THE KILLING (1957) Dir: Stanley Kubrick

I love how as I get older I find myself discover more and more films and how my appreciation for cinema gets bigger as I watch these film, the craftsmanship that goes into creating them and such and this next review is for a film that really astounded me as I saw it for the first time only three days ago. I give you Stanley Kubrick's The Killing....

I think i've made it perfectly clear, my love for crime cinema and the best thing about this genre is that it spans almost the entire history of cinema which means there are thousands of films out there to see. Some will be bad some will be good, but as I discover more and more, sometimes a film will pop out at you and totally grabs you by the balls. Stanley Kubrick's 1957 Film Noir/heist flick The Killing was one of those films. While watching it you realise that countless other films are influenced by this film, The Dark Knight, Heat, Reservoir Dogs, the list goes on and it's these sort of filmic discoveries that make me love the world of cinema even more.

As a youngster I used to write black and white films off as being old and crap, but as I got older I became more appreciative of these films. I think it was the first time I saw John Huston's Key Largo that really changed my opinion on Black and White films but it was the Spencer Tracy film Bad Day At Black Rock that really made me enjoy 'older films', not to write them off as crap as they were made before 1970 and to appreciate the craftsmanship that went into the making of these films because you have to remember, they didn't have the technology we have these days when they put together 90 minute pictures. I also found my self idolising certain directors styles such as John Ford's epic scope of the west, Sam Peckinpah's brutality and grungy styling and Alfred Hitchcock's suspense filled atmospheres. But with The Killing, Kubrick's first full feature, sure he did Killer's Kiss previously but at 64 minutes I don't think it constitutes a feature film, all the trapping of future crime cinema and past themes of hard bastards and sultry females melds into an incredibly well written, acted and directed film that would influence future filmmakers.

The way the film is layed out with it's multiple characters and it's non linier story telling brought something new and fresh to the fading Film Noir genre. As the film was made in the latter half of the 50s, Kubrick came in and did something a little different. The screenplay by Kubrick and pulp crime novelist Jim Thompson crafted a suspenseful, character driven story that focuses on the robbery of a race track betting office. But the actual robbery takes only minutes even though it's the driving force behind the film but much like John Huston's The Asphalt Jungle 7 years previously, it's the build up and aftermath of the robbery that makes the film what it is.

Johnny Clay has just been released from prison, He has a job, rob a race track for $2million, he gathers a group of lowlife individuals ranging from a corrupt cop in debt with the mob, a greasy bank teller at the race track, a race track barman who's wife is seriously ill, a scumbag WW2 sniper and a Russian wrestler. The Teller is to open the back office door, The Cop is to collect the money, Sniper is to take out the favourite horse during the race to cause a distraction, The Wrestler is to start a fight to distract the guards as Clay goes through the office door. The Barman is to place a shotgun in a box of roses and place it in his locker, he's then to give Clay the key. It's all meticulously planned out to the smallest detail. But, The bank teller, who's wife is greedy and cheating on him manages to make him spill the beans to which she tells her lowlife boyfriend about. The bank Teller has inadvertently set the men up. The heist goes according to plan, they get the money and everyone is good. While waiting for Clay to pick up the cash and rendezvous with them to share the wealth, the lowlife boyfriend and his hoodlum friend break into the apartment and a bloodbath ensues leaving only the bank teller alive and Clay on his way. 15 minutes late, Clay approaches the apartment building and see's the teller stumble out covered in blood, the teller doesn't recognize Clay who decides to make off with the cash to keep himself and the money safe.

Im not gonna tell you the ending because it's going to spoil it but stick with the film because it's a satifying ending and really goes to show that Crime really doesn't pay.

Sterling Hayden, who kicked some major hard ass butt as Dix Handley in The Asphalt Jungle plays a more intelligent version of Handley in the form of Johnny Clay the mastermind behind the race track robbery, he's an imposing man at over 6ft 5” tall and has an air of brutality about him, he's not a gangster or some lowlife hoodlum, he's a robber, an intelligent one, and this is shown by how he plans out the heist. Hayden plays Clay with a more human like quality than Dix Handley making him more sympathetic to viewers. His delivery of Jim Thompson's rapid fire dialogue is handled expertly and even though he is talking at a incredibly high speed, he's still able to get what he's saying across without mumbling which is a testament to Hayden's ability to act. You also find your self rooting for him at the end during the intense airport finale and his facial expressions and demeanour when the final blow comes is such a life shattering ordeal for him that he can only stand there and take what's coming as there is no use in running.

The rest of the cast is made up of veteran TV and film Actors including Elisha Cook Jr who plays the bank teller.

Kubrick was at the start of his career and as I previously stated, before this was Killer's Kiss but also like I stated it's barely a feature at 64 minutes. His first full length film was this and straight from the get go you know damn well this man is going to become a legend. Only 12 years later would Kubrick make the defining sci-fi film 2001: A Space Odyssey followed by his most controversial film, A Clock Work Orange in 1973. But it's the way he shoots this film, the lighting, the angles and the way he frames certain scenes such as the plan scene in which you have all the characters sat around a table as Clay lays out the plan for the robbery highlighted only by a hanging lamp yet you can clearly see all involved or the numerous tracking shots that go from room to room or locker to locker, all influential, plus he gives the film an almost documentary feel which is incredibly enhanced by Jim Thompson's brilliantly descriptive 'Dragnet' style voice over.

The way he shoots the actual robbery is also quite intense and made even more realistic by the fact the Clay wears a freakshow-esq clown mask while he makes the men fill the sack with money.

Based on the book 'Clean Break' by American crime novelist Lionel White, Jim Thompson's dialogue is unbelievable, it's realistic, harsh and as i've said. It's delivered like bullet, fast and to the point. I guess it's handy that Thompson was a well know and respected pulp crime novelist too as the words are snappy and sound cool. It's pretty obvious that this film, it's direction and dialogue was a heavy influence of Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs and his style of snappy dialogue.

I have to admit that at 28 and as movie obsessed geek, I have come late to film noir, it's not that I was ignorant to them but was never really that interested but like I have said, I find myself maturing as a film fan, seeking out more and more films and finding immense enjoyment from them and im glad that The Killing crossed my path as it was a revelation in film noir/heist movie/American crime cinema that i'd been longing for. The Killing is an absolute must see, not just for Cinephiles but people who want to see how to make an effective crime thriller without the sleaze, the violence and bad language (Although all three of those work well in some films) or to see where a true master of cinema started off. It's a brilliant film, well written, directed and acted and you'd be a fool not to check this piece of cinematic history out.

I don't normally do this but The Killing is available on DVD from MGM in the U.K or on Blu Ray from the U.S on the Criterion Label but is Region A (locked) unless you have a multi region Blu Ray Player....check the shop for offers from Amazon on this title.

Other film noir/heist movies that I recommend are...