Year: 1949
Runtime: 88 mins
Language: English
Director: Robert Siodmak
When you Double-Cross a Double-Crosser… It’s a Criss Cross! An armored-car guard must join a robbery after being caught with his ex-wife by her gangster husband.
Warning: spoilers below!
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Read the complete plot breakdown of Criss Cross (1949), including all key story events, major twists, and the ending explained in detail. Discover what really happened—and what it all means.
Steve Thompson returns to Los Angeles after two years of drifting, trying to shake off a painful divorce and hoping to see his ex-wife Anna, a prospect that torments him as he clings to the routine of his old job. Despite every warning, he resumes his role as a driver for an armored-truck company, letting the familiar grind pull him back into a life he’s not sure he wants but can’t completely escape.
Fended off by Steve’s family and friends, she marries the mobster Slim Dundee, yet the heartache underneath the arrangement doesn’t stop her from engaging in a clandestine affair with Thompson. The tension between loyalty and desire tightens, drawing the two closer even as their world grows more dangerous.
Caught together by Dundee, Thompson leads him and his gang into an armored-truck robbery caper, a plan that seems flawless in theory but quickly spirals into chaos as the heist spirals out of control. The operation unravels amid confusion and gunplay, the clock ticking as every failure compounds the danger.
Infuriated that his elderly partner — a close family friend who was supposed to have been left unharmed — is gunned down, Thompson abandons the plan mid-heist and a furious exchange of fire erupts between him and Dundee, each wound marking a bitter turn in their deadly gambit.
In the aftermath the severely injured Thompson is hailed as a hero, credited with fending off the robbers and saving half the payroll, even as the moral weight of the night pummels him with unanswered questions and a ruined life.
Dundee sends a man to the hospital to kidnap him and bring him to his hideout, but Thompson counteroffers with a bold choice: he’ll pay the driver $10,000 to take him instead to Anna’s hiding place, hoping to reunite with the woman he loves and reset the broken course of their lives.
Anna is there, with all the stolen loot. Thompson believes they will go back to the original plan — to double-cross Dundee and disappear with the money so they can start anew together.
Seeing that he would only slow her down, Anna reveals her resolve to look out for herself and take the entire haul, leaving Thompson behind. He insists that his feelings were never about the money, only about her, but she remains unmoved, choosing survival over the past.
Dundee arrives, having assumed Thompson would bribe the driver and lead him to the lovers. Declaring that he too has fallen for Anna, he shoots both, with Anna dying in Thompson’s arms. As Dundee turns to flee, sirens wail and headlights wash over his face, signaling the end of their volatile triangle and the price of loyalty, love, and betrayal.
Last Updated: October 05, 2025 at 12:30
Discover curated groups of movies connected by mood, themes, and story style. Browse collections built around emotion, atmosphere, and narrative focus to easily find films that match what you feel like watching right now.
Stories where obsessive love leads to a bleak and inescapable downfall.If you liked the fatalistic tension and doomed romance of Criss Cross, explore more movies like it. This thread features classic and modern noir films where characters are destroyed by obsessive love, double-crosses, and bleak, inescapable fates, capturing a similar mood of romantic doom.
The narrative typically follows a morally compromised or ordinary individual who is seduced back into a dangerous situation by a charismatic but treacherous lover. Plans unravel through layers of betrayal, often involving a heist or criminal scheme, leading to a climax where passion and violence collide, leaving little room for redemption or escape.
Movies are grouped here for their shared dark tone, heavy emotional weight, and the specific pattern of a love triangle destroying all involved. They create a consistent vibe of tense inevitability, where the pacing is steady but the intensity is high, culminating in bleak endings that confirm a cynical worldview.
Cautionary tales of desperate plans that unravel into violence and betrayal.For viewers who liked the gritty, doomed robbery and moral collapse in Criss Cross, this thread finds similar movies. Discover other tense crime dramas where a heist plan spirals into betrayal and violence, leading to a bleak ending for the desperate characters involved.
The plot often follows a protagonist forced into or seduced by a high-stakes criminal plan, frequently due to financial desperation or emotional manipulation. The planning phase is fraught with tension and mistrust, leading to a double-cross during or after the heist. The narrative structure emphasizes the inescapable consequences, resulting in a finale where the physical spoils are meaningless and survival is the only, often unattainable, goal.
These films share a high-intensity, dark tone and a steady pacing that methodically leads to a chaotic payoff. They are united by the theme of a criminal enterprise serving as a catalyst for total moral collapse, explored with a heavy emotional weight and culminating in unambiguously bleak outcomes that punish ambition and desire.
Don't stop at just watching — explore Criss Cross in full detail. From the complete plot summary and scene-by-scene timeline to character breakdowns, thematic analysis, and a deep dive into the ending — every page helps you truly understand what Criss Cross is all about. Plus, discover what's next after the movie.
Track the full timeline of Criss Cross with every major event arranged chronologically. Perfect for decoding non-linear storytelling, flashbacks, or parallel narratives with a clear scene-by-scene breakdown.
Discover the characters, locations, and core themes that shape Criss Cross. Get insights into symbolic elements, setting significance, and deeper narrative meaning — ideal for thematic analysis and movie breakdowns.
Get a quick, spoiler-free overview of Criss Cross that covers the main plot points and key details without revealing any major twists or spoilers. Perfect for those who want to know what to expect before diving in.
Visit What's After the Movie to explore more about Criss Cross: box office results, cast and crew info, production details, post-credit scenes, and external links — all in one place for movie fans and researchers.
Discover movies like Criss Cross that share similar genres, themes, and storytelling elements. Whether you’re drawn to the atmosphere, character arcs, or plot structure, these curated recommendations will help you explore more films you’ll love.
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