The Killers (1946)

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

Director:

Robert Siodmak

Writers:

Anthony Veiller (screenplay), Ernest Hemingway (story),

Stars:

Burt Lancaster, Ava Gardner, Edmond O'Brien

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 3 wins.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Burt Lancaster	...	Ole 'Swede' Andreson
Ava Gardner	...	Kitty Collins
Edmond O'Brien	...	Jim Riordan
Albert Dekker	...	Big Jim Colfax
Sam Levene	...	Police Lt. Sam Lubinsky
Vince Barnett	...	Charleston
Virginia Christine	...	Lilly Harmon Lubinsky
Jack Lambert	...	'Dum-Dum' Clarke
Charles D. Brown	...	Packy Robinson - Ole's Manager
Donald MacBride	...	R.S. Kenyon
Charles McGraw	...	Al
William Conrad	...	Max

Storyline

Two professional killers invade a small town and kill a gas station attendant, "the Swede," who's expecting them. Insurance investigator Reardon pursues the case against the orders of his boss, who considers it trivial. Weaving together threads of the Swede's life, Reardon uncovers a complex tale of treachery and crime, all linked with gorgeous, mysterious Kitty Collins.

---

Plot Keywords:

small town | insurance | murder | robbery | new jersey | 

---

Taglines:

BOLD -- because it's told the untamed HEMINGWAY WAY!

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 December 1946 (Australia)

Also Known As:

Ernest Hemingway's The Killers

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mark Hellinger Productions, Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

After leaving Warner Brothers for Universal with The Killers, producer Mark Hellinger initially wanted to borrow Warner director Don Siegel, but the loanout fee proved prohibitively high for a director of his limited reputation at that time, so Hellinger used Universal's Robert Siodmak. Ironically, almost 20 years later Siegel did go on to direct the remake, The Killers.

---

Goofs

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

Big Jim Colfax: [to Dum Dum] You can leave anytime you want, friend.
'Blinky' Franklin: [acting as peacemaker] Come on! Easy does it, fellas! Easy does it!
'Dum-Dum' Clarke: I don't like to be asked to come up here and then told I can go. Who do you think you're pushin' around?
Big Jim Colfax: A minute ago we were talkin' about reputations. Well, you've got quite a reputation yourself - you're supposed to be a troublemaker.
Big Jim Colfax: [deliberately taking the cigarette out of his mouth] Okay. Make some.

---

Connections

Referenced in L.A. Noire (2011)

---

Soundtracks

"The More I Know of Love"
(1946)
Music by Miklós Rózsa (as Miklos Rozsa)
Lyrics Jack Brooks
Performed by Ava Gardner

User Reviews

My favorite film noir picture

I was surprised when I looked at IMDb's list of highest rated film noir pictures, since this movie was well down the list. This review and my subsequent review for DOA are being made to try to correct this oversight. Also note that there was a re-make of this film in 1964 starring Lee Marvin and Ronald Reagan. This review is for the original film only.

This is one of the most stylistic noir pictures made. Like the FANTASTIC opening of Sunset Boulevard, this movie STARTS with the murder of a poor sap and then backtracks to let the viewer slowly understand why this occurred. Surprisingly, the part given to the murder victim in this movie is played by Burt Lancaster in his first picture--what a great first film! Other reasons I liked the film were the cast (I like ugly old Edmund O'Brien--a stand-out noir actor because he is unattractive, beefy and delivers lines like it was from an episode of Dragnet), writing (it keeps you guessing), direction and impressive cinematography.

Do yourself a favor and see it soon.