The Killers (1964 film)
Encyclopedia
The Killers, sometimes marketed as Ernest Hemingway's The Killers, is a 1964 crime film
released by Universal Studios
. It is the second Hollywood adaptation of Ernest Hemingway
's short story of the same name
, following a version
made in 1946 starring Burt Lancaster
and Ava Gardner
. It was directed by Don Siegel
and stars Lee Marvin
and Angie Dickinson
. It is notable for being Ronald Reagan
's last film before entering politics and eventually achieving the presidency
(and one in which he uncharacteristically plays the role of a villain).
At the time of its release, Marvin said that it was his favorite film.
) and Lee (Clu Gulager
) enter a school for the blind and terrorize the principal until she reveals the whereabouts of a teacher, Johnny North (John Cassavetes
). As the hitmen walk toward North's upstairs classroom, the teacher receives a call warning him of their arrival. Johnny sadly responds, "It's okay. I know them." As he calmly waits at his desk, Charlie and Lee enter and shoot him multiple times.
As they depart from by train, Charlie admits that he is bothered that North refused to flee, and that they were paid an unusually high fee for such a simple hit. He and Lee run through what they know about the man they have just killed. Johnny was once a champion race car driver whose career ended in a violent crash. Four years before his death, he was involved in a million-dollar robbery of a mail truck. Tempted by the missing million, Charlie and Lee visit Miami to interview Johnny's former mechanic.
Earl Sylvester (Claude Akins
), who considers himself Johnny's only friend, is devastated to learn of his death. In between sobs and gulps of whiskey, he tells the story as he remembers it. Johnny North was at the top of his profession when he met the beautiful Sheila Farr (Angie Dickinson
). Despite Earl's suspicions, Johnny fell deeply in love and planned to propose marriage after winning his next big race. However, Johnny's late nights with Sheila had left him disoriented from lack of sleep. As a result, his racing career ended with a fiery crash.
At the hospital, Earl revealed to Johnny that Sheila was the mistress
of mob boss Jack Browning (Ronald Reagan
). Known for her extravagant taste, Sheila has already cheated on Browning with several other sports figures, all of whom met bad ends. Enraged and heartbroken, Johnny rebuffed Sheila's attempts to explain and cut his ties to her.
Intrigued, Charlie and Lee approach a former member of Browning's crew, who also reveals his memories. Some time after the crash, Sheila found Johnny working as a pit mechanic during another race. Although Johnny bitterly attempted to drive her away, Sheila insisted on telling him that a much better job might soon be his for the taking.
Meanwhile, Browning was in the process of planning the robbery of a U.S. postal truck. On Sheila's recommendation, he agreed to take Johnny on as his getaway driver.
After Johnny refused to return her calls, Sheila called at his dilapidated tenement. Although Johnny still felt betrayed, Sheila said that she had always regretted losing him and could not live without him. Deeply moved, Johnny agreed to forgive her. He also helped Browning by souping up the getaway car.
However, Browning was deeply enraged when he learned that Sheila had returned to Johnny. In a deliberate provocation, Browning brutally slapped Sheila in front of Johnny. Enraged, Johnny instantly punched Browning in the face and threatened to kill him if he ever hurt Sheila again. However, they both agreed to "settle this" after the job, and went back to planning the robbery.
Browning and North placed a phony detour sign to send the mail truck onto an isolated mountain road, while Browning's other accomplices blocked the road by staging an accident. When the truck stopped, the gang held it up at gunpoint, loading more than $1 million into the getaway car. Johnny then forced Browning out of the moving car, and drove off alone with the money.
After listening to this story, Charlie and Lee pay a visit to Jack Browning, who is now a real estate developer in Los Angeles
. Browning, however, insists that he is now an honest businessman and has no idea what happened to the money. He does, however, reveal that Sheila is staying at a downtown hotel and agrees to arrange a meeting with her.
To deprive Browning of time to plan an ambush, Charlie and Lee call at Sheila's hotel room several hours earlier than agreed. At first Sheila denies all knowledge of Johnny or the money. However, Charlie and Lee beat her and dangle her by the ankles out of her seventh story window. Terrified, she agrees to tell them the truth.
The night before the robbery, she entered Johnny's room and told him that his life was in danger. Browning, she said, was planning to kill him and pocket his share of the robbery. Enraged, Johnny wanted to leave and kill Browning on the spot. Sheila, however, insisted that she had a much better idea. On her advice, Johnny threw Browning out of the car and drove off with the money. Later that night, he met with Sheila.
As the two lovers departed with the money to a nearby hotel room, they were confronted by Browning. Sheila asked Browning to "do it quickly," and the gangster shot Johnny in the torso. Although severely wounded, Johnny escaped into the night. Unable to find him, Sheila expressed fear that Johnny would cause as much trouble as his predecessors. Therefore, Browning hired Charlie and Lee to murder him.
As Sheila comes to the end of her story, Charlie understands at last why Johnny refused to flee. The only man who refuses to run is a man who considers himself to be already dead. Sheila's betrayal had already killed Johnny long before the bullets ever touched him.
Charlie and Lee, with Sheila in tow, then leave the hotel to confront Browning; but he is waiting nearby with a sniper
rifle. He kills Lee and wounds Charlie.
Browning and Sheila return home. As they prepare to flee with the money, Charlie, mortally wounded, enters. Sheila, at last revealing her sociopathic nature, frantically denies any role in Johnny's death, insisting that her husband alone was responsible. Charlie calmly shoots Browning dead and turns his revolver toward Sheila. When she again pleads for her life, Charlie snarls, "Lady, I don't have the time!" He kills Sheila with a single bullet and staggers out the door. He falls dead on the lawn while still gripping the money.
", but NBC
judged it too violent to broadcast, and so Universal released the movie in theaters
instead.
Steve McQueen
and George Peppard
were considered for the Johnny North role.
Don Siegel had originally been hired as director of the earlier 1946 version
of the same story, but had been fired. Actress Virginia Christine had also appeared in the 1946 version.
According to the DVD
commentary, leading lady
Angie Dickinson received the news during filming that her friend (and rumored romantic partner) President John F. Kennedy
had been shot and killed
.
The Killers was Ronald Reagan's last acting role before entering politics, and the only villain
in his career. According to Kirk Douglas
' autobiography
The Ragman's Son, Reagan regretted doing the movie, particularly because of a scene in which he slaps Dickinson.
.
Crime film
Crime films are films which focus on the lives of criminals. The stylistic approach to a crime film varies from realistic portrayals of real-life criminal figures, to the far-fetched evil doings of imaginary arch-villains. Criminal acts are almost always glorified in these movies.- Plays and films...
released by Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
. It is the second Hollywood adaptation of Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
's short story of the same name
The Killers (short story)
'"The Killers"' is a short story by Ernest Hemingway. It first appeared to the public in 1927 in Scribner's Magazine. How much Hemingway received for the literary piece is unknown, but some sources state it was $200. Historians have some documents showing that the working title of the piece was...
, following a version
The Killers (1946 film)
The Killers is a 1946 American film noir directed by Robert Siodmak. It is based in part on the short story of the same name by Ernest Hemingway. The film features Burt Lancaster in his screen debut, as well as Ava Gardner, Edmond O'Brien, and Sam Levene...
made in 1946 starring Burt Lancaster
Burt Lancaster
Burton Stephen "Burt" Lancaster was an American film actor noted for his athletic physique and distinctive smile...
and Ava Gardner
Ava Gardner
Ava Lavinia Gardner was an American actress.She was signed to a contract by MGM Studios in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew attention with her performance in The Killers . She became one of Hollywood's leading actresses, considered one of the most beautiful women of her day...
. It was directed by Don Siegel
Don Siegel
Donald Siegel was an influential American film director and producer. His name variously appeared in the credits of his films as both Don Siegel and Donald Siegel.-Early life:...
and stars Lee Marvin
Lee Marvin
Lee Marvin was an American film actor. Known for his gravelly voice, white hair and 6' 2" stature, Marvin at first did supporting roles, mostly villains, soldiers and other hardboiled characters, but after winning an Academy Award for Best Actor for his dual roles in Cat Ballou , he landed more...
and Angie Dickinson
Angie Dickinson
Angie Dickinson is an American actress. She has appeared in more than fifty films, including Rio Bravo, Ocean's Eleven, Dressed to Kill and Pay It Forward, and starred on television as Sergeant Suzanne "Pepper" Anderson on the 1970s crime series Police Woman.-Early life:Dickinson, the second of...
. It is notable for being Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
's last film before entering politics and eventually achieving the presidency
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
(and one in which he uncharacteristically plays the role of a villain).
At the time of its release, Marvin said that it was his favorite film.
Synopsis
One morning, hitmen Charlie (Lee MarvinLee Marvin
Lee Marvin was an American film actor. Known for his gravelly voice, white hair and 6' 2" stature, Marvin at first did supporting roles, mostly villains, soldiers and other hardboiled characters, but after winning an Academy Award for Best Actor for his dual roles in Cat Ballou , he landed more...
) and Lee (Clu Gulager
Clu Gulager
Clu Gulager is an American television and film actor. He is particularly noted for his co-starring role as William H. Bonney in the 1960–62 NBC TV series The Tall Man and for his role in the later NBC series The Virginian...
) enter a school for the blind and terrorize the principal until she reveals the whereabouts of a teacher, Johnny North (John Cassavetes
John Cassavetes
John Nicholas Cassavetes was an American actor, screenwriter and filmmaker. He acted in many Hollywood films, notably Rosemary's Baby and The Dirty Dozen...
). As the hitmen walk toward North's upstairs classroom, the teacher receives a call warning him of their arrival. Johnny sadly responds, "It's okay. I know them." As he calmly waits at his desk, Charlie and Lee enter and shoot him multiple times.
As they depart from by train, Charlie admits that he is bothered that North refused to flee, and that they were paid an unusually high fee for such a simple hit. He and Lee run through what they know about the man they have just killed. Johnny was once a champion race car driver whose career ended in a violent crash. Four years before his death, he was involved in a million-dollar robbery of a mail truck. Tempted by the missing million, Charlie and Lee visit Miami to interview Johnny's former mechanic.
Earl Sylvester (Claude Akins
Claude Akins
Claude Marion Akins was an American actor with a long career on stage, screen and television.Powerful in appearance and voice, Akins could be counted on to play the clever tough guy, on the side of good or bad, in movies and television. He is best remembered as Sheriff Lobo in the 1970s TV series...
), who considers himself Johnny's only friend, is devastated to learn of his death. In between sobs and gulps of whiskey, he tells the story as he remembers it. Johnny North was at the top of his profession when he met the beautiful Sheila Farr (Angie Dickinson
Angie Dickinson
Angie Dickinson is an American actress. She has appeared in more than fifty films, including Rio Bravo, Ocean's Eleven, Dressed to Kill and Pay It Forward, and starred on television as Sergeant Suzanne "Pepper" Anderson on the 1970s crime series Police Woman.-Early life:Dickinson, the second of...
). Despite Earl's suspicions, Johnny fell deeply in love and planned to propose marriage after winning his next big race. However, Johnny's late nights with Sheila had left him disoriented from lack of sleep. As a result, his racing career ended with a fiery crash.
At the hospital, Earl revealed to Johnny that Sheila was the mistress
Mistress (lover)
A mistress is a long-term female lover and companion who is not married to her partner; the term is used especially when her partner is married. The relationship generally is stable and at least semi-permanent; however, the couple does not live together openly. Also the relationship is usually,...
of mob boss Jack Browning (Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
). Known for her extravagant taste, Sheila has already cheated on Browning with several other sports figures, all of whom met bad ends. Enraged and heartbroken, Johnny rebuffed Sheila's attempts to explain and cut his ties to her.
Intrigued, Charlie and Lee approach a former member of Browning's crew, who also reveals his memories. Some time after the crash, Sheila found Johnny working as a pit mechanic during another race. Although Johnny bitterly attempted to drive her away, Sheila insisted on telling him that a much better job might soon be his for the taking.
Meanwhile, Browning was in the process of planning the robbery of a U.S. postal truck. On Sheila's recommendation, he agreed to take Johnny on as his getaway driver.
After Johnny refused to return her calls, Sheila called at his dilapidated tenement. Although Johnny still felt betrayed, Sheila said that she had always regretted losing him and could not live without him. Deeply moved, Johnny agreed to forgive her. He also helped Browning by souping up the getaway car.
However, Browning was deeply enraged when he learned that Sheila had returned to Johnny. In a deliberate provocation, Browning brutally slapped Sheila in front of Johnny. Enraged, Johnny instantly punched Browning in the face and threatened to kill him if he ever hurt Sheila again. However, they both agreed to "settle this" after the job, and went back to planning the robbery.
Browning and North placed a phony detour sign to send the mail truck onto an isolated mountain road, while Browning's other accomplices blocked the road by staging an accident. When the truck stopped, the gang held it up at gunpoint, loading more than $1 million into the getaway car. Johnny then forced Browning out of the moving car, and drove off alone with the money.
After listening to this story, Charlie and Lee pay a visit to Jack Browning, who is now a real estate developer in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. Browning, however, insists that he is now an honest businessman and has no idea what happened to the money. He does, however, reveal that Sheila is staying at a downtown hotel and agrees to arrange a meeting with her.
To deprive Browning of time to plan an ambush, Charlie and Lee call at Sheila's hotel room several hours earlier than agreed. At first Sheila denies all knowledge of Johnny or the money. However, Charlie and Lee beat her and dangle her by the ankles out of her seventh story window. Terrified, she agrees to tell them the truth.
The night before the robbery, she entered Johnny's room and told him that his life was in danger. Browning, she said, was planning to kill him and pocket his share of the robbery. Enraged, Johnny wanted to leave and kill Browning on the spot. Sheila, however, insisted that she had a much better idea. On her advice, Johnny threw Browning out of the car and drove off with the money. Later that night, he met with Sheila.
As the two lovers departed with the money to a nearby hotel room, they were confronted by Browning. Sheila asked Browning to "do it quickly," and the gangster shot Johnny in the torso. Although severely wounded, Johnny escaped into the night. Unable to find him, Sheila expressed fear that Johnny would cause as much trouble as his predecessors. Therefore, Browning hired Charlie and Lee to murder him.
As Sheila comes to the end of her story, Charlie understands at last why Johnny refused to flee. The only man who refuses to run is a man who considers himself to be already dead. Sheila's betrayal had already killed Johnny long before the bullets ever touched him.
Charlie and Lee, with Sheila in tow, then leave the hotel to confront Browning; but he is waiting nearby with a sniper
Sniper
A sniper is a marksman who shoots targets from concealed positions or distances exceeding the capabilities of regular personnel. Snipers typically have specialized training and distinct high-precision rifles....
rifle. He kills Lee and wounds Charlie.
Browning and Sheila return home. As they prepare to flee with the money, Charlie, mortally wounded, enters. Sheila, at last revealing her sociopathic nature, frantically denies any role in Johnny's death, insisting that her husband alone was responsible. Charlie calmly shoots Browning dead and turns his revolver toward Sheila. When she again pleads for her life, Charlie snarls, "Lady, I don't have the time!" He kills Sheila with a single bullet and staggers out the door. He falls dead on the lawn while still gripping the money.
Cast
- Lee MarvinLee MarvinLee Marvin was an American film actor. Known for his gravelly voice, white hair and 6' 2" stature, Marvin at first did supporting roles, mostly villains, soldiers and other hardboiled characters, but after winning an Academy Award for Best Actor for his dual roles in Cat Ballou , he landed more...
as Charlie Strom - a professional killer - Angie DickinsonAngie DickinsonAngie Dickinson is an American actress. She has appeared in more than fifty films, including Rio Bravo, Ocean's Eleven, Dressed to Kill and Pay It Forward, and starred on television as Sergeant Suzanne "Pepper" Anderson on the 1970s crime series Police Woman.-Early life:Dickinson, the second of...
as Sheila Farr - Johnny's mistress - Ronald ReaganRonald ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
as Jack Browning - a gangster - John CassavetesJohn CassavetesJohn Nicholas Cassavetes was an American actor, screenwriter and filmmaker. He acted in many Hollywood films, notably Rosemary's Baby and The Dirty Dozen...
as Johnny North - the man Charlie and Lee are hired to kill - Clu GulagerClu GulagerClu Gulager is an American television and film actor. He is particularly noted for his co-starring role as William H. Bonney in the 1960–62 NBC TV series The Tall Man and for his role in the later NBC series The Virginian...
as Lee - a professional killer, Charlie's accomplice - Claude AkinsClaude AkinsClaude Marion Akins was an American actor with a long career on stage, screen and television.Powerful in appearance and voice, Akins could be counted on to play the clever tough guy, on the side of good or bad, in movies and television. He is best remembered as Sheriff Lobo in the 1970s TV series...
as Earl Sylvester - Norman FellNorman FellNorman Fell , born Norman Noah Feld, was an American actor of film and television, most famous for his role as landlord Mr. Roper on the sitcom Three's Company and its spin-off, The Ropers.-Early life:...
as Mickey Farmer - Virginia ChristineVirginia ChristineVirginia Christine was an American film and television actress and voice artist. Christine had a long career as a character actress in film and television. She played "Mrs...
as Miss Watson - the blind secretary - Don HaggertyDon HaggertyDon Haggerty was an American film actor appearing in films in the 1940s and 1950s. Before entering films in 1947, Haggerty was a Brown University athlete and served in the US military...
as Mail Truck Driver - Robert PhillipsRobert PhillipsRobert Phillips is an American classical guitarist.-Early life:The son of two optometrists, Dr. Robert Michael Phillips and Dr. Irma Phillips née Pedrogo who resided, although only briefly, in Valley Stream, New York...
as George Fleming - Kathleen O'Malley as Miss Leslie - the receptionist
- Ted Jacques as Gym Assistant
- Irvin Mosley as Mail Truck Guard
- Jimmy Joyce as Salesman
Production
The Killers was intended to be the very first "made for TV movieTelevision movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
", but NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
judged it too violent to broadcast, and so Universal released the movie in theaters
Movie theater
A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
instead.
Steve McQueen
Steve McQueen
Terrence Steven "Steve" McQueen was an American movie actor. He was nicknamed "The King of Cool." His "anti-hero" persona, which he developed at the height of the Vietnam counterculture, made him one of the top box-office draws of the 1960s and 1970s. McQueen received an Academy Award nomination...
and George Peppard
George Peppard
George Peppard, Jr. was an American film and television actor.Peppard secured a major role when he starred alongside Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's , portrayed a character based on Howard Hughes in The Carpetbaggers , and played the title role of the millionaire sleuth Thomas Banacek in...
were considered for the Johnny North role.
Don Siegel had originally been hired as director of the earlier 1946 version
The Killers (1946 film)
The Killers is a 1946 American film noir directed by Robert Siodmak. It is based in part on the short story of the same name by Ernest Hemingway. The film features Burt Lancaster in his screen debut, as well as Ava Gardner, Edmond O'Brien, and Sam Levene...
of the same story, but had been fired. Actress Virginia Christine had also appeared in the 1946 version.
According to the DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
commentary, leading lady
Leading lady
Leading lady is an informal term for the actress who plays a secondary lead or supporting role, usually a love interest, to the leading actor in a film or play. It is not usually applied to the leading actress in the performance if her character is the protagonist.A leading lady can also be an...
Angie Dickinson received the news during filming that her friend (and rumored romantic partner) President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
had been shot and killed
John F. Kennedy assassination
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, was assassinated at 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas...
.
The Killers was Ronald Reagan's last acting role before entering politics, and the only villain
Villain
A villain is an "evil" character in a story, whether a historical narrative or, especially, a work of fiction. The villain usually is the antagonist, the character who tends to have a negative effect on other characters...
in his career. According to Kirk Douglas
Kirk Douglas
Kirk Douglas is an American stage and film actor, film producer and author. His popular films include Out of the Past , Champion , Ace in the Hole , The Bad and the Beautiful , Lust for Life , Paths of Glory , Gunfight at the O.K...
' autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
The Ragman's Son, Reagan regretted doing the movie, particularly because of a scene in which he slaps Dickinson.
Awards
Marvin received the 1965 BAFTA Award for Best Actor for this role as well as for his role in Cat BallouCat Ballou
Cat Ballou is a 1965 comedy/Western film which tells the story of a woman who hires a famous gunman to protect her father's ranch, and later to avenge his murder, but finds that the man she hires is not what she expected...
.
External links
See also
- Ronald Reagan films