New York City has been made the cradle of fear and gang violence in so many action and crime films that the thought of a faith drama inspiring love for one’s enemy would sound something of a misplaced fantasy. Yet it happened, in real life in the very heart of violence-infested NYC, and was enacted in Don Murray’s The Cross and the Switchblade (1970).
The movie features the true story of a small-town pastor, David Wilkerson, who came to NYC and preached God’s message of love and peace to two rival street gangs. While he met resistance from both corners of the hate-filled neighborhood, the leader of one of the gangs, Nicky Cruz, developed extreme hatred toward Wilkerson to the point of deciding to have him killed. Who eventually won in this spiritual battle?
Murray’s The Cross and the Switchblade lights the screen with the conviction of its message that divine love works miracles, sometimes in not so mysterious ways. In Wilkerson’s words from the climax scene:
“I’m goanna ask God, right now, for a miracle. Father, I’m asking you now for a miracle that in this next moment, these lives will be changed.”
Fans of faith-based films and spiritual stories will most likely be touched by the soulful dialogue and its powerful delivery of the cast. Pat Boone as David Wilkerson is nothing less of a star and Erik Estrada (of CHiPS fame) makes an outstanding film debut as Nicky Cruz. Many dramatic moments in the movie are accentuated with music.
Scenes of violence and drugs are not intense so a PG rating seems fair for this title.
By the end of the movie, viewers will have the case that the cross is mightier than the switchblade. It’s a moving story with a hopeful ending. And for this, The Cross and the Switchblade is for everyone with a soul.
