The Killing (1956) is a film by Stanley Kubrick based on the novel Clean Break by Lionel White. The film noir depicts the efforts of Johnny Clay (Sterling Hayden) and an assembled team to rob a racetrack. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (448x636, 31 KB) Summary The Killing theatrical poster Licensing This image is of a movie poster or title card, and the copyright for it is most likely owned by either the publisher of the movie or the studio which produced the... “Kubrick” redirects here. ... James B. Harris (b. ... “Kubrick” redirects here. ... James Myers Thompson (September 27, 1906, Anadarko, Oklahoma Territory–April 7, 1977, Los Angeles, California) was an American writer of short stories, screenplays and novels, largely of the pulp fiction kind. ... Lionel White (1905-1995) was a book author whos dark noirish stories were sometimes made into films. ... Sterling Hayden (March 26, 1916 - May 23, 1986) was an American actor. ... Gray in Nightmare Alley (1947 movie) Coleen Gray (October 23, 1922- ) is an American movie and television actress born in Staplehurst, Nebraska. ... Vince Edwards (July 9, 1928- March 11, 1996) was an American actor, director, and singer. ... Jay C. Flippen as Henry T-Dub Mansfield in They Live by Night Jay C. Flippen (March 6, 1899 - February 3, 1971) is best remembered as a gruff-faced actor usually playing a cop or weary criminal in many movies of the 1940s and 1950s. ... Diminutive character actor Elisha Cook Jr. ... Marie Windsor Sometimes called Queen of the Bs because she appeared in so many noirs and b-movies like Cat-Women of the Moon (1953), Marie Windsor began life as Emily Bertelson in Marysvale, Utah on December 11, 1919. ... The current United Artists logo (a variant was used during the 1980s). ... May 20 is the 140th day of the year (141st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Film is a term that encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. ... “Kubrick” redirects here. ... Lionel White (1905-1995) was a book author whos dark noirish stories were sometimes made into films. ... This still from The Big Combo (1955) demonstrates the visual style of film noir at its most extreme. ... Sterling Hayden (March 26, 1916 - May 23, 1986) was an American actor. ...

The use of non-linear chronology and multiple points of view influenced many later filmmakers, such as Quentin Tarantino. When studio executives first saw the completed film, they stated that the film made no sense and no audience would sit through the non-linear story. Kubrick re-edited the movie, then found that the key to telling the story was to keep it the way it was in the book, and the way he first edited it. United Artists released the film at the bottom of double bills. Quentin Jerome Tarantino (born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, actor, and screenwriter. ...

The film credits pulp writer Jim Thompson with "additional dialogue", though there is some question as to whether that credit fairly describes the extent of Thompson's contributions to the script. (Thompson was credited as a full co-writer on Kubrick's next film Paths of Glory.) James Myers Thompson (September 27, 1906, Anadarko, Oklahoma Territory–April 7, 1977, Los Angeles, California) was an American writer of short stories, screenplays and novels, largely of the pulp fiction kind. ... Paths of Glory (1957) is an anti-war film by Stanley Kubrick based on the novel of the same name by Humphrey Cobb. ...

Critical reaction

While Kubrick's second film, Killer's Kiss, was considered a fine effort, The Killing is regarded as a work by a professional filmmaker. Eddie Muller writes: Killers Kiss (1955) is a film by Stanley Kubrick. ... Eddie Muller, 2006 Eddie Muller is a writer based out of San Francisco. ...

"With "The Killing", Stanley Kubrick offered a monument to the classic caper film, and a fresh gust of filmmaking in one package. Who knew when he wrapped it, that it would be the last amusing movie he'd ever make?"

References

Hirsch, Foster. Film Noir: The Dark Side of the Screen
Muller, Eddie. Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir Foster Hirsch is a professor in the film department of City University of New Yorks Brooklyn College, and the author of sixteen books on subjects related to theatre and film. ... Eddie Muller, 2006 Eddie Muller is a writer based out of San Francisco. ...

External links

• The Killing (1956) at the Internet Movie Database
• Film Noir of the Week review