The Killers (1964)-Roberto Azula
The Killers (1964)
By Roberto Azula
Don Siegel’s The Killers was originally intended to be a made-for-TV movie, but NBC deemed it far too violent. You’ll see why in its shocking first ten minutes. Lee Marvin and Clu Gulager play two professional hitmen who are not above terrifying a blind librarian to track down their prey. From that rather unsettling opening, this very unorthodox gangster flick turns into a more nuanced exploration of life’s motivations. Charlie Strom (Marvin) is baffled by the fact the racecar driver he was sent to kill did nothing to escape his fate. Strom is also puzzled by the inflated fee he was paid for such an easy hit. Why a hitman would even consider these questions could only explained in terms of an existential quandary. And that is precisely what The Killers is—an existential film. Through a series of flashbacks, the film tells a tale of once promising career degenerating into failure, crime, and paralyzing fatalism.
Lee Marvin delivers an astonishing performance, his trademark gravely, taciturn voice slicing through each scene like a gunshot through a silencer. Gulager is also fantastic as Marvin’s right-hand man and fellow "investigator" Lee, a barely-controlled psychopath that plays Even Worse Cop to Strom’s Bad Cop. And yes, even Ronald Reagan gives a good show, in his cheesy way.
Though it was made in 1964, The Killers has a very 70s feel to it, shot in vivid made-for-TV colors. Despite the opening film titles, the film has next to nothing to do with Ernest Hemingway’s short story. Be that as it may, Siegel’s version still tackles the same themes of the original story, and I can only imagine Hemingway would have enjoyed the film anyway. A most curious period piece and a harbinger of Siegel’s later tough guy masterpieces, The Killers is at once a cool and beguiling film. It doesn’t get much more hardboiled than this.
Copyright C. 2008 Roberto Azula