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The Killers
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The Killers
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- 1946
- Robert Siodmak
- 98 mins
- PG
Summary
Classic film noir starring Edmond O'Brien, Ava Gardner and Burt Lancaster. Ole "Swede" Anderson waits in a boarding-house room for his inevitable death at the hands of two hitmen. It's left to insurance investigator Jim Reardon to uncover the dead man's story - a tale of crime and betrayal at the hands of a beautiful woman.
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Review
A star rating of 5 out of 5.
Tony Sloman
This is one of the most powerful and influential thrillers ever made, with director Robert Siodmak's lovingly bleak and pessimistic tone virtually defining the term film noir. Based on a short story of remarkable power by Ernest Hemingway, the movie opens with a murder and then seeks, through intricate flashbacks, to explain why the victim was so accepting - welcoming, even - of his fate. Burt Lancaster, all coiled anger as the fall guy, makes a stunning film debut and there's a career-defining role for Ava Gardner as the femme fatale. In fact, there's class all round: the Edward Hopper-influenced design is brilliantly atmospheric, Miklos Rozsa's superb score was so effective it was re-used for TV's Dragnet and John Huston had a hand in the taut screenplay. The Don Siegel remake with Lee Marvin and Ronald Reagan isn't a patch on this marvellous original.
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7.7/10
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Credits
Cast
rolenameOle "Swede" Anderson / Pete LunnBurt LancasterKitty CollinsAva GardnerJim ReardonEdmond O'BrienBig Jim ColfaxAlbert DekkerLieutenant Sam LubinskySam LevenePacky RobinsonCharles D BrownKenyonDonald MacBrideNick AdamsPhil BrownAlCharles McGrawJakeJohn MiljanMaxWilliam ConradQueenieQueenie SmithJoeGarry OwenGeorgeHarry HaydenSamBill WalkerCharlestonVince BarnettDum DumJack LambertBlinkyJeff CoreyCharlieWally ScottLilly LubinskyVirginia ChristineGinnyGabrielle Windsor
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Crew
rolenameDirectorRobert Siodmak
Details
Theatrical distributor
BFI Southbank
Released on
2008-02-15
Languages
English
Guidance
Contains violence.
Available on
video, DVD and Blu-ray
Formats
Black and white
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