July
9: #25, The Killing
"Now, we just have to board the plane with this cartoonishly large briefcase of money. What could go wrong?"
I
was going to watch ten Kubrick films and then decided that I might as
well watch his first three, as well. If anything, it would give me a
chance to get back on pace a bit since they're all 85 minutes or
less. Kubrick owed me that at least after I sat through several
three-hour epics in a little over a week.
The
killing is a black and white heist drama made right before Paths
to Glory. It's also a
good exercise in film noir as hard lessons are learned all around
about such poor choices as marrying above your station and trusting
anyone whatsoever.
The
Killing sets
a brisk pace, putting all the characters in place and setting the
wheels in motion for a daring racetrack heist very quickly. Among the
actors, you get a caricature of a 1950s gang leader played by
Sterling Hayden and George, a cowardly husband played as wooden on
purpose by Elisha Cook. The character who stands out most is the
delightfully snarky Sherry Peatty, who is played exceptionally by
Marie Windsor. Some of the best moments in the film are when she's
casting shade at her hapless husband or manipulating him with ease.
You
get a lot of old-timey detective film dialogue, but that's okay as
it's to be expected for the time period and genre. What is a bit of a
letdown is the rather weak ending, which relies on some really stupid
luck and ridiculous coincidences even by noir standards.
Kubrick
is coming into his own in this one, as he stages shots carefully,
such as when he films an upward angle of the crew answering the
hideout door so that you can't see who's barging in when the door
opens. In that sequence, which is where plans really start to
unravel, there's also a great moment where Kubrick goes into first
person perspective as the hideout's lone survivor surveys the
wreckage, breathing heavily. Overall, The
Killing is
an enjoyable, if rather forgettable heist drama.
Grade: B
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