The Killers
She's a match for any mobster!
1946 | 103m | English
Popularity: 1 (history)
| Director: | Robert Siodmak |
|---|---|
| Writer: | Ernest Hemingway, Anthony Veiller, John Huston, Richard Brooks |
| Staring: |
| Two hit men walk into a diner asking for a man called "the Swede". When the killers find the Swede, he's expecting them and doesn't put up a fight. Since the Swede had a life insurance policy, an investigator, on a hunch, decides to look into the murder. As the Swede's past is laid bare, it comes to light that he was in love with a beautiful woman who may have lured him into pulling off a bank robbery overseen by another man. | |
| Release Date: | Aug 30, 1946 |
|---|---|
| Director: | Robert Siodmak |
| Writer: | Ernest Hemingway, Anthony Veiller, John Huston, Richard Brooks |
| Genres: | Crime, Mystery, Thriller |
| Keywords | small town, boxer, film noir, attempted robbery, new jersey, heist, murder, insurance investigator, gas station, femme fatale, black and white, hemingway |
| Production Companies | Universal International Pictures |
| Box Office |
Revenue: $0
Budget: $0 |
| Updates |
Updated: Feb 01, 2025 (Update) Entered: Apr 13, 2024 |
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| Edmond O'Brien | Jim Reardon |
| Burt Lancaster | 'Swede' Andersen |
| Ava Gardner | Kitty Collins |
| Albert Dekker | Big Jim Colfax |
| Sam Levene | Lt. Sam Lubinsky |
| Vince Barnett | Charleston |
| Virginia Christine | Lilly Harmon Lubinsky |
| Jack Lambert | 'Dum-Dum' Clarke |
| Charles D. Brown | Packy Robinson - Ole's Manager |
| Donald MacBride | R.S. Kenyon |
| Charles McGraw | Al |
| William Conrad | Max |
| Jeff Corey | Blinky Franklin (uncredited) |
| Gino Corrado | Restaurant Chef (uncredited) |
| Frank McLure | Restaurant Patron (uncredited) |
| Howard Freeman | Brentwood Police Chief (uncredited) |
| Charles Middleton | Farmer (uncredited) |
| Queenie Smith | Mary Ellen 'Queenie' Daugherty (uncredited) |
| Jack Cheatham | Police Driver (uncredited) |
| William Ruhl | Fran (uncredited) |
| Ernie Adams | Hood with Cane (uncredited) |
| George Anderson | Jail Ward Doctor (uncredited) |
| Sam Ash | (uncredited) |
| Frank Baker | Fight Spectator (uncredited) |
| Oliver Cross | Fight Spectator (uncredited) |
| Sam Harris | Fight Spectator (uncredited) |
| Jack Lomas | Fight Spectator (uncredited) |
| Jack Tornek | Fight Spectator (uncredited) |
| John Sheehan | Fight Arena Doctor (uncredited) |
| Brooks Benedict | Party Guest (uncredited) |
| Mike Lally | Party Guest (uncredited) |
| John Berkes | Mr. Plunther (uncredited) |
| Edward Biby | Cafe Patron (uncredited) |
| Robert Haines | Cafe Patron (uncredited) |
| George Hoagland | Cafe Patron (uncredited) |
| Florence Wix | Cafe Patron (uncredited) |
| Harry Brown | Paymaster (uncredited) |
| Phil Brown | Nick Adams (uncredited) |
| James Conaty | Onlooker at Green Cat (uncredited) |
| Noel Cravat | Lou Tingle (uncredited) |
| Neal Dodd | Minister (uncredited) |
| Mike Donovan | Timekeeper (uncredited) |
| Dick Gordon | Green Cat Patron (uncredited) |
| Nolan Leary | Green Cat Waiter (uncredited) |
| Michael Hale | Pete (uncredited) |
| Harry Hayden | George (uncredited) |
| Mark Hellinger | Man Drinking at Bar (uncredited) |
| Al Hill | Disgruntled Diner Patron (uncredited) |
| Jimmie Horan | Factory Worker (uncredited) |
| Kenner G. Kemp | Passerby Outside Theatre / Green Cat Patron (uncredited) |
| Paul Kruger | Reporter (uncredited) |
| Ethan Laidlaw | Train Conductor (uncredited) |
| Perc Launders | Policeman (uncredited) |
| Howard Negley | Policeman (uncredited) |
| Vera Lewis | Ma Hirsch (uncredited) |
| Therese Lyon | Mrs. Grimes (uncredited) |
| John Miljan | Jake the Rake (uncredited) |
| Garry Owen | Joe Smalley (uncredited) |
| Beatrice Roberts | Nurse (uncredited) |
| Wally Rose | Bartender (uncredited) |
| Wallace Scott | Charlie (uncredited) |
| Ann Staunton | Stella (uncredited) |
| Milton Wallace | Waiter (uncredited) |
| Bill Walker | Sam (uncredited) |
| Name | Job |
|---|---|
| William Hedgcock | Sound |
| Arthur Hilton | Editor |
| Melville Shyer | Assistant Director |
| Eugene Zador | Orchestrator |
| Carmen Dirigo | Hairstylist |
| Jules Buck | Production Office Assistant |
| Elwood Bredell | Director of Photography |
| Martin Obzina | Art Direction |
| Jack Otterson | Art Direction |
| David S. Horsley | Special Effects |
| Bernard B. Brown | Sound Director |
| Gil Perkins | Stunts |
| Edward R. Robinson | Set Decoration |
| Vera West | Costume Supervisor |
| Mark Hellinger | Other |
| Russell A. Gausman | Set Decoration |
| Robert Siodmak | Director |
| Ernest Hemingway | Novel |
| Anthony Veiller | Screenplay |
| Miklós Rózsa | Original Music Composer |
| John Huston | Additional Writing, Writer |
| Richard Brooks | Additional Writing, Writer |
| Jack Pierce | Makeup Department Head |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Mark Hellinger | Producer |
| Organization | Category | Person |
|---|
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | 19 | 31 | 10 |
| 2024 | 5 | 22 | 37 | 11 |
| 2024 | 6 | 17 | 28 | 10 |
| 2024 | 7 | 20 | 34 | 11 |
| 2024 | 8 | 15 | 20 | 10 |
| 2024 | 9 | 17 | 27 | 10 |
| 2024 | 10 | 13 | 29 | 7 |
| 2024 | 11 | 15 | 29 | 10 |
| 2024 | 12 | 13 | 22 | 10 |
| 2025 | 1 | 15 | 32 | 7 |
| 2025 | 2 | 10 | 15 | 3 |
| 2025 | 3 | 5 | 14 | 1 |
| 2025 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
Trending Position
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 5 | 850 | 876 |
When two hit men arrive in the diner of a small town, they announce their intention to the owner of killing one of his customers - former boxer "the Swede" (Burt Lancaster). He manages to convince them that he would not be coming in that night, and so they leave to track him down. His friend, who wa ... s tied up in the diner rushes to warn him, but he does nothing - he invites the fate that we see, right from the beginning of the film. Why though? Why didn't he run? It transpires that he had a modest life insurance policy and so investigator "Reardon" (Edmond O'Brien) tries to track down the beneficiary and piece together a story of robbery, betrayal and duplicity - to all of which the character of "Kitty" (Ava Gardner) proves central. This is a superior film noir, with Lancaster and O'Brien on great form as the flashbacks gradually fill in the gaps and with the help of "Lt. Lubinsky" (Sam Levene) they discovers what truly happened. Ava Gardner's character features quite sparingly, but potently when she is on screen - manipulating and twisting as she manoeuvres the men around her with consummate skill. The pace is measured, the story takes it's time to develop and that helps make this quite a compelling drama that puts a little more meat on the bones of the original Hemingway short story. The photography is intense, using the light and shade dramatically, and the score from the maestro Miklós Rósza adds a richness to the gritty look of the film too. Burt Lancaster's first major screen role, but it's O'Brien who does most of the heavy lifting here, and he does it well!
Robert Siodmak’s _The Killers_ intrigues more than it excites. Each scene is steeped in a rich atmosphere, with tension simmering under the surface. Siodmak’s non-linear storytelling leads you through a maze of betrayal and mystery, making it a slow-burn puzzle rather than a thrill ride. It’s a film ... that keeps you engaged with its moody shadows and complex web of lies, even if it didn’t thoroughly sweep me off my feet.