The Killers

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=80 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" bgproperties="fixed" background="04000500dvldtc.png"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" ><B>Reel Movie Critic.com</B></FONT><B>     |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Reel Movie Critic.com"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div>                                                   </div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="041d2c00dvldtc.png"> <div> <B>Home Pages for</B></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/"><U><B>Movies</B></U></A></div> <div>       <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#9999FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://site25523.dellhost.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://site25523.dellhost.com/"><U><B>Books</B></U></A></FONT></div> <div>             <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#CCFF33" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelforless/id364.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelfor"><U><B>Travel</B></U></A></FONT></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div>                   <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#9999FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelforless/id361.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelfor"><U><B>Great Web Sites</B></U></A></FONT></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=400 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> The Killers</div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="501" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="495"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="495" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="579" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="575"><div> <B>The Killers </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Wingdings 2" ><B>êêêê</B></FONT><B>  </B> ( G ) </div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><div> Reviewed By George O. Singleton </div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="575" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="575"><div> <B>Listening to the golden harps</B></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="580" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="269"><div> Swede: Burt Lancaster</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><div> Kitty: Ava Gardner</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="269"><div> Reardon: Edmund O'Brien</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><div> Sam: Bill Walker</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="269"><div> Dum dum: Jack Lambert</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><div> Lilly: Virginia Christine</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 38 WIDTH="269"><div> Lieutenant Sam Lubinsky: Sam Levene</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><div> Nick: Al Hill</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Big Jim Colfax: Albert Dekker</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><div> Director: Robert Siodmak</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <B>30 Second Bottom Line</B>: True classic film noir with an easy to follow complex plot amid multiple double crosses beautifully shot in black and white. </div> <bR> <div> <B>Story Line:</B> In his film debut, Burt Lancaster plays Swede, a gas station attendant who minds his own business, and is best described in the way he thinks of himself which is that "once I did something wrong". Two killers at the beginning of the film are chasing Swede for reasons we don't understand until later in the movie. Using periodic flashbacks, we learn about Swede and his friends from a few years earlier regarding a love affair and the successful robbery of a large sum of cash. </div> <bR> <div> When insurance investigator Reardon (Edmund O'Brien) is looking into the claim, he knows that there is more than meets the eye when the beneficiary on the policy is a chambermaid that Swede barely knew. That leads to the discovery of an interesting cast of characters such as Dum Dum (Jack Lambert), one of the gang members in the robbery; Lilly (Virginia Christine), Swedes former girlfriend who is now married to his child hood friend, Lt. Sam Lubinsky (Sam Levene); Nick (Al Hill) who is the customer in the diner that helps set the mood for what I will call, real film noir and Sam (Bill Walker) a black short order cook.</div> <bR> <div> When Swede goes to a party with his date Lilly, he is smitten with Kitty (Ava Gardner). Soon he is hooked on Kitty and even does three years in jail regarding a shoplifting charge for her. Upon his release, Kitty is now in a relationship with Big Jim Colfax (Albert Dekker) who is masterminding a huge robbery of the payroll at a local factory. When the gang is in the process of splitting the money, Swede takes off and eventually blends into the woodwork, minding his own business. Some members of the gang think he has the money, but based upon his simple life style and suicidal tendencies, we know that something has happened which has made him a walking zombie.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Tell Me More About It</B>: This film, based upon a story by Ernest Hemingway speaks to the timeless genius of this writer.</div> <bR> <div> Although Lancaster and Gardner are by far the best-known actors in the cast, the film is not a star role per se for either of them. Their contribution is significant but the film is much more than who they are and what they do. </div> <bR> <div> "The Killers" grows on you as the film progresses. We laugh at some of the changes in our culture (smoking, sexism, and simple sayings such as when a dying man is referred to as "he's dead now except that he is still breathing"). In 1946, women in offices typed for other workers; a cop making $2,200 per year was considered good money; one could rent a nice room for $9 a week if you paid in advance; a $2,500 life insurance policy was a "lot of money"; there were no area codes one had to deal with to make a phone call and the hood release was on the outside of a car rather than inside.</div> <bR> <div> At a time when blacks often had demeaning roles in films, Sam who plays a short order cook in a diner is treated on par with the white characters. I thought it was particularly funny when he and Nick, a customer in the diner who brought Swede information about the killers, were both referred to as "boys". Normally there would be a racial connotation to this remark is said to a black man.</div> <bR> <div> The look of the film was really great to me in two areas. The first came when the film opened with its sharp shadows during the time the killers visited the diner looking for Swede. Later when Reardon was visiting Lt. Lubinsky and his wife Lilly, the background of the city from the outside deck at their apartment gave a surreal feeling, which surpasses much of the more sophisticated CGI images of today. </div> <bR> <div> As the true motivations and view of events becomes clear with each character, we learn why Swede felt the way he did about life. And just like the film <I><B>Lantana</B></I> (2001), some of the people who are playing by the rules that seem to be stuck in a boring routine life, find a way to triumph over adversity. There is a price to pay for doing wrong. How, why and when is a surprise unique to each individual. </div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="621" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="617"><div> Not Rated: violence</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="617"><div> George O. Singleton  © 2002</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="617"><div> <A HREF="mailto:Reelmoviec@aol.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:Reelmoviec@aol.com"><U><U>Reelmoviec@aol.com</U></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>