The Killers

The Killers (1946)

Runtime: 103 minutes

Directed by: Robert Siodmak

Starring: Burt Lancaster, Ava Gardner, Edmond O'Brien, Albert Dekker, Sam Levene

From: Universal

To cut to the chase, I watched this classic film for the first time last night via TCM showing it. I was happy to as I hadn't seen a film this old or a noir in a few weeks. The Letterboxd review is below and I'll return tomorrow night.

I realized I hadn't seen a film this old in a few weeks, and the same goes for watching a noir so I decided to take advantage of TCM showing this last night to watch one of the most highly regarded works in the genre and probably one of the best also.

The movie starts off with two hitmen (the guy I'll always know as Cannon or The Fatman and genre veteran Charles McGraw) looking for Ole Andreson, commonly known as The Swede, and played by a debuting Burt Lancaster. It's a great opening scene as they wait for him in a diner, only to find out he isn't going there that day. What a relief for the poor people who were there at the time. They find him and he offers no resistance as they gun him down. An insurance agent investigates the case and from talking to some common folk but various hooligans and ruffians, you see various flashbacks which explain how The Swede started off as a boxer and through his actions and who he hung out with-including a sultry dame, a common keystone for a noir-ended up a dead man. Yes, an insurance agent as the protagonist and it's a hero you like.

The film was indeed as great as I had heard from others. It's a classic noir with many of the staples you expect. It's a tight script-despite all that happens you never feel lost or overwhelmed trying to figure it out-and I was always interesting in seeing the snapshots of his life and discover the twists and turns (and the big event which was the catalyst for the downfall of all its participants) of this delicious tale. To reveal more would ruin the surprises of what this is about. The cinematography and direction are all great and add zest to the film. And you wouldn't think this was Burt Lancaster's first movie; it's no surprise he became pretty popular back in the day. Also, Ava Gardner was a lovely lady back in this time period. It's easy to see why The Swede fell for her hard despite the fact she was not a single lady.

I have no knowledge of the Ernest Hemingway short story this is (loosely) based on but I do know he apparently loved the motion picture, and now I can understand why.