Killers

Year: 1946

Grade: B

Country: USA

Director: Siodmak

Review

1946 – i’m not a film noir expert (i’m not an expert at any genre, really) so i may have missed the subtleties of this film, but, as far as the structure goes, the killers comes off as a pretty run-of-the-mill noir to me. it opens with the fall of the protagonist (citizen kane, double indemnity, etc.) and retells the story leading up to his fall through an investigator putting the pieces together (citizen kane again). this being said, the killers is still a fine film. to me the major accomplishment of the film is one more typical of crime mystery than a film noir – the mystery/suspense that builds until the finale. as far as film noir goes, though, i would prefer to watch the extreme noir themes found in kubrick’s “the killing” or the slick dialogue found in wilder’s “double indemnity” or the amazing cinematography of welles’ “citizen kane.” .