The Killers (1946)

Absolutely the worst movie.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

My summary line spoken by Big Jim Colfax (Albert Dekker) about his woman Kitty Collins (Ava Gardner) spells out the requirements for any film noir worth it's salt. Trouble is, she didn't really double cross HIM, but instead poor schlep Swede Anderson (Burt Lancaster) who met his death at the hands of two hit men to begin the picture. The Criterion Collection serves up both the original 1946 film directed by Peter Siodmak, and the 1964 remake from Don Siegel. If you're forced to make a choice, go with the black and white original. Paraphrasing Bogey's description of the Maltese Falcon, it's the stuff great film noir is made of.With no less than eleven, count 'em, eleven flashback scenes, Ernest Hemingway's "The Killers" is a satisfyingly complex mystery, but truth be told, I had to watch the film twice in a row, back to back because I kept getting lost between past and present in the story the first time around. It didn't help either that Lancaster's character was called by a series of different names starting out as well, going by Pete Welling, Pete Lundz and The Swede before he ever even appeared on screen. The Swede's equanimity in the face of his own murder turned out to be a maguffin if you think about it; we never do find out why he just accepted his fate the way he did.But for the rest of it, the story fairly crackles with suspense and mystery. Ava Gardner plays her role sublimely, we never get a clear sense of who's dame she really is until the very end, and by then she's pleading for her life with the dying Big Jim. Lest I forget to mention it, most of the story is related as the investigation into why The Swede named a poor chambermaid as the beneficiary of a twenty five hundred dollar life insurance policy. Hot on that trail is Jim Reardon (Edmond O'Brien), working his tips and hunches right down to that last minute when Big Jim gives it up in the end. But not all of it - Colfax never comes around to taking the dive for Kitty Collins (Gardner). Police Lieutenant Sam Lubinsky (Sam Levene) summed it up the best - "Don't ask a dyin' man to send his soul to hell".Hot on the heels of this picture I managed to watch the 1964 remake, and noticed something kind of cool. In the original, Reardon tracks down a former cell mate of The Swede when he took the blame for Kitty's shoplifting a piece of jewelry. Charleston, who opted out of the mail truck heist for the quarter million payroll robbery, was portrayed by character actor Vince Barnett. Whether it was intended or not, there's an inadvertent tribute to him seen on a building marquee when the camera pans a scene of the city. Reading from top to bottom of the marquee, it spells out the name 'Barnett's'.

Regarding the latter, that is saying quite a lot seeing as Ernest Hemingway's work is very difficult to adapt and has met very mixed success on film. What is remarkable about The Killers is how it takes a very good and remarkably powerful short story and expands further on it, one of the few Hemingway adaptations to be just as good as its source material and at times be even better than it.This said it is a fabulous film too on its own terms, and is quintessential film noir, audacious, taut, exciting and suspenseful when it could have been overblown, overwrought or dull if done wrongly. And as much as I did like the 1964 remake, mostly because of Lee Marvin, the 1946 original is the far superior film, with an obvious difference for the better being the production values. The remake was hurt by its rather rushed and cheap made-for-TV look, whereas the production values is one of the strongest things about this version, with its crisp photography, brilliantly atmosphere production design influenced by Edward Hopper and shadowy lighting, that bring such an effective noir-ish atmosphere, the opening scene is particularly striking in this regard.Miklos Rozsa's music here is one of his most ominous and stirringly orchestrated, used sparingly but with palpable effect, really allowing the atmosphere to speak and enhancing it even further when it features. So good in fact, that it was used again for the TV series Dragnet. Robert Siodmak's expertly direction, which maintains a powerfully bleak tone throughout, and a cracking screenplay are further great things, as is a story that is tightly paced and excitingly taut with tons of suspense and intrigue and intricately done and never confusing flashbacks, not getting dull for a minute. This viewer for one was riveted throughout and never found herself confused.Strong acting also helps, with Burt Lancaster thoroughly convincing in his first starring role, his best moments in fact are stunning, and Ava Gardner in the femme fatale role is wonderfully beautiful, classy and mysterious. Albert Dekker and Edmund O' Brien are the standouts in support, Dekker is splendidly larcenous and O'Brien drives the investigation with such taut aplomb. Charles McGraw and William Conrad are chilling too, and you wish the film developed their characters just a little more. While the characters are not the most well-developed, they are still interesting and carry the narrative without any annoyances or irrelevance.All in all, superior version and quintessential film noir in its own right. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Hit men Max and Al come to Brentwood, New Jersey and kill Ole "the Swede" Andreson (Burt Lancaster). Life insurance investigator Jim Reardon (Edmond O'Brien) tracks down the beneficiary of the policy. He is helped by the Swede's friend police Lieutenant Sam Lubinsky (Sam Levene). The Swede was a washed up boxer who got mixed up with some bad people and Kitty Collins (Ava Gardner).Killing off Burt Lancaster right at the start takes away some of the tension. The movie stalls a little bit after a really compelling start. It would have been much better to have him live and he could hunt down for those responsible. Watching the flashbacks in this movie, the fact that he's already dead is always at the back of my mind. I love the start but the structure isn't as compelling.

It's an almost perfect film noir, starting out near the end and flashbacks its broody way through a labyrinth of stories from the various participants of the drama. Along with Double indemnity, The Big Sleep, Build My Gallows High and a few others it's textbook stuff, high entertainment and almost high Art.Two burly thugs with strange senses of humour show up in a small town intent on killing someone they didn't know as part of their job. Burt Lancaster is the guy with the murky past who puzzlingly and philosophically resigns himself to his impending doom, but ends up being shot to bits and pretty cut up about it along with his insurance company who send investigator Edmund O'Brien to unravel the mystery. And it takes some unravelling during the series of short flashbacks as he gets to the truth, from a fine collection of character actors expertly directed by Robert Siodmak to a typically stirring and inventive score by Miklos Rozsa. The production values were also skyhigh, the photography brilliant and atmospherically monochrome. I thought Jeff Corey was perfect as usual in his supporting role, but everyone was very good – Ava Gardner could maybe have done with a little longer screen time during the picture so as to underline the denouement for the femme fatale - but nothing matters much as everything works so well anyway.Favourite bits from so many: the tense opening scenes that hook you in so easily; the ballet-like scene in the restaurant where Lancaster takes the rap for stealing Gardner's jewel; Vince Barnett and Lancaster discussing the heavens; the big payroll heist – made to feel like a voice-over newsreel showing how easy it is (sometimes!) to rob a candy store; the killers violent but brief re-appearance in the bar – don't blink! It's a film which although obviously made a couple of generations ago still feels if not looks modern to me, and if you can jettison any prejudices and preconceptions it's still a must-see.