Sadly Over-hyped

People are voting emotionally.

A different way of telling a story

Blistering performances.

THE KILLING is a pretty good crime drama about a doomed criminal effort. An experienced criminal is planning a big robbery, after which he will start a peaceful and quiet life with his girlfriend. He plans to steal a few millions from the money-counting room of a racetrack during a featured race. However, some of his associates in the robbery are quite upset ...The film is composed of familiar ingredients that make a good noir. The story is strong and tight, without any excessive melodrama. The story at times takes on the contours of the documentary, with a prominent and dissolving tension and unexpected irony in the end. The atmosphere is worthy of a noir. Mr. Kubrick has paid special attention to the narration in the film. It helps in better understanding of the chronology of the story. The director wanted to present the perfect robbery by an imperfect gang. I claim that he is able to connect a number of small particles in a solid construction. Sterling Hayden as Johnny Clay is strong, somewhat reserved and ineffective leader for an experienced criminal. Elisha Cook Jr. as George Peatty left the best impression as a suspicious cashier and timid person who risks his life for the love of his unfaithful wife. Marie Windsor as Sherry Peatty was an unfaithful wife and predator who only interested in money. An unsuccessful attempt to form a portrait of the classic femme fatale.Other characters are a professional wrestler, a psychotic killer, a bartender, who tried to help his sick wife, a corrupt cop and a beautiful fiancé. They are interesting, but do not represent anything new.The perfect robbery, which eventually turned into a complete disaster.

Greetings from Lithuania."The Killing" (1956) says it is all about the money. You can change you life in a moment, but you can't run away from what you are. Maybe this movie does not raise this question, but that was my thoughts when watching this first superb movie by a maestro S.Kubrick. Acting was good in this movie but it the direction that makes this a very involving picture from start till finish. At running time 1 h 24 min it sometimes gets a bit draggy when in scenes with one character wife - she is beyond a manipulative one, even for a movie. Overall, "The Killing" is a very, very good movie. It is surely not maestro's best, but it was a great start. Superbly directed simple and kinda average story is not to be missed one who loves good old movies.

"The Killing" (1956) certainly deserves its title. It is honestly "Ocean's Eleven" before there was an "Ocean's Eleven", but it is not nearly as good. The use of shadow in the film added to the mystery of it all and the flashbacks helped tie everything together without giving too much away. This movie wasn't horrible to watch but, it's certainly not my favorite. It had the potential to be really good, but the lack of humor, depth, and drama held it back. The plot was decent, but it could have been flushed out more. I honestly wonder if the costume designers and makeup artists created Sherry's look based off of Betty Boop. George Peatty, played by Elisha Cook Jr., was such a sucker. I felt bad for the guy at the beginning, but when you see how he has no back bone you just wanna smack the guy and tell him to wake up and smell the coffee.

"We want to make good movies, and make them cheap. The two are not incompatible" - Stanley Kubrick.The first of a collaboration with Producer James B. Harris, "The Killing" is Kubrick's first movie with actual financial backing from the studio United Artists (Everything prior was financed by Kubrick and his family). He was 28 at the time of the movies release, and it continues to hold up incredibly well for a cheap, heist movie (Reportedly Quentin Tarantino said it was very influential when it came to his 1992 debut "Reservoir Dogs", both of which use non-linear time-lines). Though its praise was high, the movie unfortunately bombed at the box office. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer however, was so impressed with the film they offered Kubrick-Harris $75,000 to write, direct and produce the spectacular "Paths of Glory" (1957).Based on the novel "Clean Break" by Lionel White, a thief plans to commit one last daring heist before retirement and marry his lover. With his crew assembled, one of them reveals the plans to his wife, who has also made significant plans of her own.The Killing's cinematography is certainly memorable with its larger sets that gets filled with extras when things all come to a head. I bring the cinematography up because of the infamous tale when Lucien Ballard moved a camera against Kubrick's wishes, almost leading to Ballard's firing. The music particularly excels, the scenarios and failures of communication between men still leave an impression and even though Sterling Hayden remains the best actor in the movie, the scene where wrestler Kola Kwariani (Who was also Kubrick's old chess friend) fights off a series of policeman, shirt ripped and all could possibly remain the best overall scene of the movie.Final Verdict: "The Killing" remains one of those old movies that I grow more and more fond of when reminiscing particular moments. Certain scenes dash hopes, but in a tale of greed ever player gets his overall comeuppance. 8/10.