Simply A Masterpiece

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Developer Jack Browning (Ronald Reagan) plans a daring armored truck robbery but comes up short as the wheel man during a rehearsal. His doll Sheila (Angie Dickinson) contacts an old squeeze and one time promising race driver Johnny North (John Cassavettes) for the assignment but he still has feelings for Sheila, creating discord between him and Browning. The job goes without a hitch but the after plan haywire with betrayal and whacks. The Killers is a reworking of the 48 Siodmak classic where the title characters instead of an insurance agent search for answers. It may lack Siodmak's lush compositions of informing ambiance but it does have Don Siegel's healthy pace editorial skills that keeps the film on a continuous roll as the double cross keeps all involved off balance, the pursuit non-stop. Sexy as Dickinson is she does not have Ava Gardner's smooth fatale chops, her seductive powers somewhat stilted. Cassavettes tends to overacting while the image of the 40th President of the United States acting surly and slapping Angie around is jarring in a variety of ways. Lee Marvin's stone cold killer with a curious side takes the acting honors but watching veteran minor player Claude Akins stretch more than usual in one brief scene deserves mention as well.As noir's go The Killers 64 lacks the light and shadow monochrome of the 48 original as its color stock lights up interiors like a supermarket. What does make it unique is the total absence of a hero in its last man standing scenario where the deep cynicism of all involved never lifts.

First off, I don't recognize this film as having anything to do with the forties' mini-classic. This was originally intended as a 'tv movie', and damn if it doesn't look like one. I'm expecting 'A Quinn Martin Production' credit somewhere.The film was deemed too violent for television, and although tame by today's standards (aren't most old movies?), it was a bit brutal, courtesy the always interesting Lee Marvin and the less interesting Clu Gulager.I didn't observe any chemistry between Cassavetes and Dickinson's characters. Hard to relate to any of the cast because they are all basically up to no good. Angie Dickinson in particular looked rather plain for a woman who could put on the glam when she wanted to.Ronald Reagan is phoning this performance in, almost as if he's aware of the trash he is making here. When given a good script, most of these actors do fine jobs, but personally, I get a bigger kick from old gory black and white 'Untouchables' programs.The only interesting note is that Virginia Christine, the Folgers' coffee lady, appears in both this 1964 version and the original from 1946, in different roles. Somehow turning an interesting old film noir into a sixties' television movie was a definite step backwards. I won't sit through this again.

Two hired assassins, Charlie Strom(Lee Marvin)and Lee(Clu Gulager), casually enter a school for the blind and cold bloodedly gun down one of the teachers, Johnny North(John Casavettes). Curious as to why North just stood there as he was murdered, Charlie and Lee set out to dissect the tangled web of intrigue surrounding their victim. They find that he was once involved with unhinged rich girl Shelia Farr(Angie Dickinson), mobster Jack Browning(Ronald Reagan)and the theft of $1 million...Don Siegel adapts Ernest Hemingway's short story in a sturdy reworking of the 1946 noir which catapulted a young Burt Lancaster onto the Hollywood scene. Lee Marvin and Clu Gulager are the eponymous "killers" of the title. Unapologetically gritty, The Killers is among the first movies in Hollywood to portray the central characters as antagonists rather than protagonists. Originally intended as a TV movie, The Killers ultimately found it's way into cinemas after being deemed too violent for primetime(although it's pretty tame by today's standards). Still, the movie doesn't shy away from abrupt acts of sadism. The two main characters, Charlie and Lee, are a pair of amoral lowlifes who do the dirty work for individuals who are equally unscrupulous. However they do have a certain charm and Lee Marvin definitely steals the show as Charlie. Revelling completely in the wanton depravity of his character, Marvin excelled at playing dubious types in an era in Hollywood when it was unpopular to play such characters, when good always prevailed over evil, when even the baddies had integrity. Lee Marvin always played them as rough and dirtier than ever. Although, the movie doesn't glorify the violent criminal actions of it's characters and sticks with a "whoever lives by the sword dies by the sword" mentality. In his last movie before embarking on an illustrious political career, president-to-be Ronald Reagan was also on brilliant form. The charisma John Casavettes emitted was nothing short of fantastic and the beautiful Angie Dickinson was just as superb, as was Cul Gulager as Charlie's murderous counterpart. The suspenseful climax may just rank among the greatest scenes in film and is spectacularly underplayed. It sums up the film's message terrifically.Despite the fact that it's quite flat in places, The Killers is a truly superior neo-noir. 8/10

Surprised that their contract victim didn't try to run away from them, two professional hit men try to find out who hired them and why. The story is well told, my only problem with the film was the supporting cast. It's the kind of film that proves that a small story can be much more meaningful than a larger one. A great score and tight editing help. The cinematography is stark and bare, with only the soundtrack adding some effect. From an artistic standpoint, there were some plot elements and character developments I didn't think were totally needed. Watch for Ronald Reagan in an understated role. Verdict comes in at 7 out of 10.