The Killers (Robert Siodmak, 1946)

Nick: Why do they wanna kill ya?
Swede: I did something wrong - once.

Pete Lunn – also known as the Swede – is leading a quiet life in a New Jersey village called Brentwood. He works at a gas station and somebody arrives… The past emerges with full force to shade his present life (the comparison with Out of the Past becomes evident).

At the beginning of the film two hard-boiled gunmen arrive at Brentwood, they want to kill the Swede. We see him in his room in the shade, he is expecting them and there is nothing he tries to do to avoid being killed. His colleague Nick tries to help him in vain:

Nick: Isn't there something I could do?
Swede: There ain't anything to do.
Nick: Couldn't you get out of town?
Swede: No. I'm through with all that runnin' around.

So the start of the film is magnificent – with sharp dialogues (they successfully reproduce a short story by Ernst Hemingway) and also great light angles.

The investigations of insurance agent Jim Reardon (Edmond O’Brien) take us to different flashbacks. The atmosphere is always one of a vague uncertainty and the femme fatale Kitty Collins becomes the central figure of a series of double-crossings. The Swede – a former boxer - feels a strong attraction for her after she sees her sing: The more I know of love (written by Miklos Rosza).

The Swede becomes involved in criminal activities together with Colfax, Big Jim and Kitty. It is the femme fatale who double-crosses everybody: I'm poison, Swede, to myself and everybody around me!

There were many important names who came together at this film. We can mention the – at the time – unknown Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner; but also producer Mark Hellinger, musician Miklos Rozsa or director Robert Siodmak were very important names in the noir style

Killer’s Kiss (Stanley Kubrick 1955)

Davy Gordon: It's crazy how you can get yourself in a mess sometimes and not even be able to think about it with any sense-and yet not be able to think about anything else. …Anyway, I think that's the way it began for me. Just before my fight with Rodriguez three days ago...

Davy (Jamie Smith) introduces us to the plot of the film (through a typically noir flashback). He is an unsuccessful boxer. He lives in a block of flats and from his window he can often see Irene (Gloria Pace), a dancer in a rundown club.

Her elder boss Vincent Rapallo (Frank Silveira) is in love with her. After being refused by Irene he attacks her but Davy witnesses the scene and rushes to help her neighbour. The couple fall in love and plan to leave the city and move to Seattle but Vincent hasn’t given up he is planning his revenge…

This is Kubrick’s second long movie (though it is just one hour long) and the last one with his own script. It was a low budget film – as Kubrick said: “Different people gave me backing for Killer's Kiss, which also lost half of its forty-thousand-dollar budget” and no first line actors could be hired.

The film is not one of the director’s best but it was an important step for the director: “I was cameraman, director, editor, assistant editor, sound effects man -- you name it, I did it. And it was invaluable experience”. The highly contrasted black and white scenes have some striking moments. Kubrick’s imprint can be traced in some sequences – we can mention the final scene with the fighting among the mannequins...

Davy: Anyway, I guess the whole thing was pretty silly... know a girl for two days and fall in love.