IMDb plot summary: Hit men kill an unresisting victim, and investigator Reardon uncovers his past involvement with beautiful, deadly Kitty Collins.
Directed by Robert Siodmak. Starring Burt Lancaster, Ava Gardner, and Edmond O'Brien.
The Killers begins with two men arriving in a small town announcing they're going to kill one of the local gas station clerks. They do and are gone before anything can be done about it, and the insurance investigator following up on his claim has to solve the mystery, interview by interview. I really enjoy how this film unravels the story a little at a time, with each relevant person the investigator speaks to giving us a little bit more information. The script does a great job of adding a new emotional layer with each piece as well, with every person having a different emotional attachment to the target. That gimmick keeps it far more interesting than the story would have been told in a strictly linear fashion. There are also some really stunning shots that help to bring out this atmosphere of intrigue and suspicion, which makes it all the more fun. This is what I wish most detective-centered noirs felt like -- I really had a good time with this and enjoyed following along with the story.
How it entered my Flickchart:
The Killers > Ripley's Game
The Killers < Woman in the Dunes
The Killers > Space Sweepers
The Killers > Waitress
The Killers < 1917
The Killers > The Post
The Killers < The Lady Vanishes
The Killers > Cool Runnings
The Killers > Logan's Run
The Killers < Airheads
The Killers > The Magnificent Seven
Final spot: #1056 out of 3640, or 71%.
No comments:
Post a Comment