The Killers (1946)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Robert Siodmak

Writers:

Ernest Hemingway (story)
Anthony Veiller (screenplay)

Release Date:

28 August 1946 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery | Romance

Tagline:

THE MOST SUSPENSEFUL PICTURE OF ALL TIME! (re-release print ad - all caps)

Plot:

Hit men kill an unresisting victim, and investigator Reardon uncovers his past involvement with beautiful, deadly Kitty Collins.

Plot Keywords:

Small Town | Insurance | Gas Station | Flashback | Insurance Investigator

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 2 wins

Cast

Burt Lancaster	...	'Swede' Andersen
Ava Gardner	...	Kitty Collins
Edmond O'Brien	...	Jim Reardon
Albert Dekker	...	Big Jim Colfax
Sam Levene	...	Lt. Sam Lubinsky
Vince Barnett	...	Charleston
Virginia Christine	...	Lilly Harmon Lubinsky
Charles D. Brown	...	Packy Robinson
Jack Lambert	...	'Dum-Dum' Clarke
Donald MacBride	...	R.S. Kenyon
Charles McGraw	...	Al
William Conrad	...	Max
Phil Brown	...	Nick Adams
Queenie Smith	...	Mary Ellen Daugherty
Jeff Corey	...	'Blinky' Franklin

Also Known As:

A Man Alone
Ernest Hemingway's The Killers (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Norway:16 | West Germany:16 (nf) | Finland:(Banned) (1947-1949) | Finland:K-16 | Germany:16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Unrated

Company:

Mark Hellinger Productions

Trivia:

The boxing match in the third flashback was filmed in a boxing arena for an audience of 2000 spectators. Burt Lancaster trained for two months with a boxing champion and played the part of the Swede with realism, against a real boxer, until his 2nd KD and TKO.

Goofs:

Factual errors: There were several errors involving the firearms used. When Burt robs his cohorts, the gun is obviously not real, probably rubber, because the barrel is pointed downward from the frame. If he were to shoot at someone's chest, the bullet would probably hit below the belt. When Edmond O'Brien is holding his pistol at the bad guy, he says it is a .45, but a trained eye can see that it is either a .32 or .380, most likely of Spanish origin. When Edmond asks Sam Levine if he has another .45 for him, Levine says yes, but the gun turns out to be a .38 revolver instead.

Quotes:

Reardon: Good morning, Stella.
Stella: Good morning, dream boy.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Rules of Film Noir (2009) (TV)

Soundtrack:

THE MORE I KNOW OF LOVE

Has aged unbelievably well.

Maybe I've just seen too many old movies, but for me, other than the period fedoras and suits, nothing about this movie would really give away that it's almost 60 years old.

The plot is solid and keeps you guessing until the end, with many twists and turns along the way, and is told asynchronously (perhaps necessary for today's audiences, which may be why it holds up so well). The acting is great, quite realistic, and for the most part avoids the maudlin sentiment and overacting that characterizes some older films.

The Killers is an incredibly enjoyable crime film, perhaps the perfect crime film. I haven't seen the remake, so I can't comment on that, but I hold this film in high regard.