Too much of everything

Good concept, poorly executed.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

When Born to Kill came out in 1947, it was hated by many critics of the day, including Bosley Crowther, the NY Times critic, who was put off by the stark depiction of the two amoral protagonists. But that's exactly why I find it has some merit-it pulls no punches in suggesting that there are psychopaths out there who look for innocent victims as their prey!Directed by Robert Wise (of "Sound of Music" fame), he was from the old school who emphasized the screenplay as the most important aspect of the filmaking process. The film isn't filled with a lot of visuals emphasizing all that film noir atmosphere which we typically see in films of that period and genre. Nonetheless, Wise has his nice touches (when Sam Wilde played by tough-guy Lawrence Tierney murders a couple in a Reno home, Wise cuts to the barking dog, cleverly preventing us from seeing the final murderous coup de grace and building further suspense).Lawrence Tierney indeed is perfectly cast as the psychopathic Sam Wilde who murders the aforementioned innocent couple in the first ten minutes of the film and then goes on to kill his best friend Marty (the wonderful ubiquitous Elisha J. Cook) as well as Helen Brent, the "femme fatale" most cooly played by Claire Trevor.Tierney was perfect because he was a hot-head in real life-it's believed he did serious harm to his career by getting arrested so many times for assaulting fellow thespians and regular people on the street (that includes shoving Quentin Tarantino later in life on a movie set!).Trevor as Helen is a perfect complement to Tierney's Sam, as they both portray street savvy, vicious operators, mowing down anyone in their paths. While Helen is a femme fatale, she's different than the usual one found in film noirs (as pointed out by noir expert Eddie Mueller who provides excellent commentary on the DVD extras). Most femme fatales end up ruining their man, but here, Sam is so deranged and too tough for her to bring him down.Sam is actually worse than Helen, unable to control his temper whenever he feels slighted. His philosophy is simple-he wants to attain power so he can "spit" in anyone's eye, if he feels like it. Helen on the other hand is conflicted-she realizes she has a dark side but that's tempered by her supposed love for her "foster" sister Georgia Staples (Audrey Long) as well as her connection to the wealthy man she plans to marry, Fred (Phillip Terry).Unfortunately, it's the characterization of both Georgia and Fred that drags the film down. Georgia, the daughter of a wealthy newspaper magnate, a goody two shoes, has all that money but isn't generous at all (for some reason) in helping resentful Helen (if she is so nice, why is she so stingy with her money?).Worse than that is her supposed animal attraction to Sam. Yes I get it that all the women are smitten by him, but most normal people would still be a little curious as to the background of the person they're going to marry. She never seems to make any serious inquiries as to what he does for a living or anything about his past, and the next thing you know, they're tying the knot! Georgia is a dull character, and the film scenarist obviously spent little time in fleshing her out.The same goes for Georgia's male counterpart, Fred, who also deserves the goody two shoes appellation. His wet fish personality is obviously created to contrast with the wicked Helen-and when all this "pure goodness" decides to break it off with Helen, we know then she's doomed.The sub-plot involves the alcoholic Mrs. Kraft (played by the more than colorful Esther Howard), owner of the boarding house back in Reno where her boarder and good friend Laury and her date was murdered by Sam. She pays portly detective Albert Arnett (Walter Slezak), to investigate who did the tragic couple in.In addition to the electric interchanges between Sam and Helen, the scene where Marty decides to bump off Mrs. Kraft in a deserted beach area of San Francisco, is a most welcome diversion from the main plot and adds to the growing suspense. It's a real twist and turn in the plot, when Sam shows up and bumps off Marty in a fit of jealousy, allowing Mrs. Kraft to escape.Helen goes over completely to the dark side when she threatens Mrs. Kraft, ordering her not to go to the police. Her attraction for Sam overwhelms any reason she has left and she now is willing to sacrifice her good relationship with Georgia, whom is still smitten with the brute. Helen shatters Georgia's illusion as she passionately kisses Sam, as Georgia sits hidden in a chair nearby and sees everything! Helen of course gets her comeuppance at film's end as she must as those femme fatales who have swayed-must pay!Born to Kill was ahead of its time in depicting two ruthless protagonists who in the end deserve each other. If only the characters who represent the morally good side of society were better drawn, then perhaps you could have called this a noir masterpiece.

Claire Trevor (Helen) returns home after a night out celebrating her divorce. When she arrives at her boarding house, she discovers that her fellow lodger Isabel Jewell (Laury) has been murdered along with boyfriend Tony Barrett (Danny). There is another boyfriend on the scene – psychotic Lawrence Tierney (Sam) – and you had better not make a monkey of him. He WILL kill you. The whole beginning sequence is well acted by all and throws you straight into the story. On discovering the bodies, Claire goes to call the police, picks up the phone but then stalls, puts the receiver down and walks away from the scene. She thinks and then returns to pick up the phone again……..and she calls the train station! Ha ha – fooled us all. It's at the train station where she meets the killer Tierney and a relationship is formed. There are complications to this relationship alongside the added pressure of boozy floozy landlady Esther Howard (Mrs Kraft) hiring PI Walter Slezak (Arnett) to find out who killed her lodger.All the cast are excellent, especially Claire Trevor and Esther Howard. They all have screen presence. The relationship between Tierney and fellow criminal Elisha Cook Jr (Marty) is given a very obvious gay subtext. Cook Jr is his bitch – no doubt about it. Tierney is scary and each member of the cast is given at least one powerful, emotional scene and delivers it as required. At the end of the film I think it's a bottle of beer for Ms Howard please!

"Odds Against Tomorrow" director Robert Wise's vintage film noir crime saga "Born to Kill" exemplifies the best in film noir thrillers. This reliable RKO Radio Pictures release is as spartan and concise as any good crime picture needs to be. Overall, Wise, "Operator 13" scenarist Eve Greene and "Roaring Twenties" writer Richard Macaulay have made a first-class, no-nonsense melodrama about a psychotic maniac who requires little reason to kill, especially where his ego and sense of jealousy are concerned. No fewer than ten minutes into this atmospheric, black and white thriller, Samuel Wild (leading man Lawrence Tierney of "Reservoir Dogs") commits a double homicide because his girlfriend incurred his wrath by dating another man. Wild kills Danny (Tony Barrett) after the latter brandishes a knife. No sooner has he murdered poor Danny in the kitchen of his girlfriend's home than Wild turns around and kills Laury Palmer (Isabel Jewell) and then slips out of the house without arousing anybody's suspicions or alarming the other owner of the house. Wild goes back to his hotel where he confesses to his perennial partner, Marty Waterman (Elisha Cook, Jr., or "The Maltese Falcon"), that he killed two people. Marty isn't surprised by this turn of events. Clearly, Marty knows about Samuel Wild's paranoia and jealousy. Meantime, Helen (Claire Trevor of "Key Largo") discovers both bodies. As the ostensible heroine, who has just gotten a divorce in Reno and planned to leave, she decides to clear out of town before the bodies are found. On the train, she encounters Wild, whom she had seen earlier in a casino, and takes a shine to him. Likewise, Wild takes a shine to Helen, only to be rebuffed later in San Francisco when she introduces him to her fiancé, Fred (Philip Terry), and this whets his appetite even more for her. Strangely enough, Helen feels still drawn to Wild despite her previous engagement. Helen's wealthy half-sister Georgia (Audrey Lang) is attracted to Wild, and these two marry, but Wild still has his eye on Helen. Wise paces this audacious melodrama deliberately for maximum impact. Hollywood would never attempt anything so provocative as this film noir today and when you finish watching it, you might have to pinch yourself to remind yourself that life is fleeting and the bad die young. "Born To Kill" has the trappings of a B-movie, but the intelligence and creativity of a daring A movie. The black & white photography is fantastic as is the cast.

Robert Wise directed this film noir that stars Lawrence Tierney as Sam Wild, a cold and ruthless killer who meets up with equally ruthless Helen Brent(played by Claire Trevor) on a train leaving San Francisco. They fall in love, but decide to marry other people in an effort to social climb and get rich, which includes Sam marrying Helen's wealthy foster sister! Helen doesn't know at first that Sam murdered a woman that she had known, but never told the police about because she didn't want to get involved, and that will come back to haunt her as suspicions and jealousies spiral out-of-control... Well-acted and directed thriller overcomes its contrived story by being quite interesting.