Synopsis

"The Killers, a relentless search through the back alleys of dead man's past, is a brilliant movie." (Liberty Magazine) It opens with an Ernest Hemingway short story in which Burt Lancaster, making his film debut, plays Swede, a broken-down ex-fighter waiting in a sleazy room to be assassinated. He does not resist when two men empty their guns into him. It becomes the job of insurance investigator Edmond O'Brien to descover why Swede had given up. He pieces together an elaborate look at a man who became the fall guy for gangsters and a seductive, unscrupulous woman (Ava Gardner). A taut (Miklos Rozsa) score (with a theme later used in Dragnet), an Anthony Veiller screenplay (with, uncredited, John Huston), and the brilliant artistry of director Robert Siodmak make this a stunning tale of cross and double-cross. "There is not a dull moment... nothing but menacing action managed with supreme competence." - (Life Magazine).

Suggestions

Double Indemnity (B&W)
Christmas Holiday (B&W)
Ministry Of Fear (B&W)
Black Narcissus
Brief Encounter (BW)
Stranger, The (BW)
Big Clock, The