Born to Kill (1947)

Director:

Robert Wise

Writers:

Eve Greene (screenplay) and
Richard Macaulay (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

3 May 1947 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Film-Noir | Drama

Tagline:

The Story of a Woman Who Loved Unwisely...and too well!

Plot:

In Reno a man kills a girl he likes and her boyfriend out of jealousy; it may not be the first time...

Plot Keywords:

Killer | Foster Sister | Train | Murderer | Divorce

Cast

Claire Trevor	...	Helen Brent
Lawrence Tierney	...	Sam Wild
Walter Slezak	...	Matthew Arnett
Phillip Terry	...	Fred Grover
Audrey Long	...	Georgia Staples
Elisha Cook Jr.	...	Marty
Isabel Jewell	...	Laury Palmer
Esther Howard	...	Mrs. Kraft
Kathryn Card	...	Grace
Tony Barrett	...	Danny
Grandon Rhodes	...	Police Inspector Wilson
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jason Robards Sr.	...	Conductor (scenes deleted)
Stanley Stone	...	Train Conductor (scenes deleted)

Also Known As:

Deadlier Than the Male (USA) (working title)
Lady of Deceit (UK)

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:Approved (PCA #11703, Adult Audience)

Filming Locations:

Virginia Street, Reno, Nevada, USA

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Quotes:

Helen Brent: [to Sam, approvingly] You're not a turnip, are you?

Born to be bad

Multi-genre director Robert Wise delivers a fairly average almost film noir here with Born To Kill. Sam's last name "Wild" is especially apt - he kills without reservation, lacks a clear thought process, and is completely uncompromising in fulfilling his desires. That's why he thinks Helen Trent is so perfect for him, she's just as born to be bad as he is: greedy, lustful, and heartless - hardly blinking an eye at a dead body. What starts out as an interesting murder mystery here in Born To Kill ends up a pretty dull clashing of messed up psyches by the two leads that delivers nothing special. Soon after Sam and Helen get off the train at San Francisco, Born to Kill slothfully coasts along until the film finally ends.

While the film is nothing special overall, Born to Kill is worth a look just for the acting. Claire Trevor is very shocking and effective in her disturbed Helen Trent character, Lawrence Tierney works well as the psychotic tough guy killer Sam Wild, Audrey Long delivers more than you would expect as the easily manipulated Georgia Staples, and Elisha Cook Jr. gives the most impressive performance as the loyal but "bad boy" Marty. Born To Kill has plenty of dark elements that fill up the reels - murder, lust, greed, betrayal - but there is little darkness in the way the film looks. There are a couple of dark scenes but the vast majority of the film isn't hardly dark at all; and on top of that, the film is shot in an all-too ordinary and straight-up fashion, implementing very little uniqueness and style. For a film that is often touted as film noir, there is little noir to be seen.