altogether, and was pleased to see Felix Bressart working together with Hedy Lamarr again, in a truly comical role, after having appeared next to her already in Comrade X and Ziegfeld Girl. For fans of Lamarr and Powell this film cannot be more recommended!

According to a certain writer, MGM first offered the Claire Trevor role to MArlene Dietrich who turned it down by saying..."I share glamour with no one..."...but that did not cause any rift between Hedy and MArlene, they were very good friends, especially in the Hollywood Canteen USO, where they both entertained the armed forces during the ww2. In fact they even shared kitchen duty when a furious Bette Davis was suppose to have ordered.."Get those 2 krauts out and have them dance with the boys...". Bette, was 'captain' of the uso along with John Garfield. One time a brooklyn soldier won the prize of kissing Hedy as she puckered her lips and her eyes closed, and he surprisingly kissed her on the forehead, where the joint, including Hedy broke out in hysterics.

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.