Born to Kill (1947)

Director:

Robert Wise

Writers:

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

Release Date:

3 May 1947 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir

Tagline:

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

Plot:

A calculating divorcée risks her chances at wealth and security with a man she doesn't love by getting involved with the hotheaded murderer romancing her foster sister.

Plot Keywords:

Foster Sister | Detective | Murderer | Divorce | Killer

Cast

Claire Trevor	...	Helen Brent
Lawrence Tierney	...	Sam Wild
Walter Slezak	...	Matthew Albert Arnett
Phillip Terry	...	Fred Grover
Audrey Long	...	Georgia Staples
Elisha Cook Jr.	...	Marty 'Mart' Waterman
Isabel Jewell	...	Laury Palmer
Esther Howard	...	Mrs. Kraft
Kathryn Card	...	Grace
Tony Barrett	...	Danny Jaden
Grandon Rhodes	...	Police Inspector Wilson
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jason Robards Sr.	...	Conductor (scenes deleted)
Stanley Stone	...	Train Conductor
Demetrius Alexis	...	Maitre d'Hotel (uncredited)
Symona Boniface	...	Gambler at Roulette Table (uncredited)
Ruth Brennan	...	Sally (uncredited)
Ellen Corby	...	2nd Maid (uncredited)
Sayre Dearing	...	Gambler (uncredited)
Joe Dixon	...	Gambler (uncredited)
Neal Dodd	...	Clergyman (uncredited)
Jean Fenwick	...	Margaret Macy (uncredited)
Lee Frederick	...	Desk Clerk (uncredited)
Ben Frommer	...	Delivery Boy (uncredited)
Harry Harvey	...	Divorce Lawyer (uncredited)
Martha Hyer	...	Maid (uncredited)
Perc Launders	...	Detective Bryson (uncredited)
Sam Lufkin	...	Gambler (uncredited)
Beatrice Maude	...	Cook (uncredited)
Al Murphy	...	Cab Driver (uncredited)
Tommy Noonan	...	Bellboy (uncredited)
Netta Packer	...	Mrs. Perth (uncredited)
Sammy Shack	...	Gambler (uncredited)
Phil Warren	...	Chauffeur (uncredited)
Napoleon Whiting	...	Train Porter (uncredited)

Directed by
Robert Wise

Writing credits
Eve Greene		(screenplay) and
Richard Macaulay		(screenplay)
James Gunn		(novel "Deadlier than the Male")

Produced by
Sid Rogell	....	executive producer
Herman Schlom	....	producer

Original Music by
Paul Sawtell

Cinematography by
Robert De Grasse		(director of photography) (as Robert de Grasse)

Film Editing by
Les Millbrook

Art Direction by
Albert S. D'Agostino
Walter E. Keller

Set Decoration by
Darrell Silvera
John Sturtevant

Costume Design by
Edward Stevenson		(gowns)

Makeup Department
Mel Berns	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Robert Weiss	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Roy Granville	....	sound
Robert H. Guhl	....	sound

Special Effects by
Russell A. Cully	....	special effects

Music Department
C. Bakaleinikoff	....	musical director
Gene Rose	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Roy Webb	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)

Production Companies

• RKO Radio Pictures (presents)

Distributors

• RKO Radio Pictures (1947) (USA) (theatrical)
• RKO Radio Pictures Argentina (1947) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• RKO Radio Pictures (A/SIA) (1947) (Australia) (theatrical)
• RKO Radio Pictures (A/SIA) (1947) (New Zealand) (theatrical)
• RKO Radio Pictures (A/SIA) (1947) (Malaysia) (theatrical)
• RKO Radio Pictures Chilena (1947) (Chile) (theatrical)
• C&C Television Corporation (1955) (USA) (TV)
• King of Video (1988) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (Canada) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Éditions Montparnasse (2005) (France) (DVD)
• Odeon Entertainment (2012) (UK) (DVD)

Also Known As:

"Deadlier Than the Male" - Australia (imdb display title), USA (working title)

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

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

Filming Locations:

Ferry Building, San Francisco, California, USA

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

Arnett quotes the Bible twice. "I find more bitter than death the woman ...", is from Ecclesiastes 7:26, though it is not an exact quote from the standard bibles, and "... the way of the transgressor is hard..." (sic) from Proverbs 13:15.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Mrs. Kraft rolls down the hill in the desert, her head is pointing left when she comes to a stop. After the edit (when the stunt double is replaced), her head is now pointing to the right.

Quotes:

Helen Brent:If you go to the police, you'll see Laurie sooner than you think.
Mrs. Kraft:Are you trying to scare me?
Helen Brent:I'm just warning you. Perhaps you don't realize - it's painful being killed. A piece of metal sliding into your body, finding its way into your heart. Or a bullet tearing through your skin, crashing into a bone. It takes a while to die, too. Sometimes a long while.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Pretty Little Liars: Stolen Kisses (#3.8)" (2012)

Soundtrack:

I'm Dreaming Out Loud

Well done but unpleasant

"Born To Kill" is a very unpleasant film.

Its premise is unpleasant, its narrative is unpleasant, its denouement is unpleasant.

Unfortunately it is very well done.

The cast was great, with superlative performances from actors who mostly didn't become household names.

Claire Trevor, who did, was outstanding, looking her best, giving one of her best portrayals.

Elisha Cook, Jr., gives an excellent performance, perhaps the best chance he ever had in movies to shine, to portray a sympathetic character.

Too often he was just someone slimy, unlikable. If his character got bumped off, mostly it was good riddance.

In "Born To Kill" he showed he should have been given more respect in Hollywood, given more and better roles. Elisha Cook's performance is enough reason to watch.

Esther Howard, who made scores of movies, steals nearly every scene she is in. That her character gets so many chances to do so is a tribute to the writers and producers who didn't shortchange the script or its audiences.

Kathryn Card, who later played the mother of Lucy Ricardo on "I Love Lucy," is a maid in "Born To Kill," yet she is such a dominant personality she stands out.

Again it is a tribute to the writers and producers that the character is allowed to do so, to speak lines, to be a visible part of the story.

Other "minor" characters are played by names, Ellen Corby, for instance, often uncredited except here at IMDb, who went on to some fame and fortune, and they got a chance, with this script and under the direction of Robert Wise (surely proved a genius over the years), to be more than atmosphere or background.

"Born To Kill" is not fun, but it is something film historians will want to see.