Vintage original 27 x 41 in. US "Style A" one-sheet poster from the classic 1940's Film-Noir crime drama, CROSSFIRE, released in 1947 by RKO Radio Pictures and directed by Edward Dmytryk. Adapted from a novel by Richard Brooks, a man is murdered, apparently by one of a group of demobilized soldiers he met in a bar. But which one? And why? The cast includes Robert Young, Robert Mitchum, Robert Ryan, Gloria Grahame, Paul Kelly, Sam Levene, Jacqueline White, Steve Brodie, George Cooper, Richard Benedict, and Tom Keene.

As indicated in the lower left corner, this is the "Style A" one-sheet poster with the tagline, "Hate is like a loaded gun!" It depicts images of the film's four main characters as portrayed by Robert Young, Gloria Grahame, Robert Mitchum, and Robert Ryan. It has been professionally paper-backed with light restoration to various portions of the fold-lines and just above Dory Schary's last name and to replace a few small chips in the borders. The colors are as fresh and vibrant as when this poster was printed in 1947.

As this example is paper-backed, it cannot be rolled and must be shipped flat (which we will pack carefully). Accordingly, we are offering "Local Pick-Up" for this poster for those that are based in the Los Angeles area.

Crossfire is a 1947 American film-noir drama film which deals with the theme of anti-Semitism, as did that year's Academy Award for "Best Picture" winner, Gentleman's Agreement. The film's screenplay, written by John Paxton, was based on director and screenwriter Richard Brooks's 1945 novel, The Brick Foxhole. Brooks wrote his novel while he was a sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps making training films at Quantico, Virginia, and Camp Pendleton, California. In the novel, the victim was a homosexual. As told in the film The Celluloid Closet, and in the documentary included on the DVD edition of the Crossfire film, the Hollywood Hays Code prohibited any mention of homosexuality because it was seen as a sexual perversion. Hence, the book's theme of homophobia was changed to one about racism and anti-Semitism. The book was published while Brooks was serving in the Marine Corps. A fellow Marine by the name of Robert Ryan met Brooks and told him he was determined to play in a version of the book on screen.


The film was directed by Edward Dmytryk and the screenplay was written by John Paxton, based on the 1945 novel, The Brick Foxhole, by screenwriter and director Richard Brooks. The picture received five Oscar nominations, including Ryan for "Best Supporting Actor" and Gloria Grahame for "Best Supporting Actress," and was the first "B movie" to receive a best picture nomination. Crossfire went on to win at the Cannes Film Festival, receiving the Best Social Film Award (Prix du meilleur film social), 1947; it also won at the Edgar Allan Poe Awards, and "Edgar" for "Best Motion Picture," with awards going to John Paxton (screenwriter), Richard Brooks (author), Dore Schary (producer), Adrian Scott (associate producer) and Edward Dmytryk (director), 1948.