The Killers (1946)

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Directed by Robert Siodmak.

Starring Jeff Corey, Albert Dekker, Ava Gardner, Jack Lambert, Sam Levene, Edmond O'Brien, Burt Lancaster.

The Killers uses Ernest Hemingway's short story as a springboard for a complex film noir. Two mysterious men (William Conrad and Charles McGraw) muscle their way into a small town and kill an aging boxer (Burt Lancaster, making his screen debut), who offers no resistance and seems to be welcoming his death. An insurance investigator (Edmond O'Brien) is hired to locate the beneficiary to Lancaster's policy, and in the course of his investigation reopens a long-dormant robbery case. In a series of flashbacks, O'Brien makes the connection between Lancaster and the robbery and tracks down the "brains" behind the operation. He also comes in contact with Lancaster's former girlfriend (Ava Gardner), whose duplicity played a big part in Lancaster's demise -- and his indifferent reaction to it. Siodmak's hard-edged, moody direction of the Oscar-nominated screenplay by Anthony Veiller, makes The Killers one of the definitive films noirs, including what is considered to be one of the greatest opening sequences in movie history. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Reviews and discussions

Universal Fire To Have Major Im ...
by Karina in Karina on SpoutBlog

hasn't rated it.

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"Two days after the Universal Studios fire, there are a lot of rumors going around as to the extent of the damage. A FishbowlLA tipster from a revival house in Alabama fed the blog an email that they say came directly from Universal, warning that “nearly 100% of the archive prints kept” on the lot went up in flames, and as a result, the studio “will be unable to honor any film bookings of prints that were set to ship from here.” The tragic details after the jump. Basically, any theater scheduled to rent an archive print directly from Universal is now advised to consider their reservation “canceled,” although “If the shipping instructions say ship from Deluxe then those dates are still good.” Any while the studio’s vault of masters was apparently unharmed, it’s apparently only going to be practical for them to reprint a fraction of the lost titles. The email goes on: “The bad news is that most likely, only the ‘big’ titles will ever be reprinted in 35mm. Many Universal titles will n ... " [More]

Universal Fire To Have Major Im ...
by SpoutBlog in SpoutBlog on spout.com

hasn't rated it.

Killer Waitress Slither
by dibot in dibot Blog

loved it.

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"Oh, happy day, finally some good films.The filmspotting guys are having a film noir marathon now, so I queued up The Killers and had a blast. Based on an Ernest Hemingway short story (so you know automatically that women are going to be evil), the film is set up so that the main character dies at the beginning. Excellent opening sequence with the killers coming into a local diner to look for "The Swede." The rest of the movie follows an insurance investigator as he tries to piece together the puzzle of why the Swede left everything to a hotel worker whom he barely knew. I enjoyed the flashbacks, the moody cinematography and the great score. Noir rules.Slither is one of those comedy/horror films that are just loads of fun. A meteor lands in a sleepy little town, infects one of the locals and all hell breaks loose. I laughed alot, especially at the mayor, Greg Henry ("The Black Dahlia"), and reveled in the gore. Nathan Fillion ("Waitress"), fast becoming my new favorite actor, brings ... " [More]

The Killers
by JimBell in JimBell Blog

loved it.

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"The Killers (1946) is an excellent film noir. It is based on an Ernest Hemingway short story published in Scribner’s in 1927. In rough drafts, Hemingway had called it “The Matadors,” and his concern, apparently, was how to die like a man. Although Hemingway got equal billing with producer Hellinger and director Robert Siodmak, the 1946 film version is more concerned with why than how the protagonist died. Thus The Swede (Burt Lancaster in his break-through role) is murdered in the first few minutes of the film. The insurance investigator, played with zest by Edmond O’Brien, just won’t rest until he has solved the puzzle. He has that old-fashioned quality that the British call “an enthusiasm.” The investigator unravels The Swede’s past, his failed boxing career, his powerful and instant attraction to Kitty Collins (Ava Gardner), his involvement in a huge payroll heist, and the aftermath of double crosses. It is a classic case of the bu ... " [More]

Review by All Movie Guide

All Movie Guide

loved it.

Adapted (and expanded) by Anthony Veiller and an uncredited John Huston from Ernest Hemingway's story, Robert Siodmak's The Killers (1946) weaves a complex film noir tale of obsessive love and multiple double-crosses. Shrouded in shadows as he awaits and accepts his fate in the opening scenes, Burt Lancaster's ex-prizefighter Swede is already a mystery. Fragmentary flashbacks within flashbacks relate Swede's story to Edmond O' Brien's intrepid insurance investigator from multiple points of view, but they never entirely get inside his head even if they illuminate his fate. Ava Gardner's satiny Kitty Collins is equally, and more dangerously, enigmatic, as her actions become as unpredictably complex as the film's byzantine narrative structure. Stylishly shot, particularly in the opening night-for-night and sustained heist sequences, the film builds suspense through the deliberate accretion of details about a foregone conclusion. Lancaster's film debut as the physically imposing but psychologically devastated Swede made him a star, while Gardner's poisonously beautiful siren turned her into a love goddess on a par with Rita Hayworth. A critical and box office success, The Killers received Oscar nominations for Best Director and Best Screenplay. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide

Tags: noir , fivestar , boxing , criminal , doublecross
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