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The Killing
1956 85 min United States of America 16+
★8.1
Crime, Thriller, Drama
Director: Stanley Kubrick
🎭 Based on
«Clean Break»
byLionel White
Trailers
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Description
Career criminal Johnny Clay recruits a sharpshooter, a crooked police officer, a bartender and a betting teller named George, among others, for one last job before he goes straight and gets married. But when George tells his restless wife about the scheme to steal millions from the racetrack where he works, she hatches a plot of her own.
Budget:
$320,000
Starring
Sterling Hayden
Actor
Coleen Gray
Actor
Vince Edwards
Actor
Awards
BAFTA 1957
— Best Picture
Key opinion
The Killing is widely regarded as a masterful early noir by Stanley Kubrick, noted for its intricate non-linear structure and tense, clockwork execution of a heist. While some viewers find the initial pacing sluggish and the technical scale modest, the consensus celebrates the film as an influential precursor to the modern crime genre.
| Screenplay | The complex, non-linear narrative structure masterfully builds suspense by revealing the heist from multiple character perspectives. | |
| Acting | Marie Windsor’s performance as a cold, manipulative femme fatale provides a standout, grounded depiction of greed. | |
| Production | The film’s low-budget constraints are evident in the sparse production design, though they contribute to a grit that serves the noir tone. | |
| Pacing | The deliberate, slow-burn opening creates a narrative hurdle for some, while others find the eventual payoff and tension highly rewarding. |