The Killers (1946) ****

 

What if I told you that Earnest Hemingway, who was notoriously disdainful of movies made from his works, actually liked “The Killers,” based on his 1927 short story of the same name? I might go on to add that this is the movie that made movie stars out of Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner. Does that sound like something you might be interested in?

Hemingway's story actually accounts for only the first 20 minutes of the movie, in which a couple of hired killers show up to a small town and kill a guy known as “the Swede,” who expects the hit and offers no resistance. The rest of the film was written by John Huston and Richard Brooks. Through the eyes of insurance investigator Jim Reardon (Edmond O'Brien), we learn why that killing happened, in what is one of the best noir films I have seen. I won't ruin the surprises for you, but suffice to say there's a femme fatale involved, played by Ava Gardner.

“The Killers” comes with a great pedigree. Hemingway's story only provides a starting point, but it's a good one. The idea of a mysterious newcomer, living peacefully in a small town, who is unsurprised when a couple of assassins catch up with him, is a great setup for a crime movie. It should be no surprise that a couple of talents like Huston (father of Angelica Huston) and Brooks were able to expand this into such a great story. Huston was responsible for classics like “The Maltese Falcon” and "The Night of the Iguana," and Richard Brooks was behind “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” and “Elmer Gantry.”

The cast is as good as the script. Edmond O'Brien plays a very Bogarty detective, and he plays him well. Burt Lancaster, in his first role, is magnetic as the doomed Swede. It is Ava Gardner, however, who really stands out. This is one of her early movie roles, and you can see that her acting is not as developed as in later films, like "Mogambo" or “The Night of the Iguana.” The 24-year-old still manages to steal every scene she is in through the sheer force of her beauty and presence. Her looks and attitude seem very modern, and her strong, sharp face looks like it is carved out of marble.

If the movie has a weakness, it is that neither the film's heroes nor its villains are quite compelling enough to make “The Killers” a true classic. None of the characters are as memorable as those from, say “The Maltese Falcon” or "The Third Man," and the excellent cast cannot make up for that. Still, it's a damned good movie, and a must-see for fans of noir (and Ava Gardner).

4 stars out of 5