THE KILLING
King of the tough guys Sterling Hayden puts together the perfect crime (unless you happen to be a horse-lover)!
3 1/2 stars [B&W/(1956)USA] - (1 hr. 25 min.) - IMDB rating: 8.1
Co-written & directed by Stanley Kubrick
Co-writer: Jim Thompson
Source: novel 'Clean Break' by Lionel White
Producer: James B. Harris
Camera: Lucien Ballard
Editor: Betty Steinberg
Music: Gerald Fried
Art Director: Ruth Sobotka
Lead characters/Cast
Johnny Clay (the leader) - Sterling Hayden
Fay (Johnny's girlfriend) - Coleen Gray
George Peatty (the cashier) - Elisha Cook
Sherry Peatty (George's wife) - Marie Windsor
Val Cannon (Sherry's secret 'lover') - Vince Edwards
Marvin Unger (the money man) - Jay C. Flippen
Additional characters/Cast
Narrator - Art Gilmore
Maurice Oboukhoff (the wrestler) - Kola Kwariani
Randy Kennan (the 'dirty' cop) - Ted DeCorsia
Mike O'Reilly - Joe Sawyer
Track Parking Attendant - James Edwards
Nikki Arcane (the 'sniper') - Timothy Carey
Tiny - Joseph Turkel
Leo the Loanshark - Jay Adler
Joe (motel owner) - Tito Vuolo
Ruthie O'Reilly - Dorothy Adams
Race Track P.A. Announcer - Hal J. Moore
Review:
Stanley Kubrick has concocted a near-perfect 'heist' movie that will seem instantly familiar to crime-genre fans since the formula has been so often imitated since.
Basic plotline involves a newly formed group of thieves composed of several employees of the racetrack they are going to rob and a 'dirty' cop. Having 'insiders' on the team allows for an exacting plan of entry and departure to be created with little room for error.
Sterling Hayden is the monotone but witty 'Johnny Clay', a recently released ex-con who's five year stetch in the 'pen' has allowed him to mastermind the perfect plan. Noir fans will also recognize Elisha Cook, Jr. has the always-nervous cashier and Jay C. Flippen as the alcoholic bookkeeper.
However, one (of two) outsiders to the group is a sniper who is contracted to 'shoot' one of the horses ('Red Lightning') in the race and create a diversion for the robbery. It's this one uncontrollable element that contributes to the slow unraveling of the so-called 'best laid plans'.
Excellent cast includes a Russian wrestler for comic relief and an adulterous wife who forces another subplot involving her 'boyfriend'. Great fun for fans with just enough twists and turns to yield the requisite number of surprises for both the audience and the thieves!
Check this one out!
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
[NOTE: This film was screened in 35mm as part of an ESSENTIAL NOIR film series presented at the Film Forum in NYC. Screening was part of a double-feature with "The Asphalt Jungle." Screened Saturday, December 4, 2004 in Aud. #2 @ 9:10pm]
Festival synopsis:
THE KILLING
(1956, STANLEY KUBRICK) Ex-con Sterling Hayden puts together the usual suspects — including sniveling Elisha Cook Jr., a chess-playing wrestler and trigger-happy Timothy Carey — to pull off a racetrack heist. En route, the 27-year-old Kubrick zigzags through a dizzying series of time shifts, as the inevitable ironic twist awaits. A key “inspiration” for Reservoir Dogs. Co-written by pulp titan Jim Thompson. 1:30, 5:20, 9:10
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
King of the tough guys Sterling Hayden puts together the perfect crime (unless you happen to be a horse-lover)!
3 1/2 stars [B&W/(1956)USA] - (1 hr. 25 min.) - IMDB rating: 8.1
Co-written & directed by Stanley Kubrick
Co-writer: Jim Thompson
Source: novel 'Clean Break' by Lionel White
Producer: James B. Harris
Camera: Lucien Ballard
Editor: Betty Steinberg
Music: Gerald Fried
Art Director: Ruth Sobotka
Lead characters/Cast
Johnny Clay (the leader) - Sterling Hayden
Fay (Johnny's girlfriend) - Coleen Gray
George Peatty (the cashier) - Elisha Cook
Sherry Peatty (George's wife) - Marie Windsor
Val Cannon (Sherry's secret 'lover') - Vince Edwards
Marvin Unger (the money man) - Jay C. Flippen
Additional characters/Cast
Narrator - Art Gilmore
Maurice Oboukhoff (the wrestler) - Kola Kwariani
Randy Kennan (the 'dirty' cop) - Ted DeCorsia
Mike O'Reilly - Joe Sawyer
Track Parking Attendant - James Edwards
Nikki Arcane (the 'sniper') - Timothy Carey
Tiny - Joseph Turkel
Leo the Loanshark - Jay Adler
Joe (motel owner) - Tito Vuolo
Ruthie O'Reilly - Dorothy Adams
Race Track P.A. Announcer - Hal J. Moore
Review:
Stanley Kubrick has concocted a near-perfect 'heist' movie that will seem instantly familiar to crime-genre fans since the formula has been so often imitated since.
Basic plotline involves a newly formed group of thieves composed of several employees of the racetrack they are going to rob and a 'dirty' cop. Having 'insiders' on the team allows for an exacting plan of entry and departure to be created with little room for error.
Sterling Hayden is the monotone but witty 'Johnny Clay', a recently released ex-con who's five year stetch in the 'pen' has allowed him to mastermind the perfect plan. Noir fans will also recognize Elisha Cook, Jr. has the always-nervous cashier and Jay C. Flippen as the alcoholic bookkeeper.
However, one (of two) outsiders to the group is a sniper who is contracted to 'shoot' one of the horses ('Red Lightning') in the race and create a diversion for the robbery. It's this one uncontrollable element that contributes to the slow unraveling of the so-called 'best laid plans'.
Excellent cast includes a Russian wrestler for comic relief and an adulterous wife who forces another subplot involving her 'boyfriend'. Great fun for fans with just enough twists and turns to yield the requisite number of surprises for both the audience and the thieves!
Check this one out!
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
[NOTE: This film was screened in 35mm as part of an ESSENTIAL NOIR film series presented at the Film Forum in NYC. Screening was part of a double-feature with "The Asphalt Jungle." Screened Saturday, December 4, 2004 in Aud. #2 @ 9:10pm]
Festival synopsis:
THE KILLING
(1956, STANLEY KUBRICK) Ex-con Sterling Hayden puts together the usual suspects — including sniveling Elisha Cook Jr., a chess-playing wrestler and trigger-happy Timothy Carey — to pull off a racetrack heist. En route, the 27-year-old Kubrick zigzags through a dizzying series of time shifts, as the inevitable ironic twist awaits. A key “inspiration” for Reservoir Dogs. Co-written by pulp titan Jim Thompson. 1:30, 5:20, 9:10
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++