This was the movie that made stars out of both Ava Gardner and Burt Lancaster. Scuttlebutt is that Lancaster already had Desert Fury in the can and was waiting for release when he went to Mark Hellinger's office to talk about this film. Supposedly he paced the office like a puma while Hellinger took another meeting then said the hell with this, I'm going back to New York. Hellinger managed to catch him before he left the building. The Killers was released first and the publicists for Desert Fury gave Lancaster top billing to attract audiences.

Noir always suggests more than it expresses and you have to wonder why The Swede allowed himself to be killed after his enemy finds him pumping gas in New Jersey. Edmund O'Brien's investigation turns up nothing but Anderson's enduring love for Kitty.

Notable is the first of many fixated looks Lancaster gives to his love interest in a movie. The same thing happens in Rose Tattoo when Alvaro sees Serafina for the first time.
There's also the transition of expressions from dumb incomprehension to anger to the nod of the head -- classic Lancaster --- as he says "funny when you lose a fight, isn't it". The nod brings Lancaster's height down to that of the person he's talking to, making him more accessible and easier to agree with.

Lancaster was a trained showman from his days with the circus, but he was not a trained actor. Everything he showed in this film, he learned while doing Desert Fury, or by taking direction from Hellinger. But for a director to get this quality of performance from a tyro there has to be something to direct, besides the beautiful eyes, the acrobat's build, and the beautiful hands lying on but not clutching the sheets as the killers come up the stairs. The promise of this film was borne out in 85 others over the next 45 years.

After 1 hr 32 min, watch how Lancaster and Gardner alternate, he moving to shade her face and she moving to get the keylight back for her lines. First, having them move for this purpose looks as clumsy as it is, but you couldn't move the lights without wasting a hell of a lot of time. Second, look at the end of my review of Desert Fury; this is another example of Lancaster giving up the camera (in this case to darkness) because he doesn't need it to get his point across.

The kiss after that does something Kate Buford calls out in an interview: Lancaster always gave up the keylight or camera to whoever he was kissing.

The astronomical info Charleston gives is wrong. Orion is not known as the big bear. Betelgeuse is not the brightest star. The diagram on the wall might be meant for Taurus; somebody will have to fact-check me on that.

Easter Egg: the lieutenant who arrested Swede and married his girl is played by Sam Levene, who was in the Broadway play that brought Lancaster to Hollywood's attention.

This is one of those crime noir that's as ugly as a dirty city. It left me felling filthy and heading for the shower to have a good scrub.

It succeeded in holding my attention.

Lancaster and Gardner own the screen in this one.

My only complaint is that it's too long––90 minutes would have been ideal.

It's going to take at least another viewing to help me to really understand all the ins and outs of the plot, but this is one of those movies where the plot is almost secondary. It grips you with the details, not the summary. Robert Siodmak understood human nature dispassionately.

Stand alone classic. Burt Lancaster is amazing in this thriller. Ava Gardner displays all her natural talents. Lots of mean guys with ugly faces too. No down and dirty film would be complete without Sam Levene in a cameo detective appearance. Sam is the icing on the cake, who leaves the cherry on top, to other rank amateurs.

Burt Lancaster is lost the second he sets eyes on Ava Gardner. A great cast, great story line -unbeatable.

Nice to see a good print of an old B&W movie. I enjoyed this more than I expected

"a long time ago I did something wrong"

and how many of us can say otherwise?

which is why I always sleep with Mr. Glock w/in EZ reach.

R560650.
The Killers. By Universal Pictures
Company, Inc. 11 reels. (C) 21Aug46;
L514. Universal Pictures (PWH);
7Sep73; R56065O.