Review of The Killing (1956) by Sabra E — 16 Nov 2010

I have to admit, I watched "the Killing" because it was directed by Stanley Kubrick, though it was not much like what I would expect from his style. (And yes, I realize he was only on his third feature film.) The tense trainwreck was, in fact, very hard to watch at some points, especially in the beginning. The scenes with groveling racetrack teller and his manipulative cheating wife...awkward to stomach.

The plot involving a team of men scheming to rob 2.5 million from a racetrack was compelling insomuch that the motivations of most of the men involved seemed almost golden. A man with a sick wife, another post-prison trying to get money to start a life with a woman he loves. Take a handful of good men and charm their hustling whimsies with a great opportunity to become rich, spin it with tragic elements of the classic Noir genre and you've got a good story.

Bonus: There's even a tribute to the scary clown phobia which assaults the nightmares of millions during the climactic stick-em-up scene.

And, a well-justified, almost comical, murder which does a terrific job of redeeming a good chunk of the film's initial awkwardness.