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The Killing (1956)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
6 June 1956 (USA)
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Tagline:
These 5 Men Had a $2,000,000 Secret Until One of them told this Woman! more
Plot:
Crooks plan and execute a daring racetrack robbery. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for BAFTA Film Award.
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NewsDesk:
(11 articles)
Really long first trailer for The Killer Inside Me
(From 24FramesPerSecond. 6 November 2009, 1:00 PM, PST)
Really long first trailer for The Killer Inside Me
(From 24FramesPerSecond. 6 November 2009, 1:00 PM, PST)
(From 24FramesPerSecond. 6 November 2009, 1:00 PM, PST)
Really long first trailer for The Killer Inside Me
(From 24FramesPerSecond. 6 November 2009, 1:00 PM, PST)
User Comments:
Hitchcock like in style...
more (169 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Sterling Hayden | ... | Johnny Clay | |
| Coleen Gray | ... | Fay | |
| Vince Edwards | ... | Val Cannon | |
| Jay C. Flippen | ... | Marvin Unger | |
| Ted de Corsia | ... | Policeman Randy Kennan (as Ted DeCorsia) | |
| Marie Windsor | ... | Sherry Peatty | |
| Elisha Cook Jr. | ... | George Peatty (as Elisha Cook) | |
| Joe Sawyer | ... | Mike O'Reilly | |
| James Edwards | ... | Track Parking Attendant | |
| Timothy Carey | ... | Nikki Arcane | |
| Kola Kwariani | ... | Maurice Oboukhoff | |
| Jay Adler | ... | Leo the Loanshark | |
| Tito Vuolo | ... | Joe Piano - motel manager | |
| Dorothy Adams | ... | Mrs. Ruthie O'Reilly | |
| Herbert Ellis | ... | 2nd American Airlines Clerk |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
Bed of Fear (USA) (working title)
Clean Break (USA) (working title)
Day of Violence (USA) (working title)
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Clean Break (USA) (working title)
Day of Violence (USA) (working title)
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Parents Guide:
Runtime:
85 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Sound System)
Certification:
Finland:(Banned) (1956) |
West Germany:18 (original rating) |
Finland:K-15 (2003) |
Finland:K-16 (1960) (cut) |
Spain:T |
Canada:G (Quebec) |
Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) |
Iceland:L |
South Korea:15 |
Brazil:12 |
Norway:16 |
Canada:14A (video rating) |
Argentina:13 |
Australia:PG |
Ireland:12 |
Sweden:15 |
UK:PG |
USA:Approved (PCA #17836) (original rating) |
West Germany:12
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
The horse targeted for assassination was named Red Lightning, running in the seventh race, the $100,000 Added Landsdowne Stakes.
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Goofs:
Boom mic visible: Every time Johnny Clay pulls up to the hotel you can see the shadow of the boom mic on the road.
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Quotes:
[first lines]
Narrator: At exactly 3:45 on that Saturday afternoon in the last week of September, Marvin Unger was, perhaps, the only one among the hundred thousand people at the track who felt no thrill at the running of the fifth race. He was totally disinterested in horse racing and held a lifelong contempt for gambling...
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Narrator: At exactly 3:45 on that Saturday afternoon in the last week of September, Marvin Unger was, perhaps, the only one among the hundred thousand people at the track who felt no thrill at the running of the fifth race. He was totally disinterested in horse racing and held a lifelong contempt for gambling...
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in 'Reservoir Dogs' Revisited (2005) (TV)
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FAQ
Is "The Killing" based on a novel?What is the heist plan?
Any recommendations for other horse track heist films like "The Killing"?
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more (169 total)
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Kubrick directed 15 odd movies in half a century (let's exclude Spartacus). His skills as an auteur may not have been recognized till Strangelove but they were on display in films like Lolita, Paths of Glory and of course The Killing, his first certified classic.
The Killing is about an intricate race-track heist involving a group of non-professionals with clean records. The mastermind, Sterling Hayden, has however spent some time in prison. The unique thing for the time is the non-linear structure of the film - particularly the heist sequence. This was probably Hayden's finest role - yes, better than Jack D. Ripper of Strangelove or Altman's The Long Goodbye - as the doomed hero, Johnny Clay. He is very tall and physical and quite brilliant in this role. He is well-supported by an old favorite of mine from The Maltese Falcon, Elisha Cook Jr. whose venomous wife, Marie Windsor plays a femme fatale of sorts. There is also the cult favorite Timothy Carey as the person assigned to shoot Red Lightning. Reservoir Dogs, a cult film inspired by The Killing is dedicated to Carey.
While The Killing is certainly noirish, it does not have the pure noir look - well, pretty much most of it is filmed in the daytime. In fact, if Kubrick was inspired, it would have been more by Hitchcock's tight pacing than by Chandler or Cain's hard-boiled dialog. The camera-work and editing are brilliant - for me even better than later Kubrick classics. Kubrick was forced to add a voice-over by the studio - something he really wasn't inclined towards. His ingenious solution was to have the VO not directly comment on the movie, but to add another layer to the films structure. It works! This film is not dated, although the Marie Windsor character is a bit one-dimensional and what is visible in the short length of the movie is the tight pacing.