MOVIEmeter
SEE RANK
Up 113 this week

The Killers (1946)

7.9
Your rating:
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -/10 X  
Ratings: 7.9/10 from 8,849 users  
Reviews: 87 user | 49 critic

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

Director:

Writers:

(screenplay), (story), 2 more credits »
0Check in
0Share...

User Lists

Related lists from IMDb users

a list of 1555 titles created 11 months ago
 
a list of 1006 titles created 7 months ago
 
a list of 163 titles created 1 week ago
 
a list of 2916 titles created 16 May 2011
 
a list of 1069 titles created 9 months ago
 

Connect with IMDb


Share this Rating

Title: The Killers (1946)

The Killers (1946) on IMDb 7.9/10

Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.

Take The Quiz!

Test your knowledge of The Killers.
Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 3 wins. See more awards »
Learn more

People who liked this also liked... 

Drama | Crime | Mystery
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7/10 X  

Has-been director Harry Dawes gets a new lease on his career when independently wealthy Kirk Edwards hires him to write and direct a film. They go to Madrid to find Maria Vargas, a dancer ... See full summary »

Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Ava Gardner, Edmond O'Brien
Crime | Film-Noir | Mystery
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.6/10 X  

The lady editor of a crime magazine hires Philip Marlowe to find the wife of her boss. The private detective soon finds himself involved in murder.

Director: Robert Montgomery
Stars: Robert Montgomery, Audrey Totter, Lloyd Nolan
The Glass Key (1942)
Crime | Drama | Film-Noir
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.1/10 X  

During the campaign for reelection, the crooked politician Paul Madvig decides to clean up his past, refusing the support of the gangster Nick Varna and associating to the respectable ... See full summary »

Director: Stuart Heisler
Stars: Brian Donlevy, Veronica Lake, Alan Ladd
Crime | Drama | Film-Noir
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.4/10 X  

An ex-con trying to go straight is framed for a million dollar armored car robbery and must go to Mexico in order to unmask the real culprits.

Director: Phil Karlson
Stars: John Payne, Coleen Gray, Preston Foster
Crime | Drama | Film-Noir
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X  

Stephen Neale has just been released from an asylum during World War 2 in England when he stumbles on a deadly Nazi spy plot by accident, and tries to stop it.

Director: Fritz Lang
Stars: Ray Milland, Marjorie Reynolds, Carl Esmond
The Letter (1940)
Crime | Drama | Film-Noir
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.7/10 X  

The wife of a rubber plantation administrator shoots a man to death and claims it was self-defense; a letter in her own hand may prove her undoing.

Director: William Wyler
Stars: Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall, James Stephenson
Fallen Angel (1945)
Crime | Film-Noir | Mystery
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.1/10 X  

A slick con man arrives in a small town looking to make some money, but soon gets more than he bargained for.

Director: Otto Preminger
Stars: Alice Faye, Dana Andrews, Linda Darnell
Crossfire (1947)
Crime | Drama | Film-Noir
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.4/10 X  

A man is murdered, apparently by one of a group of soldiers just out of the army. But which one? And why?

Director: Edward Dmytryk
Stars: Robert Young, Robert Mitchum, Robert Ryan
Crime | Drama | Film-Noir
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.7/10 X  

Fascinated by gorgeous Mrs. Bannister, seaman Michael O'Hara joins a bizarre yachting cruise, and ends up mired in a complex murder plot.

Stars: Rita Hayworth, Orson Welles, Everett Sloane
Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.9/10 X  

After her cheating husband leaves her, Mildred Pierce proves she can become independent and successful, but can't win the approval of her spoiled daughter.

Director: Michael Curtiz
Stars: Joan Crawford, Jack Carson, Zachary Scott
Whirlpool (1949)
Crime | Drama | Film-Noir
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.8/10 X  

A woman secretly suffering from kleptomania is hypnotized in an effort to cure her condition. Soon afterwards, she is found at the scene of a murder with no memory of how she got there and seemingly no way to prove her innocence.

Director: Otto Preminger
Stars: Gene Tierney, Richard Conte, José Ferrer
Crime | Drama | Film-Noir
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.1/10 X  

Mystery writer Cornelius Leyden becomes intrigued when the murdered body of a vicious career criminal washes up in the Bosphorus.

Director: Jean Negulesco
Stars: Sydney Greenstreet, Zachary Scott, Faye Emerson
Edit

Cast

Complete credited cast:
...
...
...
Jim Riordan
...
Sam Levene ...
Police Lt. Sam Lubinsky
Vince Barnett ...
Virginia Christine ...
Lilly Harmon Lubinsky
Jack Lambert ...
Charles D. Brown ...
Packy Robinson - Ole's Manager
Donald MacBride ...
...
Al
...
Max
Edit

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. Written by Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Taglines:

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


Certificate:

Approved | See all certifications »
Edit

Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

12 December 1946 (Australia)  »

Also Known As:

Ernest Hemingway's The Killers  »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

(Western Electric Recording)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1
See  »
Edit

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. See more »

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. See more »

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.
See more »

Connections

Referenced in L.A. Noire (2011) See more »

Soundtracks

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

Frequently Asked Questions

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.

User Reviews

 
My favorite film noir picture
30 May 2005 | by (Bradenton, Florida) – See all my reviews

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.


21 of 30 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
Use of the ''''n'''' word!!!! richsass
The Hitmen!!! richsass
why did the Swede just wait to be killed? ilkerimin
Fantastic ajiterady
Mistakes? foggybottom3
little guy with a cane lukemcgook
Discuss The Killers (1946) on the IMDb message boards »

Contribute to This Page

Create a character page for:
?