The Killers

Starring: Burt Lancaster, Ava Gardner, Edmond O'Brien, Albert Dekker, Sam Levene, Vince Barnett, Virginia Christine, Jack Lambert, Charles McGraw
Directed by: Robert Siodmak
Rating: Passed
Genre: Drama, Film Noir
1946

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: An insurance investigator (Edmond O'Brien) tries to get to the bottom of the unexpected homicide of a gas station attendant (Burt Lancaster) by two experienced killers.

Review:

Tim: The Killers is a fairly interesting film- a well-made crime drama with film noir elements, based on a short story by Ernest Hemingway, and marks the film debut of Burt Lancaster. It was also nominated for 4 Academy Awards (although to be fair, it didn't win any). Robert Siodmak's film is definitely a worthwhile one.

I found the story to be quite intriguing. There's a murder early on and the bulk of the movie is an insurance investigator seeking to solve the crime and recover stolen money. It felt like this was a different twist to the usual police detective protagonists. It made the main character's motivations slightly different than we are used to seeing. The story itself features a wide variety of characters and as pieces of the puzzle come into focus, we see each of their stories interwoven together. By the end of the film, we understand what happened, the mysteries are solved, and we can sit back and appreciate the journey.

The movie is greatly helped by Hemingway's short story. I haven't read it before, but it's obvious from the film where they pull from his writing- it's the opening scene, and it's one of the best opening sequences I've seen in a long time. It takes place in a small town diner. Two mysterious men show up who seem dangerous. They make some unfriendly banter about the dinner options, then take more menacing steps towards those in the diner. The writing is super here- the dialogue, the intensity of this scene, it's incredible. Hemingway obviously wrote something quite special here and it's adapted beautifully for the film. It's thrilling and memorable and it opens the film with a bang. I give Hemingway a ton of credit for creating such a powerful scene using so few words, as well as the filmmakers for adapting it so effectively to the big screen. The rest of the movie is good, but this opening sequence is absolutely fantastic.

I thought the cast was mostly good. I really like Burt Lancaster- there's something so interesting about him on screen. He has this massive presence on screen, but a gentleness to him as well. It allows him to showcase many different sides of humanity, and many of them were on display here. The Swede is an intriguing character. Lancaster would go on to have a great career, but it's impressive how solid he was in his acting debut. His name gets top billing, although he's really more of a supporting character. His presence is what truly makes the difference here- even without being the protagonist, his impact on the film is immense. I liked Edmond O'Brien in the lead role, but his performance felt a bit pedestrian. He's good, absolutely, but it felt like any number of performances in films like this from the 40s. It perfectly aligns with what we expect from actors in this era. So, on the one hand, there's almost no fault with O'Brien's performance. It's exactly what we'd expect and he is effective every second on screen. On the other side, it's hard to compare O'Brien's expected performance with Lancaster, who manages to elevate his character beyond what's written on the page. Still, O'Brien is good in the role.

I was surprised I didn't like Ava Gardner more. I've actually only seen her in one other film at this point- 1959's On the Beach. I thought she was really effective in that role. This one is 13 years earlier and it just feels rougher. It feels like she shows up to be seen, but there wasn't as much depth to her performance. She didn't do anything to draw attention to her character, so her performance ends up feeling flat and unmemorable. There was one scene I thought she did really well in and I thought, "There it is!" That spark seems like it eventually was fanned into a bigger flame. However, in this role, I thought she was fine but unremarkable. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I thought Virginia Christine was excellent. I was disappointed she had such a small role in the film. She brought real energy to the role and was fun to watch. I wish she had a bigger role. Sam Levene adds a nice supporting performance as well. He makes a positive impact on the film and his character is memorable. Jack Lambert was in the same boat- his performance sticks in your mind because of its effectiveness.

As I mentioned, the film was nominated for 4 Academy Awards. Most impressively, Siodmak was nominated for Best Director. That might be a little surprising given the film, but Siodmak directs an exceptionally well crafted film noir. It was a pleasant surprise to see him nominated. The opening diner sequence alone is brilliant, but he manages to keep us guessing and hold our attention throughout the film. The film was also nominated for Best Writing, Screenplay- that's not surprising because it manages to adapt and expand Hemingway's short story in impressive ways. The last two were Best Film Editing and Best Music Scoring. It would have been nice for the film to have won somewhere, but the four nominations speak to the effectiveness of the film, undoubtedly.

I enjoyed The Killers. It's not quite as powerful as the most iconic movies in the genre from this age, but it's thoroughly enjoyable and has a lot going for it. I was definitely a fan of this film.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: On the Beach, Elmer Gantry, The Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep, Notorious