Theme Song: Some heavy funk but nothing is credited.
Interesting Dated References: A main character in this movie is part of an unnamed Puerto Rican political party that wants to throw off the shackles of U.S. control.
Social Context: Crossfire is a Christian film produced by an organization named Quadrus. Christian films of the 70s and early 80s have decent production values and are quite enjoyable once you get past the heavy-handed proselytizing scenes.
Summary: Shelly is in Puerto Rico for a vacation and instantly falls in love with the mysterious Palo. Intercut with the love montages are scenes of Palo participating in domestic terrorism-related activities.
After these come to light, Shelly decides to break it off and get absolutely wasted at a hotel bar where, after passing out outdoors, she is given a waterbed to crash on by friendly missionary Jay (Jerry Houser, Slapshot).
Can you imagine being totally wasted and then given a waterbed to sleep on? This sounds like a nightmare of dizziness and nausea. Shelly and Jay bond a bit and run errands before bumping into Palo.
Palo and Jay get into an argument over Christianity. Palo feels it’s propaganda meant to brainwash the people of Puerto Rico into submission. Jay plays the 70s Christian cool guy and ends up converting them both just in time to thwart a domestic terror attack that Palo had planned.
Worth Mentioning:
– According to IMDb, this was filmed in Puerto Rico, but it’s unclear which city. There’s a ton of scenic footage of the area.
– Quadrus has fantastic logo animation.
– Houser was known to be a part of the Vineyard Church movement, so it’s possible their organization produced this. Vineyard Churches were associated with celebrity involvement in the 70s, most notably Bob Dylan during his Christian phase.
Houser would go on to appear in a few other Christian productions of the era: Years of the Beast (1981) and The Prosecutor (1983).
Poster and Box Art: Given that it’s a Christian movie and only 56 minutes long, Crossfire had no type of theatrical release poster I could find. More than likely, it made its way through church showings with related pamphlets and promotional materials distributed by the filmmakers (similar to how Billy Graham’s Time To Run was distributed).
Here’s an old black and white flyer that’s too far degraded to comment on. The home video release is equally mysterious.
