#306: THE KILLERS

1964

Directed by Don Siegel

Neo-Noir, Crime, Thriller

The Killers is the second major film adaptation of Ernest Hemmingway's short story, following the critically acclaimed 1946 version which was a major player in the Film Noir movement. Whilst the former black and white film lurked in the smoke and the shadows, this adaptation is in full colour and is actually quite a vibrant looking film. It looks especially stunning in the Arrow Academy Blu-Ray edition that I watched it in, with a loving and warm restoration. It looked so sharp on my TV that I was convinced the beads of sweat on Lee Marvin's forehead were actually drips of water on my TV screen! The Killers has the acclaim of being the first made for TV movie ever made, though it was soon released in cinemas too because it was deemed too violent for TV broadcasting at the time.

Like the Film Noir adaptation before it, The Killers is built on groundbreaking use of flashbacks and scenes told out of chronological order. Something that eventually became Quentin Tarantino's signature style. Instead of revolving around a boxer like in the original film, the protagonist Johnny North is a racing driver in this one. The loose premise is roughly the same, but Don Siegel (director of Dirty Harry and Invasion of the Body Snatchers) had the freedom to change the details and make it his own. I felt that the 1946 version of The Killers started very well, but ended up losing me by the end. It relies too heavily on the flashbacks and got a little muddled along the way. I felt like this version of the Killers was not only more coherent, but better paced too. Aside from a few hit and miss romantic scenes, and dated driving scenes with a car in front of a projector screen, The Killers flows incredibly well and is held together by brilliant dialogue, great performances and interesting subplots. As long as you pay attention to who is telling each flashback and where in the timeline each one takes place, the film won't lose you.

The Killers has a stellar cast that plays like a greatest hits collection of the 60s, with Lee Marvin, John Cassavetes, Angie Dickinson and future president Ronald Reagan in his last screen role, the only time he played a villain. But to me the absolute standouts were John Cassavetes as the rebellious and relentless racer Johnny North, and Claude Atkins, his manager and mechanic trying to keep him grounded, putting in an emotionally heavy performance. Lee Marvin and Clu Gulager play the ice cool killers who go around interrogating many of the characters in order to find the money. They dazzle on screen, dressed in suits and sunglasses. Not only was the whole structure of the story a huge inspiration on Tarantino, but the two killers in this film could have been kindred fathers of any of the Reservoir Dogs. Both this and the 1946 Killers adaptation are both very much a snapshot of the time they were made and both hold great merit. Which one you prefer is down to personal preference, but for me I think this version of The Killers wins because of a cooler cast, more coherent plot and it's a pretty badass film all around! 8/10.