The Killing (1956)

Stanley Kubrick's film noir The Killing tells the story of a racetrack robbery. A group of men plan what they think is the perfect robbery of a horse racing track which should net them over 2 million dollars. Overall, this 80-something minute film really tells a great story. The first 10 minutes or so introduce all the characters and is told in a very confusing manner, this flaw is quickly alleviated as the film starts to make a lot more sense rather quickly. The film is kind of unique in the sense that as the robbery progresses and the climax is about to occur, the narrator comes over and suddenly you're back at the beginning of the day looking at another character. Considering this film is rather short, it does a pretty good job introducing and exploring quite a few different characters. After the robbery takes place, the film slows down a bit, but the ending makes up for that.

As this film is very low-budget, there aren't many big-name actors. As is typical for a film noir, this film contains a femme fatale (played by Marie Windsor). She's not the greatest leading lady in a noir film, but she's more than adequate. The rest of the actors are probably better than her, but none of their performances are terribly memorable.

Overall, this film is a fine effort and the film that got a young Kubrick some recognition. The film is vastly superior to anything else he had made at this point and is a must-see for fans of film noir or Stanley Kubrick. It's not perfect, and it isn't the best Kubrick or noir film out there, but it's still quite good.

84/100
B

UP NEXT: Another film noir, The Night of the Hunter.