The Killers
Director: Robert Siodmak
Year Released: 1946
Rating: 3.0
The life of a former boxer-turned-thief (Burt Lancaster) is told in pieces by those that knew him best in this adaptation of Hemingway's short story, arguably the best film ever made from a work by Papa H. The presentation of the story isn't always credible - not one but two dying men groan out the exact details for insurance company investigator Edmond O'Brien - but the technical prowess of cinematographer Woody Bredell and Siodmak's pacing are all that really matters: it's an unforgiving noir, even down to the final interaction between O'Brien and his boss, which ends the movie with a grim joke that 'solving' the crime didn't amount to a hill of beans for anyone in this crazy world.
