The Killers

"She's a match for any mobster!"

1946 1h 43m EN

👍

7.4

SOLID

★7.4TMDB · 450

CrimeMysteryThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Two hit men walk into a diner asking for a man called "the Swede". When the killers find the Swede, he's expecting them and doesn't put up a fight. Since the Swede had a life insurance policy, an investigator, on a hunch, decides to look into the murder. As the Swede's past is laid bare, it comes to light that he was in love with a beautiful woman who may have lured him into pulling off a bank robbery overseen by another man.

“She's a match for any mobster!”

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Cast

Edmond O'Brien
Jim Reardon
Burt Lancaster
'Swede' Andersen
Ava Gardner
Kitty Collins
Albert Dekker
Big Jim Colfax
Sam Levene
Lt. Sam Lubinsky
Vince Barnett
Charleston
Virginia Christine
Lilly Harmon Lubinsky
Jack Lambert
'Dum-Dum' Clarke

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Robert Siodmak
Writers: Anthony Veiller, John Huston, Richard Brooks
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

80 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Robert Siodmak, shot by Elwood Bredell. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Miklós Rózsa. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Arthur Hilton shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Edmond O'Brien and Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "She's a match for any mobster!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0038669 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Robert Siodmak directs. Elwood Bredell behind the camera. Miklós Rózsa scores. Arthur Hilton cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

180 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Directed by Robert Siodmak, shot by Elwood Bredell. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Miklós Rózsa. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Arthur Hilton shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Edmond O'Brien and Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "She's a match for any mobster!".
7IMDB entry: tt0038669 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 12 themes, including "small town", "new jersey", "gas station", "boxer".

The technical file

Cinematography: Elwood Bredell
Original score: Miklós Rózsa
Editing: Arthur Hilton
Makeup / hair: Carmen Dirigo
Runtime: 103 min · 1h 43m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: The Killers (1946)

Awards

National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Robert Siodmak

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-08-29
★ 7/10
When two hit men arrive in the diner of a small town, they announce their intention to the owner of killing one of his customers - former boxer "the Swede" (Burt Lancaster). He manages to convince them that he would not be coming in that night, and so they leave to track him down. His friend, who was tied up in the diner rushes to warn him, but he does nothing - he invites the fate that we see, right from the beginning of the film. Why though? Why didn't he run? It transpires that he had a modest life insurance policy and so investigator "Reardon" (Edmond O'Brien) tries to track down the beneficiary and piece together a story of robbery, betrayal and duplicity - to all of which the character of "Kitty" (Ava Gardner) proves central. This is a superior film noir, with Lancaster and O'Brien on great form as the flashbacks gradually fill in the gaps and with the help of "Lt. Lubinsky" (Sam Levene) they discover what truly happened. Ava Gardner's character features quite sparingly, but potently when she is on screen - manipulating and twisting as she manoeuvres the men around her with consummate skill. The pace is measured, the story takes it's time to develop and that helps make this quite a compelling drama that puts a little more meat on the bones of the original Hemingway short story. The photography is intense, using the light and shade dramatically, and the score from the maestro Miklós Rósza adds a richness to the gritty look of the film too. Burt Lancaster's first major screen role, but it's O'Brien who does most of the heavy lifting here, and he does it well!
griggs792024-11-14
★ 6/10
Robert Siodmak’s The Killers intrigues more than it excites. Each scene is steeped in a rich atmosphere, with tension simmering under the surface. Siodmak’s non-linear storytelling leads you through a maze of betrayal and mystery, making it a slow-burn puzzle rather than a thrill ride. It’s a film that keeps you engaged with its moody shadows and complex web of lies, even if it didn’t thoroughly sweep me off my feet.