The Killing (1956)

Director:

Stanley Kubrick

Writers:

Stanley Kubrick (screenplay)
Jim Thompson (dialogue)
(more)

Release Date:

6 June 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Film-Noir | Thriller

Tagline:

These 5 Men Had a $2,000,000 Secret Until One of them told this Woman!

Plot:

Crooks plan and execute a daring racetrack robbery.

Plot Keywords:

Airport | Racetrack | Robbery | Ex Convict | Suitcase

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award.

Cast

Sterling Hayden	...	Johnny Clay
Coleen Gray	...	Fay
Vince Edwards	...	Val Cannon
Jay C. Flippen	...	Marvin Unger
Ted de Corsia	...	Policeman Randy Kennan (as Ted DeCorsia)
Marie Windsor	...	Sherry Peatty
Elisha Cook Jr.	...	George Peatty (as Elisha Cook)
Joe Sawyer	...	Mike O'Reilly
James Edwards	...	Track Parking Attendant
Timothy Carey	...	Nikki Arcane
Kola Kwariani	...	Maurice Oboukhoff
Jay Adler	...	Leo the Loanshark
Tito Vuolo	...	Joe Piano
Dorothy Adams	...	Mrs. Ruthie O'Reilly
Herbert Ellis	...	2nd American Airlines Clerk
James Griffith	...	Mr. Grimes, Airline Supervisor
Cecil Elliott	...	Lady with Small Dog
Joe Turkel	...	Tiny (as Joseph Turkel)
Steve Mitchell	...	Brown, American Airlines Clerk
Mary Carroll	...	Woman Asking Kennan for Help
William 'Billy' Benedict	...	American Airlines Clerk (as William Benedict)
Charles Cane	...	Plainclothesman at Airport (as Charles R. Cane)
Robert Williams	...	Plainclothesman at Airport (as Robert B. Williams)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Rodney Dangerfield	...	Onlooker (uncredited)
Franklyn Farnum	...	Racetrack Extra (uncredited)
John George	...	Racetrack Extra (uncredited)
Art Gilmore	...	Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Sol Gorss	...	Track Guard Slugged by Johnny (uncredited)
Harry Hines	...	Chess Player (uncredited)
Kenner G. Kemp	...	Racetrack Extra (uncredited)
Hal J. Moore	...	Race Track P.A. Announcer (uncredited)
Harvey Parry	...	Bartender (uncredited)
Richard Reeves	...	Bill, Track Employee in Locker Room (uncredited)
Frank Richards	...	Track Employee in Locker Room (uncredited)

Directed by
Stanley Kubrick

Writing credits
Stanley Kubrick		(screenplay)
Jim Thompson		(dialogue)
Lionel White		(novel "Clean Break")

Produced by
James B. Harris	....	producer
Alexander Singer	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Gerald Fried

Cinematography by
Lucien Ballard		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Betty Steinberg

Art Direction by
Ruth Sobotka

Set Decoration by
Harry Reif

Makeup Department
Robert Littlefield	....	makeup artist
Lillian Shore	....	hairdresser

Production Management
Clarence Eurist	....	production supervisor (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Milton Carter	....	assistant director
Paul Feiner	....	second assistant director
Howard Joslin	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Karl Brainard	....	assistant set decorator (as Carl Brainard)
Christopher Ebsen	....	chief carpenter
Bud Pine	....	construction supervisor
Robert L. Stephen	....	chief painter
Ray Zambel	....	property master

Sound Department
Rex Lipton	....	sound effects editor
Earl Snyder	....	sound

Special Effects by
Dave Koehler	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Louis DeWitt	....	photographic effects
Jack Rabin	....	photographic effects

Stunts
Fred Gabourie	....	stunts (unconfirmed)
Sol Gorss	....	stunts (unconfirmed)
Gil Perkins	....	stunts (unconfirmed)
Wally Rose	....	stunts (unconfirmed)
Eddie Saenz	....	stunts (unconfirmed)
Don Turner	....	stunts (unconfirmed)
Bob Morgan	....	stunts (uncredited)
Harvey Parry	....	stunts (uncredited) (unconfirmed)

Camera and Electrical Department
Lou Cortese	....	best boy
Paul Eagler	....	process camera operator
Carl Gibson	....	head grip
Robert Hosler	....	second assistant camera
Bobby Jones	....	gaffer
Richard Towers	....	camera operator (as Dick Tower)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Beaumelle	....	costumes: Miss Windsor
Rudy Harrington	....	wardrobe: women
Jack Masters	....	wardrobe
Joan Joseff	....	costume jeweller (uncredited)

Music Department
Gerald Fried	....	conductor
Gilbert D. Marchant	....	music editor (as Gilbert Marchant)

Transportation Department
Dave Lesser	....	transportation

Other crew
Mary Gibsone	....	script supervisor
Joyce Hartman	....	assistant to director
Marguerite Olson	....	production assistant

Production Companies

• Harris-Kubrick Productions (as Harris-Kubrick Pictures Corporation) (as Harris-Kubrick also)

Distributors

• United Artists (1956) (USA) (theatrical)
• Art Free (2004) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Nova Film (1957) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• RKO Radio Pictures (1957) (France) (theatrical)
• United Artists (1956) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• United Artists (1957) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Cinemagia (????) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2011) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2011) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Criterion Collection, The (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• MGM Home Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1989) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1993) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1999) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2002) (USA) (VHS)
• Studio S (2011) (Sweden) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Ireland:12 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:Approved (PCA #17836) (original rating) | West Germany:12 | Finland:(Banned) (1956) (uncut) | West Germany:18 (nf) (original rating) | Finland:K-15 (2003) (uncut) | Finland:K-16 (1960) (cut) | Spain:T | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Iceland:L | South Korea:15 | Brazil:12 | Norway:16 | Canada:14A (video rating) | Portugal:M/12 | Italy:16+ | USA:Not Rated | Netherlands:18 (original rating) (1956)

Filming Locations:

USA

Company:

Harris-Kubrick Productions

Trivia:

Body Count: 8.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Mike leaves for the bus station, for the flower box, the street outside his apartment is wet. When he arrives a few minutes later at the bus station, the street in front of it is dry.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator:At exactly 3:45 on that Saturday afternoon in the last week of September, Marvin Unger was, perhaps, the only one among the hundred thousand people at the track who felt no thrill at the running of the fifth race. He was totally disinterested in horse racing and held a lifelong contempt for gambling...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Sex Is Crazy (1981)

Kubrick-Noir: recommended

Everything about this movie fascinates me. Even the unexpected ending has a compelling and unique flavor to it. Sure, it looks like many crime dramas of the 50's. But we are talking about of a movie with a director of the prodigious talents of Stanley Kubrick.

Sometimes you wonder which genre Kubrick could not have handled brilliantly. He seems to know exactly what to do in such a wide variety of movies...Crime, Drama, War, Surreal, Historical Epic, Science Fiction and Black Comedy. My only wish would have been if Kubrick could have made MORE movies. When he died, that left only Woody Allen as the only major director who is working as a pure artist in the film medium.

THE KILLING is filled with crime-noir touches that form an absorbing whole that is hard to beat. The acting is top-notch, the scenes are set in gold taking from every crime movie and creating a whole that could not have been done so well by just any director - perhaps only Hitchcock could have pulled this off. Then there's the jazzy score that underlines the action which punch and atmosphere that just curdles off the screen.

Even if you're not a Kubrick fan (which might surprise many people when they find out he was the director) you will enjoy this movie.

Right to the end...which I won't reveal...but has an inevitability written with classical balance and a submission to fate that leaves a wry smile on your face.

Sterling Hayden is great in this role and he populates this character with just the right sort of mystery to keep you guessing until the end.

Recommended without reservation.